"This book is dedicated to my parents, Ayn Rand and God." |
-- anonymous mortal (but only semi-literate) author |
Apostrophes are used to form contractions,
e.g.
it's is a contraction of
it is as in:
It's a lovely day.
Apostrophes are also used to form possessives,
e.g.
Joe's is the possessive of
Joe as in:
Joe's day will come.
But many possessives end in
s
and don't require an additional apostrophe,
e.g.
his as in:
His day will come.
or
its as in:
Its day will come.
And plurals do not require an apostrophe
I'll give you two tens for a twenty.
Not even if they're numbers:
She got 100s on all her tests.
Or abbreviations:
Each line ends with an LF; two LFs make a blank line.
Or numbers abbreviated with an apostrophe:
He loves the swing music of the '30s.
"It's is not, it isn't ain't,
and it's it's, not its, if you mean it is. If you don't, it's its. Then too, it's hers. It isn't her's. It isn't our's either. It's ours, and likewise yours and theirs." |
-- Oxford University Press, Edpress News |
Note that some dictionaries define chomp as being derived from champ. One especially lazy on-line dictionary simply links chomp to the definition for champ, thereby implying that they're identical. The Merriam-Webster entry for champ at <http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/champ> points out that while the verb chomp is a transitive verb, the verb champ can be either transitive or intransitive. In particular, the verb in the expression champing at the bit is intransitive, so it would be ungrammatical to say chomping at the bit (since chomp, being a transitive verb, needs an object); you could say chomping the bit instead, but that really lacks the impact of champing at the bit.CHAMPING: Repetitious, strong opening and closing action of the mouth which produces sounds when the teeth hit together. Champing in swine may be a threat signal, but also is performed by boars during courtship and mating. Definition from Hurnik et al., 1995.- The Encyclopedia of Farm Animal Behaviorchamp v. tr. - To bite or chew upon noisily. v. intr. - To work the jaws and teeth vigorously. Idiom: - champ at the bit To show impatience at being held back or delayed.- The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Many people seem to confuse the term gut-wrenching (extremely distressing or unpleasant - twisting the stomach) with the term heart-rending (arousing deep sympathy - tearing the heart) to get heart-wrenching, and even possibly gut-rending. Heart-rendering, on the other hand, would logically be the process of melting the fat off the heart by heating -- not the same at all!
dudgeonNOUN: A sullen, angry, or indignant humor: "Slamming the door in Meg's face, Aunt March drove off in high dudgeon" (Louisa May Alcott).ETYMOLOGY: Origin unknown.http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entries/49/d0414900.html
This phrase derives from the phrase "dress the balance" which means to adjust the weights on the empty balance scale to show a weight of zero (i.e. tare weight). Thus the "balance" referred to in "redress the balance" is an object (the balance scale), not a state (being balanced).
This expression has its origins in the game of golf. The number of strokes it should take an expert golfer to complete a particular hole or the entire golf course is called its "par." Thus "making par" is considered a good thing, but "par for the course" is used in a less positive, more sardonic sense. For example: "The big corporations used the bail-out funds to finance executive bonuses -- that's just par for the course." Or: "When I got to the bookstore they had just sold the last copy -- par for the course, I guess."
Other terms using the word "par" derive their meaning from the latin word "par" meaning equal or that which is equal (from which golfing surely got the term). Thus, while an above par score in golf is worse than a par score, being above par in every other instance is better and it's desirable to be at least up to par, or on a par with others.
This metaphor relates to sailing, where tacking involves moving indirectly in the direction you wish to go (e.g. into the wind) by taking a sequence of tacks, each one moving obliquely towards the goal. So it means to try a different approach but it also implies overcoming resistance in the process. This colloquialism has nothing to do with manners or tact.
tack(1) n.3. Nautical. a. The position of a vessel relative to the trim of its sails. b. The act of changing from one position or direction to another. c. The distance or leg sailed between changes of position or direction.4. a. A course of action meant to minimize opposition to the attainment of a goal. b. An approach, especially one of a series of changing approaches.- The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
whet tr.v.1. To sharpen (a knife, for example); hone. 2. To make more keen; stimulate: The frying bacon whetted my appetite.- The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
ado n.Fuss, trouble, bother.adieus or adieux n. pl.A farewell.- The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition Copyright 2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
less determinerUSAGE In standard English, less should be used only with uncountable things (less money; less time). With countable things, it is incorrect to use less: thus, less people and less words should be corrected to fewer people and fewer words.- New Oxford American Dictionary
Copyright © 2010 by Oxford University Press, Inc. All rights reserved.
lie verbUSAGE The verb lie ('assume a horizontal or resting position') is often confused with the verb lay ('put something down'), giving rise to incorrect uses such as he is laying on the bed (correct use is he is lying on the bed) or why don't you lie the suitcase on the bed? (correct use is why don't you lay the suitcase on the bed?). The confusion is only heightened by the fact that lay is not only the base form of to lay, but is also the past tense of to lie, so while he is laying on the bed is incorrect, he lay on the bed yesterday is quite correct.- New Oxford American Dictionary
Copyright © 2010 by Oxford University Press, Inc. All rights reserved.
Some people may confuse the adjective predominant with the verb predominate (because they sound a little alike) and come up with syntactic nonsense like: "the predominate mood among policy-makers is optimism." And because of such confusions some weak-willed reference works have started allowing the verb predominate to be used as an adjective (presumably changing the pronounciation of the last syllable to be the more adjectival-sounding "-nit" as opposed to the verb ending "-nate". Don't be fooled!pre·dom'·i·nant adj. 1. Having greatest ascendancy, importance, influence, authority, or force. See Synonyms at dominant. 2. Most common or conspicuous; main or prevalent: the predominant color in a design.- The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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