The Logical Blog

by Jennie Ruby  

Several respondents called these word-choice challenges fun, so let's do this one more time. Your challenge this week, once again, is to choose the right word or phrase:

1. I wish someone had appraised/apprised me of the situation with the angry client.
2. I thought the books had already/all ready been shipped.
3. When I left on Friday, the books were already/all ready to go.
4. When I got back to work on Wednesday, I found out the shipment had been held so we could send the books and the other items altogether/all together.
5. Meanwhile, the client had told us it was alright/all right to send the items separately.
6. I was loathe/loath to make the phone call, because I was not sure how to handle the situation.
7. Nevertheless, I made the phone call without further ado/adieu.
8. Being as how/beings as how/because I called right away, I was able to soothe/sooth the client's temper.
9. Because of /due to our mix-up, I decided to offer the client a discount on a future purchase.
10. However, the client said she could/couldn't care less about getting a discount.
11. Instead, she tried to convince/persuade me to give her the entire shipment for free.
12. I said that getting good service was differentthan/different from getting products for no cost.
13. I then decided I better/had better offer overnight shipping on the order.
14. Once she agreed, I couldn't hardly wait/could hardly wait to get off the phone and do a victory dance.
15. After our discussion, the client was literally/figuratively on fire with enthusiasm for our business.

Results from last week's Challenge

Your answers this week are brought to you by Lorna McLellan, the only respondent with 100% of the answers correct. Congratulations, Lorna! Also an honorable mentions go out to Susan Czubiak and Mary Lee Foley for pointing out that Boy Scout is capitalized and should be two words! That's what I get for ignoring Word's red underline!

1. He led the charge into the superstore for the one-day sales event.
2. The biennial event last occurred in 2010.
3. You may have to wait awhile to see these prices again.
4. I remember playing the first version of that classic game back when I was 12.
5. The Boy Scout enjoyed his celebrity after saving the little dog from the stream. 
6. When the bully who had threatened the boy gave his congratulations, butter wouldn't melt…. [assuming it was a cold greeting, so cold that butter would not melt in his mouth!]
7. Can you ensure that the dog does not run away again?
8. I am so eager to hear about the ceremony that I can hardly wait.
9. She slept soundly, knowing that the puppy was safe.
10. Here is the latest news on the price decrease.

The statistical analysis is interesting this week, as several words proved to be no challenge: everyone correctly answered led, soundly and latest. Only 5 or 10 percent of us missed eager, classic and ensure. Here are brief explanations for those.

Although there is some overlap in meaning between eagerand anxious, a careful writer will be aware of the connotations: Eager is more positive and enthusiastic; anxious is more negative and afraid.

Because Webster's dictionary describes how people use a word, rather than always indicating whether they are using it accurately, the third meaning of anxious is the same meaning as eager. However, the synonyms (from Merriam-Webster.com) tell the tale:

anxious–aflutter, antsy, nervous, atwitter, dithery, edgy, goosey, het up, hinky [slang], hung up, ill at ease, insecure, jittery, jumpy, nervy, perturbed, queasy (also queazy), tense, troubled, uneasy, unquiet, upset, uptight, worried

eager–agog, antsy, anxious, ardent, athirst, avid, crazy, desirous, enthused, enthusiastic, excited, geeked [slang], great, greedy, gung ho, hepped up, hopped-up, hot, hungry, impatient, juiced, keen, nuts, pumped, raring, solicitous, stoked [slang], thirsty, voracious, wild, champing at the bit, chomping at the bit

Here is a memory aid for classic versus classical:

Classical music is Mozart, classic rock is Led Zeppelin.

classic–timeless, authentic, setting a standard

classical–refers to music, art etc. from a specific era

Many of us are already clear on this one:

Ensure–make sure; assure-reassure someone

And here are the harder ones:

Biennial/biannual–I long ago made a rule for myself to always look up these words before using them, along with the similar words biweekly and bimonthly, simply because they are so easily confused. And since I don't use them often-no more than twice a year (or is that every other year?)-looking them up is a good practice.

A while/awhile–use the two-word version only after a preposition, such as for, in or after, like this:

I stared at the words for a while.

When you leave out the preposition, awhile becomes a one-word adverb:

I stared at the words awhile.

Notoriety is negative fame; celebrity is positive fame. We are all so used to seeing celebrity as a noun meaning famous person that we may overlook its other meaning as simply fame.

by Jennie Ruby  

Because the results of last week's challenge were so revealing (see below), I bring you a similar challenge this week. Choose the correct word in these examples–discussion to follow.

