Monthly Archives: December 2012

Bracketed citations are to Garner’s Modern American Usage (3d ed. 2009) (GMAU) and Garner’s Dictionary of Legal Usage (3d ed. 2011) (GDLU). 1.      “The attorney must strive to keep the lines of communication between he and his client open.” Paige … Continue reading →

January The Los Angeles Times reported on local poet and journalist John Tottenham’s crusade against the pandemic overuse and abuse of the word awesome. The British expat has launched what he calls the Campaign to Stamp Out Awesome, complete with … Continue reading →

Miscellaneous Entries. spill / spilled / spilled. So inflected. The archaic past form "spilt" still sometimes appears in metaphorical references to "spilt milk" ("Don't cry over spilt milk"), but "spilled milk" is somewhat more common. spiral, vb., makes "spiraled" and … Continue reading →

Miscellaneous Entries. speechify = to deliver a speech. The word is used in a mocking or derogatory way. speed / sped / sped. The best past-tense and past-participial form is "sped," not *"speeded" — except in the phrasal verb "speed … Continue reading →

spasmodic; *spasmodical; *spasmatic; spastic. "Spasmodic" = (1) of, relating to, or characterized by a spasm; or (2) intermittent, sporadic, unsustained. *"Spasmodical" and *"spasmatic" are needless variants. "Spasmatic" is labeled "rare or obsolete" by the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, but of … Continue reading →

spartan; sparse. "Spartan" is the antonym of "luxurious," and "sparse" the antonym of "luxuriant." But there the similarities end. In ancient Greece, the people of Sparta were known as being stoical, frugal, simple, laconic, brave, disciplined, and indifferent to comfort … Continue reading →

sow, vb. Part A: Inflection: sow / sowed / sown. In the past participle, *"sowed" is a variant form. In modern print sources, "sown" predominates by a 6-to-1 ratio. Part B: Sowing wild oats. To "sow" is to scatter seed. … Continue reading →

sour grapes. This is one of the most commonly misused idiomatic metaphors. It is not a mere synonym of "envy" or "jealousy." Rather, as in Aesop's fable about the fox who wanted the grapes he could not reach, "sour grapes" … Continue reading →

Miscellaneous Entries. sound bite. So spelled — not *"sound byte." E.g.: "Although this was a fairly logical prediction to make, knowing the teams, their styles, and their media sound bytes [read 'bites'] throughout the week, Kawakami hit the nail on … Continue reading →

Why did the late David Mellinkoff object to using “last will and testament”? The phrase last will and testament is a common legal doublet — a ceremonious phrase with ancient resonances. Sir Edward Coke (1552-1634) referred to an ultima voluntas … Continue reading →