Write It Right. A Little Blacklist of Literary Faults

Item for Brief Article

Commonly used of a narrative in a newspaper. Item connotes an aggregate of which it is a unit – one thing of many. Hence it suggests more than we may wish to direct attention to.

Jackies for Sailors

Vulgar, and especially offensive to seamen.

Jeopardize for Imperil, or Endanger

The correct word is jeopard, but in any case there is no need for anything so farfetched and stilted.

Juncture

Juncture means a joining, a junction; its use to signify a time, however critical a time, is absurd. 'At this juncture the woman screamed.' In reading that account of it we scream too.

Just Exactly

Nothing is gained in strength nor precision by this kind of pleonasm. Omit just.

Juvenile for Child

This needless use of the adjective for the noun is probably supposed to be humorous, like 'canine' for dog, 'optic' for eye, 'anatomy' for body, and the like. Happily the offense is not very common.

Kind of a for Kind of

'He was that kind of a man.' Say that kind of man. Man here is generic, and a genus comprises many kinds. But there cannot be more than one kind of one thing. Kind of followed by an adjective, as, 'kind of good,' is almost too gross for censure.

Landed Estate for Property in Land

Dreadful!

Last and Past

'Last week.' 'The past week.' Neither is accurate: a week cannot be the last if another is already begun; and all weeks except this one are past. Here two wrongs seem to make a right: we can say the week last past. But will we? I trow not.

Later on

On is redundant; say, later.

Laundry

Meaning a place where clothing is washed, this word cannot mean, also, clothing sent there to be washed.

Lay (to place) for Lie (to recline)

'The ship lays on her side.' A more common error is made in the past tense, as, 'He laid down on the grass.' The confusion comes of the identity of a present tense of the transitive verb to lay and the past tense of the intransitive verb to lie.

Leading Question

A leading question is not necessarily an important one; it is one that is so framed as to suggest, or lead to, the answer desired. Few others than lawyers use the term correctly.

Lease

To say of a man that he leases certain premises leaves it doubtful whether he is lessor or lessee. Being ambiguous, the word should be used with caution.

Leave for Go away

'He left yesterday.' Leave is a transitive verb; name the place of departure.

Leave for Let

'Leave it alone.' By this many persons mean, not that it is to be left in solitude, but that it is to be untouched, or unmolested.

Lengthways for Lengthwise

Lengthy

Usually said in disparagement of some wearisome discourse. It is no better than breadthy, or thicknessy.

Leniency for Lenity

The words are synonymous, but the latter is the better.

Less for Fewer

'The regiment had less than five hundred men.' Less relates to quantity, fewer, to number.

Limited for Small, Inadequate, etc

'The army's operations were confined to a limited area.' 'We had a limited supply of food.' A large area and an adequate supply would also be limited. Everything that we know about is limited.

Liable for Likely

'Man is liable to err.' Man is not liable to err, but to error. Liable should be followed, not by an infinitive, but by a preposition.

Like for As, or As if

'The matter is now like it was.' 'The house looked like it would fall.'

Likely for Probably

'He will likely be elected.' If likely is thought the better word (and in most cases it is) put it this way: 'It is likely that he will be elected,' or, 'He is likely to be elected.'

Line for Kind, or Class

'This line of goods.' Leave the word to 'salesladies' and 'salesgentlemen.' 'That line of business.' Say, that business.

Literally for Figuratively

'The stream was literally alive with fish.' 'His eloquence literally swept the audience from its feet.' It is bad enough to exaggerate, but to affirm the truth of the exaggeration is intolerable.

Loan for Lend