Every-Day Errors of Speech Part 7

=Itch=--itch, not ech.

J.

=Jamb=, not _jam_ is the spelling of the side-piece of a door, window or fire-place.

=Jaundice=--jan'dis, not _jan-ders_.

=Jean=--jane, not jeen. A twilled cotton cloth. Written also =jane=.

=Jew's-harp=--juz'harp, not jus'harp.

=Jocund=--jok'und, not jo'kund. =Jocundity=, =jocundly=, =jocundness=, have also the short o.

=Jugular=--ju'gu-lar, not jug'u-lar.

=Jujube=--ju'jube, not ju'ju-be. "Jujube paste."

=Just=, not jest in such sentences as: "I have _just_ done it;" "He has _just_ enough," etc.

K.

=Knoll=--nol, not nol.

L.

=Lamm=, to beat, is not spelled lam nor lamb.

=Lapel=--la-pel', not lap'el. That part of a coat which laps over the facing.

=Lariat=--lar'i-at, not la'ri-at. A la.s.so.

=Lay=. This word in the sense here considered is a transitive verb, or one in which the action or state implied by the verb, pa.s.ses over to an object. The present tense is _lay_; the imperfect tense and past participle are _laid_; and the present participle _laying_. Requiring an object in each of the various meanings attached to it, it is proper to say: "The hen _lays_ an egg every day;" "The man _laid_ his load on the ground;"

"The rain has _laid_ the dust;" "The hunter is _laying_ a snare." The verb _lie_ is an _intransitive_ verb and can have _no object_ after it. The present tense is _lie_; the imperfect tense is _lay_; the past participle is _lain_; the present participle is _lying_. Having no objective case to which the action or state pa.s.ses over, it is correct to say: "Ohio _lies_ north of Kentucky;" "The sick man _lay_ upon the bed yesterday;" "He has _lain_ there helpless for weeks;" "The goods I bought are _lying_ on my hands." Contrasting the sentences under each verb it will be readily seen that Ohio does not _lie_ Kentucky, but the hen _lays_ the egg; the invalid did not _lay_ the bed like the man _laid_ his load; he has not _lain_ anything, as the rain has _laid_ the dust; and the goods are not _lying_ anything, as the hunter is _laying_ the snare. If the foregoing differences have been carefully observed, I imagine that it will always be easy to select the proper word by remembering the following rules:

1. If the person or thing spoken of exerts an action that must pa.s.s over to an object, use _lay_, _laid_ and _laying_.

2. If the person or thing spoken of exerts an action that does not pa.s.s over to an object, use _lie_, _lay_, _lain_ and _lying_.

"He _laid_ upon the bed," then, is incorrect, for the verb has no object. It should be: "He _lay_ upon the bed." But, "He _laid himself_ upon the bed," would be correct, for there is an objective case, _himself_, supplied. "Let these papers _lay_,"

should be, "Let these papers _lie_." "The s.h.i.+p _lays_ at anchor," should be, "The s.h.i.+p _lies_ at anchor." "The s.h.i.+p _laid_ at anchor," should be, "The s.h.i.+p _lay_ at anchor." "They have _laid_ in wait for you," should be, "They have _lain_ in wait for you." "This trunk is _laying_ in our way," should be, "This trunk is _lying_ in our way." Errors connected with the use of these verbs are more common, probably, than any others in our language, being detected in the conversation and writings of many of the best educated people. Attention to the above rules, and a few trial sentences in the different moods, tenses, numbers and persons, ought to make the selection of the proper word so simple, that persons should seldom make mistakes.

=Learn.= _Learning_ is done by the scholar or student, and _teaching_ by the instructor. "She will _learn_ me how to play," should be, "She will _teach_ me how to play," etc.

