Write It Right. A Little Blacklist of Literary Faults

'I knew it was night, because it was dark.' 'He will not go, because he is ill.'

Bet for Betted

The verb to bet forms its preterite regularly, as do wet, wed, knit, quit and others that are commonly misconjugated. It seems that we clip our short words more than we do our long.

Body for Trunk

'The body lay here, the head there.' The body is the entire physical person (as distinguished from the soul, or mind) and the head is a part of it. As distinguished from head, trunk may include the limbs, but anatomically it is the torso only.

Bogus for Counterfeit, or False

The word is slang; keep it out.

Both

This word is frequently misplaced; as, 'A large mob, both of men and women.' Say, of both men and women.

Both alike

'They are both alike.' Say, they are alike. One of them could not be alike.

Brainy

Pure slang, and singularly disagreeable.

Bug for Beetle, or for anything

Do not use it.

Business for Right

'He has no business to go there.'

Build for Make

'Build a fire.' 'Build a canal.' Even 'build a tunnel' is not unknown, and probably if the wood-chuck is skilled in the American tongue he speaks of building a hole.

But

By many writers this word (in the sense of except) is regarded as a preposition, to be followed by the objective case: 'All went but him.' It is not a preposition and may take either the nominative or objective case, to agree with the subject or the object of the verb. All went but he. The natives killed all but him.

But what

'I did not know but what he was an enemy.' Omit what. If condemnation of this dreadful locution seem needless bear the matter in mind in your reading and you will soon be of a different opinion.

By for Of

'A man by the name of Brown.' Say, of the name. Better than either form is: a man named Brown.

Calculated for Likely

'The bad weather is calculated to produce sickness.' Calculated implies calculation, design.

Can for May

'Can I go fishing?' 'He can call on me if he wishes to.'

Candidate for Aspirant

In American politics, one is not a candidate for an office until formally named (nominated) for it by a convention, or otherwise, as provided by law or custom. So when a man who is moving Heaven and Earth to procure the nomination protests that he is 'not a candidate' he tells the truth in order to deceive.

Cannot for Can

'I cannot but go.' Say, I can but go.

Capable

'Men are capable of being flattered.' Say, susceptible to flattery. 'Capable of being refuted.' Vulnerable to refutation. Unlike capacity, capability is not passive, but active. We are capable of doing, not of having something done to us.

Capacity for Ability

'A great capacity for work.' Capacity is receptive; ability, potential. A sponge has capacity for water; the hand, ability to squeeze it out.

Casket for Coffin

A needless euphemism affected by undertakers.

Casualties for Losses in Battle

The essence of casualty is accident, absence of design. Death and wounds in battle are produced otherwise, are expectable and expected, and, by the enemy, intentional.

Chance for Opportunity

'He had a good chance to succeed.'

Chin Whiskers

The whisker grows on the cheek, not the chin.

Chivalrous

The word is popularly used in the Southern States only, and commonly has reference to men's manner toward women. Archaic, stilted and fantastic.

Citizen for Civilian

A soldier may be a citizen, but is not a civilian.

Claim for Affirm

'I claim that he is elected.' To claim is to assert ownership.

Clever for Obliging

In this sense the word was once in general use in the United States, but is now seldom heard and life here is less insupportable.

Climb down