Comments for Grammarist

Comment on Chink vs. kink by Quora

Quora — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 22:32:27 +0000

What term did Knicks announcer Spero Dedes use to describe Lin that got him disciplined?…

My wife is Asian and has some Chinese genes, and it’s not uncommon for her girlfriends, when they’re together engaging in girl talk, to comment on whether another girl has “chinky eyes” or not. The way this is said is not derogatory, but matter-of-…

Comment on Spelled vs. spelt by Pelland

Pelland — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 17:06:00 +0000

The past tense ‘spelt’ is heard quite routinely here in Canada, where it coexists with spelled just as learnt and learned are both commonly found in Canada.

Comment on Preventative vs. preventive by samondisqus

samondisqus — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 14:03:00 +0000

True, the “preventate” pushback does leave the “representate” rejoinder, but there at least we can point to the noun “representation.” Not so “preventation,” one of the reasons I’m still annoyed by “preventative.”

Comment on Alternate vs. alternative by Grammarist

Grammarist — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 12:22:00 +0000

Thank you. We came across this view of “alternate” (that its use in the sense “serving in place of another” is questionable to some) in our original research for this post and considered mentioning it. But we always try to discuss words as they are now used rather than as they are traditionally used, and we find the adjectival use of “alternate” as a synonym of “substitute” or “replacement” to be very common throughout the English-speaking world, at least in news writing. Some examples from U.K. publications can be found here: http://goo.gl/8dZB1. And more from Australian/New Zealand publications: http://goo.gl/tVNOs. Though the older sense of “alternate” remains, the inevitable transition you mention appears already well under way.

But we should probably edit the post to expand on “alternate” and offer some examples of its use in the “every other” sense, as that sense is still common (in the U.S. as well as everywhere else).

Comment on Alternate vs. alternative by shklovsky

shklovsky — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 10:45:00 +0000

‘alternate’ routes should be ‘alternative’ since the plural noun implies more than one choice. The use of ‘alternate’ and ‘alternative’ is different in the UK and much of the English speaking world from the US. ‘Alternate’ is used when things move from one option to another in sequence, from the verb ‘to alternate’. When there is a choice,’ alternative’ is preferred. ‘Alternate’ as a noun (the stand-in actor example )would be ‘alternative’ since it would be an adjectival noun – implying the word ‘choice’- and could be someone else entirely. The American use of these words is rapidly entering the UK and, since gtammatical ‘correctness’ is only determined by use, we will no doubt convert to the American forms in time, but to speak or write of an ‘alternate’ choice still sounds wrong to UK ears!Much simpler to have ‘alternate’ only when changing in sequence and ‘alternative’ for all choices, whether two or more.

Comment on Sceptic vs. skeptic by Tony Wood

Tony Wood — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 03:46:00 +0000

As a Brit living in Australia I would use “sceptic” but as this the first two letters could be pronounced “s” (as in sceptre) rather than “sk” (as in skin) I think I’ll use “skeptic” from here on.

Comment on A lot vs. alot by A lot or alot? | Word Smiths

A lot or alot? | Word Smiths — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 05:47:43 +0000

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Comment on Firing line vs. line of fire by Grammarist

Grammarist — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 05:02:00 +0000

Thank you. Yes, we missed that distinction. It seems that people in the line of fire are (often) innocent bystanders, while people in the firing line are intentionally targeted. So perhaps we should edit the post to say “in the firing line” has become a shortened form of “in front of the firing line,” and “line of fire” is something different.

Comment on Firing line vs. line of fire by Gillian Barker

Gillian Barker — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 04:08:00 +0000

These are not cases of ‘in the firing line’ being used to mean ‘in the line of fire’ (i.e. in a place likely to be struck by bullets). They are cases of its being used to mean ‘in front of the firing line’ i.e. ‘next to be aimed at by those with the job of shooting.’ The sense is similar to being ‘on the chopping block.’ Innocent bystanders can find themselves in the line of fire, but if you are on the firing line they are gunning for you on purpose.

Comment on Bear market, bull market, bearish, bullish by Nitpicker_Dick

Nitpicker_Dick — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 20:42:00 +0000

“Bull and Bear” are not really “good” and “bad” — just “up” and “down” in the stock market. For a person who trades by selling short and buying long, a bear market is just dandy and an unexpected bull market could be disastrous. The terminology really just points to the attitude of traders toward trends in stock prices, and like much Wall Street or financial descriptive lingo it is characteristically evasive metaphor.