By Bob Yearick
Where Are the Editors?
• Rita Giordano, in The Philadelphia Inquirer: “He spent the next 10 days devising different methods to try to catch the fox and get it help for the tortuous condition caused by sarcoptic mites that had burrowed into its skin.” Rita was off by one r: Tortuous means twisting, meandering, as in “a tortuous path to the hidden treasure.” The word she wanted is torturous — agonizing, excruciating.
• Jordan Mendoza, in USA TODAY, writing of Penn State’s shot at the college football championship: “It’s right for the taking.” “Ripe for the taking” is the correct phrase. (And, alas, it was not to be.)
• Bryan Alexander, in a USA TODAY review of Original Sin, described Dexter Morgan as “the Miami Metro Police Department blood-spatter expert who moonlit as an avenging mass murderer .” The past tense of moonlight (to work a second job) is moonlighted. Moonlit is an adjective meaning — duh! — lit by the moon.
• Devin Jackson in The Inky, writing about SMU quarterback Kevin Jennings: “Teams have put one fewer player in coverage in an attempt to keep Jennings within the confines of the pocket.” This is that rare instance where the writer uses fewer when he should have written less; usually it’s the reverse. Remember, less is for singular nouns (e.g., player), while fewer is for plurals.
• The News Journal’s Brandon Holveck did an incisive, entertaining review of Jason Kelce’s late-night talk show that unfortunately contained a couple of errors. About one of the show’s guests, Charles Barkley, Brandon wrote: “Barkley was directed to complement the looks of Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow.” Complement, as a verb, means to complete or enhance by providing something additional. The correct word: compliment.
• In the same review was this: “At times, the show felt like a podcast devoid of chemistry. At other points, you could see the outline of a made-for-YouTube clip. Both styles begged the question why.” Which brings us to . . .
Once More into the Breach
I’ve addressed “begs the question” several times, but let’s tilt at this windmill once again with the help of Grammar Girl — Mignon Fogarty. She’s the founder of the Quick and Dirty Tips network and creator of Grammar Girl, which has been named one of Writer’s Digest’s 101 best websites for writers multiple times. Here, with permission, is her explanation:
“Begs the question” means a conclusion is based on a premise that lacks support. It does not mean “raises the question” or “begs that I ask the question.” For example, if Squiggly argues that chocolate is health food because it grows on trees, Aardvark could rightly say Squiggly’s argument begs the question because there’s no proof that something is good for you simply because it grows on trees. It’s a faulty premise.
Even though it’s rare to see “begs the question” used properly, there’s no reason to misuse the phrase. If you mean “raises the question,” say “raises the question.” (For more grammar tips, subscribe to the Grammar Girl podcast.)
Calling a Spayed a Spayed
A female dog or cat that has had its ovaries and uterus removed has been spayed, not spaded, as some people on my neighborhood Facebook page seem to believe.
Department of Redundancies Dept.
Reader Dr. Neil Kaye caught this on CNN, in a report about tunnels in the Faroe Islands: “They’ve built 17 of them on land and four subsea — including the world’s only subsea tunnel with a roundabout that’s underwater.” Asks Neil: “Can you be subsea and not underwater?”
Literally of the Month
Paul Finebaum, on ESPN, claimed that the loss to Michigan “literally blew the top off the Ohio State(football) program.” OSU is doing fine, Paul. They just became National Champions.
Word Term of the Month
Canary in the coal mine
This is an idiom that refers to something or someone that is an early warning of danger. It originated from the practice of taking caged canaries into coal mines; if the air became unsafe due to methane gas, the canaries would die, alerting miners to the danger (hey, coal mining is a tough gig). Example, from The Washington Post: “The stories of senior citizens in distressed economic conditions because of defaulted student loans are merely the canary in the coal mine.”
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