=Leasing=--leez'ing, not les'ing. An obsolete word meaning falsehood; lying. "Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing."--_Bible._

=Leg.= Of late years there has become quite popular a prudish notion that it is indelicate to say _leg_ when one of the limbs that supports the human body is meant, _limb_ being preferred instead. _Leg_ is certainly a less euphonious word than _limb_, and if the latter had the same signification attached to it, there would be no objection to its employment; but _limb_ means _arm_ just as much as it does _leg_. There is nothing immodest in the sound or meaning of the word _leg_; if there were, it would be well to speak of the _limb_ of a table, a _limb_ of mutton, or a three _limbed_ stool; and the mention of such words as _legacy_ or _legate_ should cause the blush to rise to our cheeks. The very use of the word _limb_ indicates what is pa.s.sing in the mind of the speaker--a thought of _leg_, an indelicate meaning attached to it, and a fear to speak the word. The mind of the listener is affected similarly and the result is that a conversation intended to be perfectly pure, has a slight stain left upon it. If we could pa.s.s through life without ever finding it necessary to speak of our legs to strangers, there would be no danger of compromising ourselves; but run-away and other accidents are constantly occurring in which legs are broken or otherwise injured. When a surgeon is called, if he is told that a _limb_ is injured, he has one chance in four of guessing the riddle. It is not always safe to trifle thus with some of the serious, practical old followers of Esculapius. Before now they have given such rebukes as to make people ashamed that they did not say _leg_ in the first place; or they have left the bedside abruptly with such a remark as: "When you find out whether it is your arm or your leg, send for me again." If people will persist in using _limb_ for _leg_, it is to be hoped that they will adopt some adjective prefix to remove all ambiguity. How would north-east, south-east, etc., do? Any one informed that the _south-east limb_ was fractured, would know at once that it was the _right leg_.

=Legate=--leg'ate, not le'gate.

=Legendary=--lej'end-a-ry, not le'jend-a-ry.

=Leisure=--le'zhur, not lezh'ur, nor la'zhur.

=Leisurely= (le'zhur-ly).

=Length=, not lenth. Every letter is sounded, also, in =lengthy=, =lengthen=, =lengthiness=, etc.

=Lenient=--le'ni-ent, not len'i-ent. =Leniently= (le'ni-ent-ly), etc.

=Lethe=--le'the, not leth; the _th_ is as in _both_. The mythological and poetical name of a river of the infernal region, the drinking of a portion of which caused forgetfulness of the past.

=Lethean=--le-the'an, not le'the-an.

=Let's.= It should be remembered that _let's_ is really _let us_, the apostrophe denoting the elision of the u. Such expressions then as: "let's us go," "let's him and me go," should he, "let us go" (or let's go), and "let him and me go;" for who wishes to say "let us us go," or "let us him and me go."

=Leverage=--lev'er-aje, not le'ver-aje.

=Licorice=--lik'o-ris, not lik'er-ish.

=Lie.= See =Lay=.

=Lien=--le'en or li'en, not _leen_. A charge upon property for the satisfaction of a debt.

=Lighted= is preferable to lit as the imperfect tense and past participle of _light_. "He _lighted_ the gas," instead of, "He _lit_ the gas." "I have _lighted_ the fire," instead of, "I have _lit_ the fire." The same remarks apply to the imperfect and participle of _light_ taken as an intransitive verb. "The bird has _lighted_ upon the tree," instead of, "has _lit_ upon the tree." _Lit_ is condemned as common.

=Lithographer=--li-thog'ra-pher, not lith'o-graph-er, nor li-thog'ra-pher. =Lithography= (li-thog'ra-phy).

=Loath=--loth, not loth; the _th_ is as in _both_.

Reluctant. Written sometimes =loth=. The verb is =loathe=, with the _th_ as in _breathe_.

=Lyceum=--li-se'um, not li'se-um.

M.

=Machiavelian=--mak-i-a-vel'ian, not mash-i-a-vel'ian.

pertaining to Machiavel; politically cunning.

=Mad.= In the sense of provoked, wrathful or indignant, _angry_ is generally considered the more appropriate word. "_Mad as a March hare_," is an indelicate term that should not be used on account of its origin.

=Madame=--ma-dam', not mad'am.

=Magna Charta=--magna kar'ta, not magna char'ta.

=Manes=--ma'nez, not manz. The souls of the dead.