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Are You Sure That's What You Meant? The Grammar Curmudgeon Lurks EternallySep 29 '03 (Updated Nov 25 '03) Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line More funny little goofs in English usage...
Ahoy, me hearties!* Once again, the Grammar Curmudgeon stalks the pages of Epinions by night (and by day, for that matter), seeking superfluous commas, ratting out run-on sentences, and in general grumbling about the state of written English here at the dawn of the twenty-first century. Today's broadside will concentrate - as usual - on English usage, mainly because it's hard to teach punctuation to a bunch of people who don't seem to care. Besides, it's more entertaining to poke fun at specific booboos. As always, the quotes herein - lifted from reviews and comments - have been altered to protect the guilty. It's a Name! For Heaven's Sake A recent review of a book about President Clinton opined that, "...unlike his namesake Thomas, William Jefferson Clinton didn't..." I forget just how Clinton was supposedly different from Thomas Jefferson - in fact, I stopped dead when I reached the word "namesake." No, Thomas Jefferson is not the namesake of William Jefferson Clinton. The opposite could be the case, however, I doubt it. A namesake is a person named for another person. If you are named Preston Joseph Jones and your sister names her first son Preston Joseph Smith, he is your namesake because he is named after you. You are merely his uncle - you are in no way his "namesake." Or, more simply, Joseph Robert Briggs, Jr., is the namesake of Joseph Robert Briggs, Sr. - although he's more likely to be called JoeBob or Bubba. Aside 1: I've never been able to find a word describing the person from whom a name is taken - words related to "eponym" appear to be reserved for things (bloomers, macadam) and places (Rome), not people. If you know one, let me know. Aside 2: A similar misuse was perpetrated on the English language by singer-songwriter Dan Fogelberg, who claims that he is "a living legacy to" his father in the song "The Leader of the Band." Nope - he's a "living legacy of" his father. Aside 3: has anyone read The Namesake yet? Sure would be tough for a kid to go through life as the namesake of someone named "Gogol." A House is not a Hone Someone recently mentioned that he was "...honing in on the target." Close - very close - but no cigar. The noun "hone" (with an N) is a device, often a stone, used to sharpen knives and other tools. The verb "hone" means to use that device, or simply to sharpen. Since sharpening typically calls for the removal of material from a tool's edge, the process is sometimes called "honing down." That reminds me, I need to hone my editing skills for a potential interview. The term our anonymous correspondent wanted to use was "homing in," with an M. This is the word that you'll find in the familiar terms "homing pigeon" - a bird that's been trained to return to its home roost - and "homing beacon" - a light or radio signal used to guide travelers to their destination. To "home in on" is a reference to early aviation, when pilots would locate their home airport by flying in the direction that generated the strongest signal from its radio beacon. A Ball of Wax? "I don't usually listen to jazz," someone wrote, "it's not my ball of wax." Huh? Oh, I get it... you meant "bailiwick." A fine old English word, bailiwick originally meant a bailiff's jurisdiction - a bailiff is a court office similar to the Justice of the Peace in many US states. The meaning has also shifted away from a strict jurisprudence reference to mean one's area of interest or expertise. Jazz isn't my bailiwick, either - make it seventies Rock & Roll or a good blues tune, instead. But wait! You swear you've heard the phrase "ball of wax" somewhere, right? It's most common use is the idiom "the whole ball of wax," which means the same as "the whole nine yards," or simply, "all of it." That's the whole ball of wax about bailiwicks. Tote that Barge, Tow that Line "...his mother warned him that he'd better tow the line," a review of young adult fiction told me. "Tow" the line? Not unless he's a mule shuffling along the towpath of the Erie Canal with a towline hitched to his collar. Otherwise, Mom expects the young feller to toe the line - meaning "to conform to strict rules or doctrine." Odd little phrase, that one - presumably it refers to walking a tightrope, also known as the "straight and narrow" (as opposed to the "strait and narrow," which is redundant). Parting Shots As always, the Grammar Curmudgeon and his namesake, the Grammar Grump, expect every one of you to tow the line when you write around the site. After all, word usage and grammar are his special, personal ball of wax. If you mess up, watch out, 'cause he'll hone in on you like a cruise missile and you'll be in a heap of trouble then! * You say I'm a little late for International Talk Like A Pirate Week? So sue me! This is the sixth of a series of notes from the Grammar Curmudgeon, an irregular series of... what, "diatribes"? "rants"? "suggestions"? on improving the quality of your writing - not just here on Epinions, but every time you create a sentence, a paragraph, or even a book. Feel free to suggest further topics (I already have a generation's worth up my sleeve) by emailing me or leaving a comment. You can read the next Grammar Curmudgeon rant at Proofreading. You can read the previous Grammar Curmudgeon installment at foreign words.  |
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