Five Hundred Mistakes of Daily Occurrence in Speaking, Pronouncing, and Writing the English Language Part 6

228. "We are going to take a _holiday_:" this word was originally spelled and p.r.o.nounced _holyday_, being compounded of the two words _holy_ (meaning "_set apart_") and _day_. Custom, however, has changed the orthography from _y_ to _i_, and made the first syllable rhyme with _Poll_.

229. "It was referred to the _Committee_ on Ways and Means:" emphasize the second, not the first syllable.

230. "He is now settled in _Worcester_:" p.r.o.nounce as if written _Wooster_. _Gloucester_ and _Leicester_ are p.r.o.nounced _Gloster_ and _Lester_. The termination _cester_ or _chester_, occurring in the names of many English towns, is derived and corrupted from the Latin _Castra_, camps; and every town so named is supposed to have been the site of a camp of soldiers, during the possession of Britain by the Romans.

231. "_Relatives_ and _Relations_:" both these words designate kinsfolk, and are in most instances used indiscriminately. _Relatives_, however, is by some deemed the more proper and elegant.

232. "What a long _lirry_ he has to say!" This word should be p.r.o.nounced and spelt _lurry_; its more general meaning is a "heap," a "throng," a "crowd," but is often applied to a long dull speech.

233. "_Diamonds_ are charcoals:" p.r.o.nounce _diamonds_ in three syllables.

234. "Honor to the _patriot_ and the sage:" divide the syllables like _pa-tri-ot_, not _pat-ri-ot_. Irish rowdyism has been called "_Pat-riot-ism_."

235. "Do you _believe_ that he will _receive_ my letter?" observe that in the former word the diphthong is _ie_, and in the latter _ei_. A convenient rule for the spelling of such words is the following: _c_ takes _ei_ after it; all other consonants are followed by _ie_:--as, dec_ei_ve, repr_ie_ve.

236. "He is now confirmed in _idiotcy_:" say, _idiocy_; the _t_ in _idiot_ is dropped in forming the word.

237. "He raised the _national_ standard:" p.r.o.nounce the first two syllables like the word _nation_, never as if written _nash-ion-al_.

238. _Princ.i.p.al_ and _Principle_: be careful to observe the distinction between these words. _Princ.i.p.al_ signifies _chief_; _principle_, _motive_.

239. "He favors the _Anti-Slavery_ reform:" p.r.o.nounce _Anti_ with a distinct sounding of the _i_; else the word becomes _ante_, which means not "against," but "before,"--as "ante-deluvian," signifying "before the Deluge."

240. _Cincinnati_ is often misspelled _Cincinnatti_. The name is derived from _Cincinnatus_, a celebrated Roman.

241. "Her dress was made of _moire antique_:" _moire antique_ is an article of _watered silk_, very well known to the "shopping" sisterhood, but very frequently called "_Murray Antique_."

242. "It was mentioned in a _Californian newspaper_:" say, _California_ newspaper. No one says _Philadelphian_, or _Chicagonian_ journal.

243. "The lecture was _characterized_ as a brilliant performance:" accent the first, and not the second syllable.

244. "This is one of the traditions of St. _Helena_:" accent _le_, and not _Hel_.

245. "The boy was found by a _washwoman_:" say, _washerwoman_.

246. "St. John's is about two days nearer England than Halifax." [From an account, in a New-York newspaper, of the Submarine Telegraph Expedition, September, 1855.] Does it mean that St. John's is nearer to England than Halifax is, or nearer to England than to Halifax?

247. "He wears a blue-spotted _neck-handkerchief_:" say, _neckerchief_, or, still better, _neck-cloth_, or _cravat_. The original word is _kerchief_, and not _handkerchief_, which is a _kerchief_ for the _hand_.

248. "The city was _illumined_ in honor of the victory:" better say, _illuminated_. Distinguish between the p.r.o.nunciation of _illumined_ and _ill-omened_.

249. "She has brought the _cloze pins_ in a bag:" say, _clothes' pins_.

250. "He met with _luck_:" say either "_bad luck_," or "_good luck_;"

_luck_ primarily refers to simple "chance," although its derivatives, _lucky_ and _luckily_, imply only _good fortune_.

251. "The _in-va-lid_ signed a deed, that was _in-val-id_:" p.r.o.nounce the former "_invalid_" with the accent on the _first_ syllable; the _latter_, with the accent on the _second_.

