By Bob Yearick
Myriad, a Myriad of
You can use either of the above constructions, but variations aren’t allowed. Here’s one misuse and one correct use:
• David Murphy, in The Philadelphia Inquirer, arguing that the Los Angeles Dodgers’ organizational skills are the club’s biggest advantage: “Not the Dodgers’ myriad of other competitive advantages.” Had Murphy deleted of, he would’ve been golden.
• Jarrett Bell, in USA TODAY: “. . . following a training camp practice on Aug. 4, [Aaron] Rodgers, 42, reflected on myriad topics as he gears up for a 22nd and final NFL season.” Bell gets an A for proper use of myriad, and an F for using past and present tense in the same sentence.
Where are the editors?
• Jordan McClements, writing in The News Journal: “John Elway watches us pass him by repeatedly, everyday.” That’s every day — two words. Everyday means mundane, routine. Later in the same editorial: “We don’t look in the mirror besides when we try to banish it like we banish John Elway, the mirror we betray.” He meant “aside from.”
• The iHeart Daily Newsletter, according to reader Joan Burke, declared that, “Lionel Richie is putting the breaks on two of his upcoming concerts after a recent ‘dizzy’ spell onstage forced him to abruptly end a show early.” That’s brakes. And I have no idea why dizzy is in quotes. Oh, and early is superfluous.
Department of Redundancies Dept.
• Ryan Novozinsky, in The Inky: “These traits are the reason why general manager Howie Roseman handed [cornerback Riq Woolen] a one-year deal worth up to $15 million.” The old “reason why” prolixity raises its ugly head once again.
• Headline, also in The Inky: “It will be a process for [Phillies] roster to mesh together.” As opposed to meshing apart?
• From an AP story: “Additionally, Mariners manager Dan Wilson was also suspended one game and will serve his suspension in the series finale . . .”
• Reader Janet Strobert came across this on ABC7.com in an article about Jeopardy winner Caleb Groen: “Groen, a policy and law student, is interning in New York before returning back to Harvard Law School in the fall.” Back is pretty much the only way one can return.
Clanging Danglers
Dangling participles and misplaced modifiers seem to slip by editors at an alarming rate. Two recent examples:
• Ethan Kopelman, in The Philadelphia Inquirer: “Growing up just a half hour from Veterans Stadium, the Oct. 4, 1987, game against the Chicago Bears should have been a true homecoming for [Ron] Fazio.” It was Fazio who grew up near Veterans Stadium, not the Oct. 4, 1987, game.
• Reader Jane Buck submits this from The Newark Post, which quoted Councilman George Irvine thus: “Having raised two sons in Newark, daycare is critically important for working families.” Daycare may have had a hand in it, but Councilman Irvine meant that he had raised two sons in Newark.
Our Broadcast Brethren
Spike Eskin, on 610 WIP Sports Radio, discussing MLB’s proposed salary cap and floor system: “It’s not a salvo for what’s wrong with baseball.” Spike misfired badly, using the term for a kind of attack, usually involving bombs and rockets, instead of what I assume he meant: salve (pronounced sav), meaning a remedial or soothing influence or agency.
Shucks, Let’s Husk
September being the traditional start of oyster season (and continuing through months containing an r, thus ending in April, although modern farming allows oysters to be enjoyed safely year-round), it seems appropriate to discuss shucking, an act that should be associated with oysters — not corn. Some people insist that they are “shucking corn.” No, they are husking corn — literally removing the husk.
Sound Hip/Trendy/In the Know
Learn to use the French term pied-à-terre (literally “foot on the ground”). It describes a living unit, e.g., apartment or condominium, often located in a large city, that is used as a temporary second residence, usually by a wealthy person. Look for it to appear not only in publications like The New Yorker and Vanity Fair, but also in your local sports pages: LeBron James owns a pied-à-terre in NYC, and apparently he will use it as a residence while commuting to 76ers games.
Word of the Month
Bowdlerize
Pronounced bode-le-rize, it’s a verb meaning to expurgate (something, such as a book) by omitting or modifying parts considered vulgar.
Buy The War on Words book at the Hockessin BookShelf, at Huxley & Hiro Booksellers, or on Amazon. Or email me at ryearick@comcast.net.
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