Miscellaneous Entries.
sale. Something “for sale” is simply being offered for a specified price. Something “on sale” is being offered at a discounted price.
salesperson; salesman. To avoid sexism, prefer the former. “Salesperson” seems to be one of the few words in which “-person” isn’t particularly grating.
salesroom; saleroom. The former is standard in American English, the latter in British English.
salience; *saliency. The latter is a needless variant.
saline. Although the better pronunciation was once thought to be /SAY-lIn/, both that pronunciation and /SAY-leen/ are now standard.
salmon is pronounced /SA-muhn/, not /SAL-muhn/. But “salmonella” is pronounced with the “-l-“: /sal-muh-NEL-uh/.
*Invariably inferior forms.
For information about the Language-Change Index click here.
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Quotation of the Day: “Most writers are made, not born. They are, in fact, self-made. They have reached their proficiency through hard work, and the steam that has driven them through their years of self-discipline has been a strong and ever renewed wish to acquire writing skills.” Gorham Munson, The Written Word 19-20 (rev. ed. 1949).
