Ambrose Bierce - Write it right : a little blacklist of literary faults

The author's main purpose in this book is to teach precision inwriting; and of good writing (which, essentially, is clear thinkingmade visible) precision is the point of capital concern. It isattained by choice of the word that accurately and adequatelyexpresses what the writer has in mind, and by exclusion of that whicheither denotes or connotes something else. As Quintilian puts it, thewriter should so write that his reader not only may, but must,understand.

Few words have more than one literal and serviceable meaning, howevermany metaphorical, derivative, related, or even unrelated, meaningslexicographers may think it worth while to gather from all sorts andconditions of men, with which to bloat their absurd and misleadingdictionaries. This actual and serviceable meaningnot alwaysdetermined by derivation, and seldom by popular usageis the oneaffirmed, according to his light, by the author of this little manualof solecisms. Narrow etymons of the mere scholar and loose locutionsof the ignorant are alike denied a standing.

The plan of the book is more illustrative than expository, the aimbeing to use the terms of etymology and syntax as little as iscompatible with clarity, familiar example being more easilyapprehended than technical precept. When both are employed the preceptis commonly given after the example has prepared the student to applyit, not only to the matter in mind, but to similar matters notmentioned. Everything in quotation marks is to be understood asdisapproved.

Not all locutions blacklisted herein are always to be reprobatedas universal outlaws. Excepting in the case of capitaloffendersexpressions ancestrally vulgar or irreclaimablydegenerateabsolute proscription is possible as to seriouscomposition only; in other forms the writer must rely on his sense ofvalues and the fitness of things. While it is true that somecolloquialisms and, with less of license, even some slang, may besparingly employed in light literature, for point, piquancy or any ofthe purposes of the skilled writer sensible to the necessity and charmof keeping at least one foot on the ground, to others the virtue ofrestraint may be commended as distinctly superior to the joy ofindulgence.

Precision is much, but not all; some words and phrases are disallowedon the ground of taste. As there are neither standards nor arbiters oftaste, the book can do little more than reflect that of its author,who is far indeed from professing impeccability. In neither taste norprecision is any man's practice a court of last appeal, for writersall, both great and small, are habitual sinners against the light; andtheir accuser is cheerfully aware that his own work will supply (as inmaking this book it has supplied) many "awful examples"his laterwork less abundantly, he hopes, than his earlier. He neverthelessbelieves that this does not disqualify him for showing by otherinstances than his own how not to write. The infallible teacher isstill in the forest primeval, throwing seeds to the white blackbirds.

A.B.

A for An. "A hotel." "A heroic man." Before an unaccented aspirateuse an. The contrary usage in this country comes of too stronglystressing our aspirates.

Action for Act. "In wrestling, a blow is a reprehensible action."A blow is not an action but an act. An action may consist of manyacts.

Admission for Admittance. "The price of admission is one dollar."

Admit for Confess. To admit is to concede something affirmed. Anunaccused offender cannot admit his guilt.

Adopt. "He adopted a disguise." One may adopt a child, or anopinion, but a disguise is assumed.

Advisedly for Advertently, Intentionally. "It was doneadvisedly" should mean that it was done after advice.

Afford. It is not well to say "the fact affords a reasonablepresumption"; "the house afforded ample accommodation." The factsupplies a reasonable presumption. The house offered, or gave, ampleaccommodation.

Afraid. Do not say, "I am afraid it will rain." Say, I fear that itwill rain.

Afterwards for Afterward.

Aggravate for Irritate. "He aggravated me by his insolence." Toaggravate is to augment the disagreeableness of something alreadydisagreeable, or the badness of something bad. But a person cannot beaggravated, even if disagreeable or bad. Women are singularly prone tomisuse of this word.

All of. "He gave all of his property." The words are contradictory:an entire thing cannot be of itself. Omit the preposition.

Alleged. "The alleged murderer." One can allege a murder, but not amurderer; a crime, but not a criminal. A man that is merely suspectedof crime would not, in any case, be an alleged criminal, for anallegation is a definite and positive statement. In their tiresomeaddiction to this use of alleged, the newspapers, though having mainlyin mind the danger of libel suits, can urge in further justificationthe lack of any other single word that exactly expresses theirmeaning; but the fact that a mud-puddle supplies the shortest route isnot a compelling reason for walking through it. One can go around.

Allow for Permit. "I allow you to go." Precision is betterattained by saying permit, for allow has other meanings.

Allude to for Mention. What is alluded to is not mentioned, butreferred to indirectly. Originally, the word implied a playful, orsportive, reference. That meaning is gone out of it.

And so. And yet. "And so they were married." "And yet a woman."Omit the conjunction.

And which. And who. These forms are incorrect unless the relativepronoun has been used previously in the sentence. "The colt, spiritedand strong, and which was unbroken, escaped from the pasture." "JohnSmith, one of our leading merchants, and who fell from a windowyesterday, died this morning." Omit the conjunction.

Antecedents for Personal History. Antecedents are predecessors.

Anticipate for Expect. "I anticipate trouble." To anticipate is toact on an expectation in a way to promote or forestall the eventexpected.

Anxious for Eager. "I was anxious to go." Anxious should not befollowed by an infinitive. Anxiety is contemplative; eagerness, alertfor action.

Appreciate for Highly Value. In the sense of value, it means valuejustly, not highly. In another and preferable sense it means toincrease in value.

Approach. "The juror was approached"; that is, overtures were madeto him with a view to bribing him. As there is no other single wordfor it, approach is made to serve, figuratively; and being graphic, itis not altogether objectionable.