Bryan A. Garner

Garner’s Usage Tip of the Day: uncharted.

Bryan A. Garner / By
uncharted. “Uncharted” (= unmapped), as in “uncharted territory,” is often wrongly written “unchartered” — e.g.: o “He believes this latest frontier in communications is an unchartered [read ‘uncharted’] territory bound to attract Wild West-type outlaws.” Stephen Rodrick, “Cyberstoned,” Star Trib. (Minneapolis), 22 May 1995, at A10. o “This was not the Africa of Tarzan lore, …

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Garner’s Usage Tip of the Day: *uncategorically.

1 Comment / Bryan A. Garner, LawProse Lessons / By
*uncategorically. *”Uncategorically” is a silly but distressingly common malapropism for “categorically” (= unconditionally, without qualification). And it has gotten wide exposure. In 1991, Judge Clarence Thomas, testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee, “uncategorically” denied that he had discussed pornographic materials with Ms. Anita Hill: “Senator, I would like to start by saying unequivocally, uncategorically, that …

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Garner’s Usage Tip of the Day: Miscellaneous Entries.

Bryan A. Garner / By
Miscellaneous Entries. trauma, in pathology, means “a serious wound or shock to the body,” but in popular contexts it has been largely confined to figurative (emotional) senses. travel, vb., makes “traveled” and “traveling” in American English, “travelled” and “travelling” in British English. travelogue (= a lecture or film documentary about travel to a particular place) …

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Garner’s Usage Tip of the Day: unbeknown; unbeknownst.

Bryan A. Garner / By
unbeknown; unbeknownst. George P. Krapp suggested that both forms are humorous, colloquial, and dialectal (A Comprehensive Guide to Good English 602 [1927]). The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Current English likewise suggests that both are colloquial. Eric Partridge and John Simon have written, in conformity with the Oxford English Dictionary, that “unbeknown” is preferred over the …

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LawProse Lesson #145: *Is comprised of

Bryan A. Garner, LawProse Lessons / By
*Is comprised of Fastidious use of comprise has become increasingly rare. Garner’s Modern American Usage labels the form *is comprised of as “invariably inferior” (that’s what the asterisk signifies), yet gauges its acceptance in actual use as Stage 4 on the 5-stage “language-change index.” To you as a legal writer, that means using the phrase …

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Garner’s Usage Tip of the Day: unaware; unawares.

Bryan A. Garner / By
unaware; unawares. Properly, “unaware” is the adjective {I am unaware of that book} and “unawares” the adverb {the rainstorm caught us unawares}. Thus, *”taken unaware” and *”caught unaware” are mistakes for the set phrases “taken unawares” and “caught unawares” — e.g.: o “And Denver was taken unaware [read ‘unawares’] when huge telephone boxes began appearing …

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Garner’s Usage Tip of the Day: tyrannical; tyrannous.

Bryan A. Garner / By
tyrannical; tyrannous. Though the senses often seem to merge, “tyrannical” means “like a tyrant,” while “tyrannous” means “like a tyranny.” In the following example, it can be readily seen that a tyrant is being suggested: “Is Parks and Recreation Commissioner Harry Stern a tyrannical despot who deprives hobbyists of their natural right to troll for …

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Garner’s Usage Tip of the Day: type of.

Bryan A. Garner / By
type of. “Type of,” like “kind of,” “sort of,” and “variety of” — is often used unnecessarily and inelegantly. But when the word “type” does appear, it must have its “of” — which is unfortunately dropped in the following examples. They are typical of the modern American colloquial trend: o “The Cloister is exquisitely beautiful …

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Garner’s Usage Tip of the Day: Miscellaneous Entries.

Bryan A. Garner / By
Miscellaneous Entries. transmittal; transmission; *transmittance. “Transmittal” is more physical than “transmission,” just as “admittance” is more physical than “admission.” “Transmittal,” though labeled rare in the Oxford English Dictionary, is common in American English, especially in the phrase “transmittal letter” (= a cover letter accompanying documents or other things being conveyed to another). *”Transmittance” is a …

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Garner’s Usage Tip of the Day: turbid; turgid; turpid; torpid.