1. He lead/led the charge into the superstore for the one-day sales event.
2. The biennial/biannual event last occurred in 2010.
3. You may have to wait a while/awhile to see these prices again.
4. I remember playing the first version of that classic/classical game back when I was 12.
5. The boyscout enjoyed his celebrity/notoriety after saving the little dog from the stream.
6. When the bully who had threatened the boy gave his congratulations, butter wouldn't/would melt….
7. Can you ensure/assure that the dog does not run away again?
8. I am so anxious/eager to hear about the ceremony that I can hardly wait.
9. She slept fitfully/soundly knowing that the puppy was safe.
10. Here is the last/latest news on the price decrease.

As always, send your answers straight to me.

***

Results From Last Week's Challenge

In the aftermath of the election, one clear winner was statistics. One statistician came pretty close to correctly calling every race. So to join the statisticians, I analyzed the results of last week's challenge with a spreadsheet in addition to a dictionary and grammar book. Here are the answers, brought to you by our only 100% correct respondent this week, Ginny Supranowitz:

1. We had less/fewer trick-or-treaters this year than we expected.
2. We have a lot of leftover candy like/such as Milk Duds and Smarties.
3. The trick-or-treater's mother complemented/complimented us on our fall decorations.
4. A lot of voters seem disinterested/uninterested in the election.
5. Many have become weary/wary of all the automated phone calls.
6. We really should be more weary/wary about clicking links in junk email.
7. The weather reporter emphasized the enormity/enormousness of Sandy.
8. The reporter implied/inferred that she would rather not be standing so close to the waves.
9. I implied/inferred from what she said that she was soaking wet.
10. The storm reached further/farther inland than most hurricanes.
11. That storm was certainly not an every day/everyday occurrence.
12. I'm glad my pajamas are not inflammable/flammable. [Inflammable and flammable are synonyms.]
13. We wondered if/whether/weather our cousins in New Jersey had power
14. We are glad to have survived this historic/historical storm.
15. A cyclone is when/occurs when a circular wind pattern develops over the ocean.

And here are your results, statistically speaking: 

Now, before we declare flammable the most difficult word in English, I have to admit that the flammable/inflammable item was a trick question. I counted it correct only if you noted that both words actually mean the same thing! Only one respondent, Ginny Supranowitz, picked up on that detail.

As for enormousness/enormity, even the dictionary is conflicted over this one. Its discussion distances itself from those who insist on making the distinction between size (enormousness) and moral/emotional judgment (enormity); nevertheless, all of the synonyms for enormity have the moral or social outrage component: atrocity, badness, depravedness, evilness, heinousness, hideousness, monstrosity, vileness, wickedness. By contrast, here are some of Webster's synonyms for enormousness: colossal, elephantine, huge, gargantuan, giant, immense, jumbo, leviathan, mammoth, massive…you get the idea. For those who want a loophole: Meaning number 3 of enormity isimmensity. But with all of the connotations of enormitypointing to moral outrage, if you just mean large, this word is not precise. Jing Ping Fan pointed out, however, that if you did mean that the hurricane filled you with horror over itsmonstrous size, then maybe there is enough emotional/moral valence to tip your description over into enormity.

Here are some details about the other answers frequently missed:

• Use whether for choosing between or among alternatives, if for setting up a condition.
• Uninterested = bored; disinterested means you don't have a financial interest riding on the outcome.
• Farther is for distance; further is for other meanings such as deeper.
• The person who says the words that carry the additional meaning does the implying. The person who hears the words or sees a behavior and derives meaning from that is the one who is inferring something.
• Everyday is an adjective that describes a noun: an everyday occurrence. Every day is an adverbial phrase indicating when the action of the sentence takes place: we see this every day.
• Such as means the items you are naming are actual examples in the group; like means you are saying that your items are like these, but do not necessarily include these. In the example in the challenge, such as means that Milk Duds and Smarties are actually in my leftover Halloween bowl. Like would have meant that I had candy similar to those brands, but that I did not necessarily have those exact brands.

by Jennie Ruby  

Sometimes confusing words take us by surprise, and sometimes we just blank on them. Being familiar with commonly confused words can help. The following words and phrases are like sharks lurking in the waters of our language: watch out! Use this challenge to raise your awareness as well as test your prowess with these word and phrase pairs.

Challenge on confusing words:

1. We had less/fewer trick-or-treaters this year than we expected.
2. We have a lot of leftover candy like/such as Milk Duds and Smarties.
3. The trick-or-treater's mothercomplemented/complimented us on our fall decorations.
4. A lot of voters seem disinterested/uninterestedin the election.
5. Many have become weary/wary of all the automated phone calls.
6. We really should be more weary/wary about clicking links in junk email.
7. The weather reporter emphasized theenormity/enormousness of Sandy. (I actually saw this one used incorrectly several times during the hurricane news coverage.)
8. The reporter implied/inferred that she would rather not be standing so close to the waves.
9. I implied/inferred from what she said that she was soaking wet.
10. The storm reached further/farther inland than most hurricanes.
11. That storm was certainly not an every day/everyday occurrence.
12. I'm glad my pajamas are not inflammable/flammable.
13. We wondered if/whether/weather our cousins in New Jersey had power.
14. We are glad to have survived this historic/historical storm. (Yep, I saw that one used incorrectly, too.)
15. A cyclone is when/occurs when a circular wind pattern develops over the ocean.

