ʌnˈplɛd Unpled: (legal) not used as an argument; undefended by evidence This Court has been unable to find any case in which a plaintiff has sought such a drastic remedy in the contest of an election, in terms of the sheer volume of votes asked to be invalidated. One might expect that when seeking such … Continue reading Unpled
Tag Archives: Usage
Latin Plurals: Nouns Ending In -um
A discussion of the plural form of nouns ending in -um, most (but not all) of which derive from Latin
Benjamin Dreyer: Dreyer’s English
This book [… is] my chance to share with you, for your own use, some of what I do, from the nuts-and-bolts stuff that even skilled writers stumble over to some of the fancy little tricks I’ve come across or devised that can make even skilled writing better. Benjamin Dreyer was a copy editor at … Continue reading Benjamin Dreyer: Dreyer’s English
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Latin Plurals: Nouns Ending In -a
A discussion of the plurals of nouns ending in -a, many (but not all) of which are of Latin origin
Latin Plurals: Nouns Ending in -us
A discussion of the plurals of nouns ending in -us, most (but not all) of which derive from Latin
Bogus
ˈbəʊɡəs bogus (noun): a press for producing counterfeit coins; a counterfeit coinbogus (adjective): not real, counterfeit, existing in order to deceivebogus (adjective, 21st Century): bad, wrong, inappropriate Bogus is a potentially expensive word. Back in 2008, the science writer Simon Singh wrote an opinion piece for The Guardian newspaper, entitled “Beware The Spinal Trap“, in … Continue reading Bogus
Serendipity
sɛrɛnˈdɪpɪtɪ serendipity: The faculty of making happy and unexpected discoveries by accident. Also, the fact or an instance of such a discovery People like the word serendipity—there’s something cheerful and unexpected about that “-dipity” ending which makes them want to say it or write it, and so its original meaning has gradually eroded away. The … Continue reading Serendipity
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Nosism
ˈnɒsɪz(ə)m nosism: The use of “we” in stating one’s own opinions. Two minutes later, a man called Chamberlain who did Prime Minister impressions spoke on the wireless; he said, “As from eleven o’clock we are at war with Germany.” (I loved the WE.) Spike Milligan, Adolf Hitler: My Part In His Downfall (1971) Milligan is … Continue reading Nosism