252. "The _duke_ discharged his _duty_." Be careful to give the slender, clear sound of _u_. Avoid saying _dook_ and _dooty_, or _doo_ for _dew_ or _due_. Say _flute_, not _floot_; _suit_, not _soot_; _mute_, not _moot_.

As well might you say _bute_ for _boot_, or _shute_ for shoot.

253. "_Genealogy_, _geography_, and _geometry_ are words of Greek derivation:" beware of saying _geneology_, _jography_, and _jometry_, a very common practice.

254. "He made out the _inventory_:" place the accent in _inventory_ on the syllable _in_, and NEVER on _ven_.

255. "He deserves _chastis.e.m.e.nt_:" say, _chas-tiz-ment_, with the accent on _chas_, and NEVER on _tise_.

256. "He threw the _rind_ away:" never call _rind_, _rine_.

257. "His _knowledge_ is very great:" always p.r.o.nounce _knowledge_ so as to rhyme with _college_, and NEVER say _know-ledge_.

258. "They contributed to his _maintenance_:" p.r.o.nounce _maintenance_ with the accent on _main_, and never say _maintainance_.

259. "She wears a silk _gown_:" never say _gownd_.

260. "Maine is a _maritime_ State:" p.r.o.nounce the last syllable of _maritime_ so as to rhyme with _rim_.

261. "They _desisted_ from their _design_:" p.r.o.nounce the _former s_ in _desisted_ with a soft sound, and _always_ p.r.o.nounce _design_ as if written _de-zine_.

262. "They committed a _heinous_ crime:" p.r.o.nounce _heinous_ as if spelled _hay-nus_; NEVER call the word _hee-nus_ or _hain-yus_.

263. "He _hovered_ about the enemy:" p.r.o.nounce _hovered_ so as to rhyme with _covered_.

264. "He is a powerful _ally_:" _never_ place the accent on _al_ in _ally_, as many do.

265. "_We have never been called, almost, to the consideration_ of the Apocalypse, without finding fresh reasons for our opinion." [Such are the words of a very eminent reviewer.] He should have said, "We have _scarcely ever_ been called," or, "we have _almost never_."

266. "He is very _bigoted_:" never spell the last word with _double t_, a very common mistake.

267. "The _Weekly Tribune_ has a large circulation:" p.r.o.nounce Tribune as if divided _Trib-une_, and not _Try-bune_.

268. "He said _as how_ you _was_ to do it:" say, he said _that you were to do it_.

269. Never say, "_I acquiesce with you_," but, "_I acquiesce in your proposal_, _in your opinion_," &c.

270. "He is a distinguished _antiquarian_:" say, _antiquary_.

_Antiquarian_ is an adjective; _antiquary_, a noun.

271. An injudicious disposition of a clause in a sentence frequently creates great merriment in the reading. In Goldsmith's "History of England," a book remarkable for its carelessness of style, we find the following extraordinary sentence, in one of the chapters of the reign of Queen Elizabeth: "This" [a communication to Mary Queen of Scots] "they effected by conveying their letters to her by means of a brewer that _supplied the family with ale through a c.h.i.n.k in the wall of her apartment_." A queer brewer that--to supply ale through a c.h.i.n.k in the wall! How easy the alteration to make the pa.s.sage clear! "This they effected by conveying their letters to her _through a c.h.i.n.k in the wall of her apartment, by means of a brewer that supplied the family with ale_."

272. "Lavater wrote on _Physiognomy_:" in the last word sound the _g_ distinctly, as _g_ is always p.r.o.nounced before _n_, when it is not in the same syllable; as, _indignity_, &c.

273. "She is a very amiable _girl_:" p.r.o.nounce _girl_ as if written _gurl_; _gal_ is a vulgarism; _gehl_ or _gul_ is an affectation of which many polite persons are guilty.

274. "He built a large _granary_:" _do not_ p.r.o.nounce _granary_ so as to rhyme with _tannery_. Call the word _grainary_. Both p.r.o.nunciations, however, are given by scholars.

275. Beware of using _Oh!_ and _O_ indiscriminately: _Oh!_ is used to express the emotion of _pain_, _sorrow_, or _surprise_; as, "_Oh!_ the exceeding grace of G.o.d." _O_ is used to express _wis.h.i.+ng_, _exclamation_, or a direct _address_ to a person; as,