LawProse Lessons

venal; venial. “Venal” = purchasable; highly mercenary; amenable to bribes; corruptible. E.g.: “As the world rushes to congratulate Kabila for overthrowing Mobutu, the continent’s most spectacularly venal dictator, terrible things are happening in the deep bush of this ruined country.” “Genocide Stalks Tribal Rivalry,” Pitt. Post-Gaz., 2 June 1997, at A1. “Venial” = slight (used …

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Garner’s Usage Tip of the Day vehicular. Part A: Vehicular homicide. “Vehicular” (/vee-HiK-yuh-luhr/), an adjective dating from about 1900, is not objectionable per se. Several states have “vehicular-homicide statutes,” in which there is no ready substitute for “vehicular.” Part B: Vehicular accident. The phrase is pompous police jargon for “traffic accident,” “car accident,” or (in …

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variation; variance; variant, n. “Variation” = (1) a departure from a former or normal condition, action, or amount; a departure from a standard or type; or (2) the extent of this departure. E.g.: “For those who are willing to experiment, there are as many wonderful variations of kugel as imagination will allow.” Marge Perry, “A …

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utmost, adj.; upmost, adj. The usual word is “utmost” (= most extreme; of the greatest urgency or intensity) {an issue of the utmost importance}. “Upmost” (= highest; farthest up) is a fairly uncommon variant of “uppermost.” Yet writers have begun misusing “upmost” in contexts where “utmost” is called for — e.g.: o “In a competitive …

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unleash. “Unleash” is premised on the analogy of letting a threatening or vicious animal off a leash. But a surprising number of writers have misunderstood that and written the meaningless *”unlease” — e.g.: o “But Mr. Williams unleases [read ‘unleashes’] a fiery temper at managers who fail to make budget.” Eric N. Berg, “Suntrust’s Florida …

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*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 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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trope. “Trope” (/trohp/) means (1) a figure of speech, esp. a word or phrase used metaphorically, or (2) a motif. Sense 1 is the traditional one — e.g.: “And yet he has held on to the trope of product-launch-as-birth; as recently as the days following the launch of the iPhone, he surprised someone who’s known …

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treble; triple. These words are distinguishable though sometimes interchangeable. Outside baseball contexts {he tripled to deep right field}, “trebled” is a common term — e.g.: o “The last time Congress ‘reformed’ campaign finance, it trebled the amount of money that is taken out of the Treasury (your money) and given to presidential candidates.” Theo Lippman …

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transparency. During the accounting scandals of 2001, when elaborate financial arrangements of major corporations were exposed as frauds on their stockholders, “transparency” became a vogue word for no-nonsense openness with information — e.g.: “‘Transparency in financial reporting, both to investors and internally, would make a big difference,’ [Michael] Synk added.” Mark Watson, “Seminar Will Look …

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