Thalia's List of Much-Abused Words and Phrases
Part 2: I - Q
imply/infer
"Imply" means "to express indirectly" or "to suggest." "Infer" means "to derive as a conclusion from facts or premises" or "to guess." This gets confusing because, years ago, "infer" had a meaning that was very similar to that of "imply." These days that meaning is much less common, and it's best to use "imply" when someone is hinting at something and "infer" when someone is guessing at what's being hinted at."Are you implying that I'm a bad teacher?" Snape asked.
Jim inferred from the evidence that the killer was a short, left-handed woman.
irregardless
...is extremely non-standard, and characters with any sort of education probably wouldn't use it. "Regardless" is fine. So is "irrespective." But if you find yourself wanting to use "irregardless," use "regardless" instead.Top of page | Index | E-mail Thalia with a comment or correction
jive/jibe/gibe
First off, "gibe" means to tease or deride, or to utter taunting words. "Jibe" is an alternate spelling of "gibe." In the U.S., "jibe" can also mean "to be in accord"--and in the U.S., the first meaning is usually spelled with a "g"; the second meaning is always with a "j." British English speakers don't have the second meaning; they use either "gibe" or "jibe" for the first meaning. There's also "jive," which, as a verb, can mean "to kid," along with "to dance or play jive." If you're American, though, there's a good chance you want "jibe" instead.That doesn't jibe with my experience.
The heckler gibed at the politician as he spoke.
lead/led
Let's start with the most common verb form of "lead": It's pronounced leed, with a long e, and it means, more or less, "to guide," "to direct," or "to be first." So far so good. Its past tense is "led," pronounced with a short e. So, "lead"=present, "led"=past. Sounds easy, right?The reason this gets confusing is that "lead" can also be a noun. With a long e it means "the person in front" or "leash" or "the first card played" or "the distance a base runner is from the base," as well as some others. But it can also be pronounced with a short e, in which case it's the metal that's in a pencil. (Or was, before lead poisoning, but anyway.) So because "lead" can properly be pronounced with a short e, it's easy to think that that's how the past tense of the verb is spelled--but it's not.
Harry leads his year in detentions
Jack has led SG-1 into some interesting situations.
The lead in my pencil needs sharpening.
Why isn't your dog on a lead?
You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink.
Jim led Blair to the temple.
leech/leach
"Leech" is a noun, meaning an aquatic bloodsucking worm. As a verb, it means to apply leeches to someone, as a method of bloodletting. Ninety-five percent of the time, this is the only meaning 'leech' should have. (The other five percent: if you write Age of Sail fic, "leech" can mean "the vertical edge of a square sail;" if you write LotR or medieval fic, "leech" is an archaic word for "physician," and can also can mean "to heal.") "Leach" is a verb. It means "to percolate a liquid through some material"; its subject may be the liquid or the person causing the action; its object may be the material the liquid goes through, or the substance it dissolves and carries away."Leach" may also be used figuratively, if you want to talk about some intangible quality (e.g., courage) being taken away.
As a rule of thumb, if it's a verb, you probably want "leach"; if it's a noun, you probably want "leech."
Leeches lived in the mud by the lakeshore and would attack any student who went wading.
Théoden to Gríma: "Your leechcraft ere long would have had me crawling on all fours like a beast."
Snape leached the phoenix ashes of their magical components.
Rain has leached nutrients from the topsoil.
The dementors closed in on the house, leaching warmth and courage from everyone inside.
(Thanks to Ellen Fremedon)
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lie/lay
Everyone's favorite. Basically, "lie" is intransitive, meaning it doesn't have an object. "Lay" is transitive, which means it does have an object. (Yes, lay does have some intransitive usages, too, but they're not the ones that get confused with lie.) So, you lay something on a table. You lay down your cards. You lay the baby in the crib. But when you go to bed, you lie down. You lie in wait. You lay a book on the desk, and then the book lies on the desk.This is made more complicated by the various forms of these verbs.
Lie: past tense, lay; past participle, lain
Present: I lie down.
Past: I lay down.
Past participle: I have lain down.
Lay: past tense, laid; past participle, laid
Present: I lay the book on the table.
Past: I laid the book on the table.
Past participle: I have laid the book on the table.
Then there's the other meaning of "lie": "to make an untrue statement." Its forms are different from those of the other "lie":
past tense, lied; past participle, lied
Present: She lies habitually--she never tells the truth.
Past: She lied to her teacher.
Past participle: She has lied to everyone.
Both forms of "lie," however, have the same present participle: "lying."
I am lying on my bed.
I am lying about my age.
Harry lies in his bed, waiting.
Harry lay in his bed, waiting. (past tense of "lie")
Ron lays the scroll in front of Hermione.
Ron laid the scroll in front of Hermione.
Harry's Gringotts vault lies deep below ground.
The route lies to the west.
Ginny lays the table for dinner.
Draco lied to his father.
I'm sitting in the chair.