When you are ready, send your answers straight to me.

Results of Contractions versus Pronouns Challenge

Our contractions challenge last week was very popular, with a record number of responders. "Wow that really took me back!" says reader Meaghan Anderson. "Piece of cake," adds Krista Allen.

David Zimmerle took it up a notch and added the contraction it'd for it had in number 1. That was a good move! A couple of readers asked whether dean's list should be capitalized, to which I suggest that if it is a specific dean's list, yes. If it refers generically to a nonspecific dean's list, no. And Louise Nicholson expressed an insecurity I believe we should all feel when dealing with these: "I see these types of errors all over the place, so I hope I got them right." The fact that so many of us KNOW the right answer yet these errors occur in print and online so frequently tells me that we may not be as nervous and careful as we should be about contractions versus pronouns! Here are your results:

Correct answers to the contractions versus pronouns challenge are brought to you by Ron Turner:

1. The way the raccoon was walking, I assumed it had hurt it'sits foot.
2. It's about time we started getting our pronouns correct!
3. Your You're not going to tell me your you're not on the dean's list this semester!
4. The cyclone might flood your basement even if itsit's not below the water table.
5. The old table, who's whose supports were weak, collapsed under the weight of the cat.
6. Who's Whose car is parked in the police chief's parking spot?
7. The kids carried their candy in there their pockets, so they did not need plastic pumpkins.
8. If your downspouts are blocked, your eaves may leak.

Congrats to our hundred-percenters this week (alphabetically by first name): Barbara Veneri, Brenda Sing, Clay Walnum, David Pitts, David Zimmerle, Deb Pekin, Geri A. Moran, Ginny Supranowitz, Jay Herman, Joan P Dickerson, Karen L. Busser, Kathryn J. Meloche, Krista Allen, Lori Vuyk-Farnsworth, Louise Nicholson, Meaghan Anderson, Stacey Edwards, andTanya Davis.

by Jennie Ruby  

The apostrophe can indicate possessive or sometimes plural, as we have recently seen. But wait, there's more: the apostrophe can form a contraction: collapsing two words together and leaving out some letters. Some examples are could've--short for could have–and must've, which is short for must have. The pronunciation of must've, I believe, is single-handedly responsible for thousands of English teacher nervous breakdowns and copyeditor headaches over sentences like this one:

*Jim is not home yet; he must of [should be must have] gone to the grocery store on the way home.

Pronunciation does not help us with other common errors: mixing up possessive pronouns, contractions, and other homonyms (words that sound alike but have different meanings and/or spellings).

See if you can escape the vortex of confusion over these words in this week's challenge: apostrophes and pronouns. You can send your answers directly to me.

Challenge: Apostrophes and Pronouns

1. The way the raccoon was walking, I assumed it had hurt it's foot.
2. It's about time we started getting our pronouns correct!
3. Your not going to tell me your not on the dean's list this semester!
4. The cyclone might flood your basement even if its not below the water table.
5. The old table, who's supports were weak, collapsed under the weight of the cat.
6. Who's car is parked in the police chief's parking spot?
7. The kids carried their candy in there pockets, so they did not need plastic pumpkins.
8. If your downspouts are blocked, your eaves may leak.

Oh, the embarrassment! Oh, the agony! Oh, thecorrection notice!

As several of you noticed, the answer I published as correct last week had two errors. Here are the corrected sentences:

4. Back in the 1950s writers used a lot more apostrophes.

6. Many companies find that new hires do not know the three Rs.

Answers to last week's challenge 

This week's correct answers come from Vicki Hendricks, who declared the examples "easy." However, there were no other correct answers this week! 

1. She said she was going to go to Cancun and lie on the beach for a while.
2. Last summer we went to the beach and lay in the sun for hours.
3. Just five minutes ago I laid the papers directly on the manager's desk.
4. Last month we laid the ground work for our new learning management system.
5. Next month we will lay the ground work for new systems to be installed over the next three years.
6. He told the dog to lie down.
7. The carpenter said he needed to lay a new foundation for our porch.
8. Yesterday we solved the problem with our new server. The answer lay in the way we had configured our start-up menu.
9. Don't worry about your future, Grasshopper. All of the answers lie within your grasp.
10. The geocache lies just 100 yards south of the river.
11. These old umbrellas have lain here in the corner for more than a year.
12. She could have laid the map on the table, but she chose to spread it out on the floor.