Bryan A. Garner / By
turbid; turgid; turpid; torpid. “Turbid” = (of water) muddy, thick; (fig.) disordered. “Turgid” = swollen, distended, bloated, as with fluid — and by extension, it means “pompous.” “Turpid” is a rare word meaning “filthy, worthless”; it’s related to the word “turpitude” (= baseness, depravity). “Torpid” = dormant, sluggish, apathetic. “Turbid” is sometimes erroneously displaced by …

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Garner’s Usage Tip of the Day: tu quoque.

Bryan A. Garner, LawProse Lessons / By
Garner’s Usage Tip of the Day tu quoque. “Tu quoque” (/too KWOH-kwee/ [lit., “you also”] = a retort in kind; accusing an accuser of a similar offense) is a phrase that traditionally serves as a noun — e.g.: “Such gatekeepers of the right as Irving Kristol and Robert Bartley blithely promote their flat-earth ideas with …

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LawProse Lesson #144: “Less” vs. “fewer”

Bryan A. Garner, LawProse Lessons / By
Less vs. fewer Use fewer when referring to individual or countable things {fewer than ten chairs} {fewer questions asked by judges}. Use less when referring to volume, quantity, or degree {less influence on the jurors}, mass or bulk nouns {less water in the glass}, or units of measure or time {less than three ounces} {less …

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Garner’s Usage Tip of the Day: trustee, n.

Bryan A. Garner / By
trustee, n. Part A: And “trusty.” Trustee (/truhs-TEE/) = a person who, having a nominal title to property, holds it in trust for the benefit of one or more others (the beneficiaries). “Trusty” (/TRUHS-tee/), n., is an Americanism meaning “a (trusted) convict or prisoner.” E.g.: “Because five jail trusties, supervised by the St. John Sheriff’s …

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Garner’s Usage Tip of the Day: Miscellaneous Entries.

Bryan A. Garner / By
Miscellaneous Entries. transformational; transformative. “Transformational” is the broader term, meaning “of or characterized by a change of form or substance.” “Transformative” means causing or (less commonly) susceptible to such a change. transfusible. So spelled — not *”transfusable.” transgression for “transition” is a malapropism — e.g.: “Ms. Ash said the laser center ‘is a natural transgression …

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Garner’s Usage Tip of the Day: truculent.

Bryan A. Garner / By
truculent. “Truculent” = (1) cruel, savage; or (2) aggressively defiant; challengingly sulky; disagreeably feisty. Although sense 2 was once condemned as a slipshod extension, today it is the ordinary use — e.g.: o “The Oilers acquired Edmonton native Brantt Myhres, a truculent left winger, from the Tampa Bay Lightning yesterday in exchange for a conditional …

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Garner’s Usage Tip of the Day: troubleshoot / troubleshot / troubleshot.

Bryan A. Garner / By
troubleshoot / troubleshot / troubleshot. “Troubleshoot” is so inflected. The erroneous past-tense and past-participial form *”troubleshooted” sometimes appears — e.g.: o “Throughout the evening she troubleshooted [read ‘troubleshot’], greeted guests, mourned the winning low bid on a set of top-notch golf clubs placed by mistake on the silent-auction table, and worried about how the crowd …

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LawProse Lesson #143: When should you use a comma between two adjectives?

Bryan A. Garner, LawProse Lessons / By
When should you use a comma between two adjectives? Use a comma to separate coordinate adjectives — adjectives that qualify a noun in the same way {a long, complex trial}. To test whether the modifiers are coordinate, either (1) reverse their order, keeping the comma {a complex, long trial}, or (2) add and between them …

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Garner’s Usage Tip of the Day: trooper; trouper.

Bryan A. Garner / By
trooper; trouper. “Trooper” = (1) a cavalry soldier or horse; (2) a police officer mounted on horseback; or (3) a state police officer. “Trouper” = (1) a member of an acting troupe; (2) one who handles adversity well; or (3) a loyal, dependable person. The proper expression, then, is “real trouper” (sense 2), not *”real …

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Garner’s Usage Tip of the Day: Miscellaneous Entries.

Bryan A. Garner / By
Miscellaneous Entries. transatlantic; *trans-Atlantic. The former is the standard spelling — on both sides of the Atlantic. “Transpacific” follows the same standard. transcendent; transcendental. “Transcendent” = surpassing or excelling others of its kind; preeminent. It is loosely used by some writers in the sense “excellent.” “Transcendental” = supernatural; mystical; metaphysical; superhuman. The adverbial forms are …

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