Please set the papers on my desk.
loath/loathe
"Loath," usually pronounced with a soft th, means unwilling or reluctant. (It's sometimes spelled "loth" in Britain.) "Loathe," pronounced with a hard th, means to dislike greatly or to detest.Harry and Ron loathe Draco Malfoy
Blair was loath to tell Jim that his fly was undone.
loose/lose
"Loose" is usually used as an adjective, meaning "not tight." It can also be a verb, but only if it means "to release" or "to make less tight." "Lose" is a verb that means "to not win," or "to misplace," or "to get rid of."If Neville were to lose weight, his pants would be loose.
Did you lose your way?
"Obi-Wan, how in the world did you lose your tunic?"
meet/mete
"Mete" means "to give out by measure."Snape has the authority to mete out punishment.
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minuet/minute
A "minuet" is "a slow graceful dance in 3/4 time characterized by forward balancing, bowing, and toe pointing." If you're looking for the unit of time, or for notes taken during a meeting, you want "minute". "Minute" can also be an adjective meaning "very small."Obi-Wan had to learn to dance the minuet for a diplomatic mission.
Just a minute!
moot/mute
In its most common American usage, "moot" can mean "open to question" or "deprived of practical significance : made abstract or purely academic." Law schools often have moot courts. In British English, naturally, "moot" has a rather different meaning: "tending to be discussed or argued about and having no definite answer." As an adjective, "mute" means "unable to speak" or "silent."Jim said, "It's a moot point whether the suspect was home that night."
The question is moot.
Merry and Pippin attended the Entmoot.
navel/naval
A "navel" is a belly button. "Naval" refers to the navy or to warships. Sounds simple, but mixing them up can lead to some very strange images.Ewan McGregor's navel is no stranger to the big screen.
Horatio Hornblower learned a great deal about naval warfare.
passed/past
"Passed" is the past tense of "pass."Harry passed Potions with an O.
Jim passed the basketball to Blair.
Obi-Wan's speeder passed Qui-Gon's.
"Past" is not a verb, but it can be an adjective, adverb, preposition or noun.
Obi-Wan was Anakin's master in the past.
We drove past his house.
Harry has been working hard for the past few months.
pedal/peddle/petal
A "pedal" is the thing your foot uses on a bicycle. When you ride a bike, you "pedal." "Peddle" means to sell. A "petal" is the colorful leafy thing on a flower.Blair pedaled his bicycle.
Harry and Ron wanted to see what kinds of gags Fred and George were peddling.
Hermione was busy chopping rose petals for her potion.
peek/peak/pique
We're talking verbs here: "Peek" means "to look furtively" or "to glance." "Peak" means "to reach a maximum" or "to come to a peak." (It can also mean "to grow thin or sickly," as in "You look peaked." But most people would use a different word.) "Pique" means about the same thing as "provoke." So curiosity is piqued.The inscriptions piqued Daniel's curiosity.
Harry peeked around the corner.
The temperature peaked at 95F.
Pansy stormed out of the room in a fit of pique.
Top of page | Index | E-mail Thalia with a comment or correctionper se/per say
"Per se" is a Latin phrase meaning "as such" or "intrinsically." "Per say" is totally incorrect. In general, you shouldn't use a foreign word or phrase unless you're very sure of its usage. If you're not sure, there are usually ways to get the point across in English.It was a good enough film per se, but as an adaptation of the book it was based on, it
left a lot to be desired. (Thanks, Fox!)
Partisanship per se does not preclude political action.
perfect/prefect
This one's mostly for HP writers. A "prefect" is a kind of official--in particular, it's a student monitor in a private school. Notice that the "r" comes before the "e" in this case. "Perfect", of course, means "without flaw."Ron was stunned to find he'd been chosen as prefect.
Percy always thought he was the perfect prefect.
phase/faze
"Faze" means "to disturb the composure of."Daniel wasn't fazed by Jack's sarcastic remarks.
"Phase" means "to adjust so as to be in a synchronized condition," or "to conduct or carry out by planned phases," or "to introduce in stages."The Nimbus 2000 brooms are being phased out.
Top of page | Index | E-mail Thalia with a comment or correctionpore/pour
"Pore" means "to read studiously or attentively."Harry pored over the Divinations text.
Jim pored over the report.
prescribe/proscribe
"Prescribe" means "to lay down a rule" or "to designate or order the use of as a remedy." "Proscribe" means "to condemn or forbid as harmful or unlawful." Completely different meanings, but it's easy to get them confused.The doctor prescribed antibiotics for Blair's strep throat.
The doctor proscribed drinking as long as Blair was taking the antibiotics.
Dumbledore proscribed entering the Forbidden Forest.
prostate/prostrate
The "prostate" is the gland that is mentioned so often in slash and in which men occasionally get cancer.All men over 40 should have a prostate exam.
"Prostrate" can be an adjective that means "lying on the ground," or a verb that means "to throw on the ground," or "to put in a humble and submissive posture or state."Lucius prostrated himself before Voldemort.
Luke was prostrate from the cold on Hoth.
Additions to the misused words list are always welcome! Feel free to send examples to thalia@destinysgarden.net
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