Wood On Words
Can’t get enough words about words with Sunday’s newspaper column? Then this blog’s for you, my word-craving friend. I work the late shift, so don’t look for responses until the next day.

Get a grip

May 28th, 2008 at 06:28am Barry Wood

There are three choices with the phrase “get hold of,” and that is by far the preferred one.

A distant second is “get a hold of.”

Way down at the bottom — one usage expert calls it “a horror” — is the colloquial “get ahold of.”

If you’re using this or a similar phrase, take hold of the first one.

If you’re quoting someone who used an “a” in there, grab hold of the second one. Notice it reads the same as the third one.

So there’s really no reason to write “get ahold of,” except when someone is telling you not to, as I just did.

Entry Filed under: get hold of

3 Comments Add your own

  • 1. Lara\'s Web  |  May 28th, 2008 at 9:25 am

    I really am learning things from you. Keep it up. I would like to become an official Woodie.

  • 2. ABigWood  |  May 28th, 2008 at 9:36 pm

    I like Wordz. Thankz fer teauching me abut dem. I fer realz appreciates them. Ur biggest Woody
    -AWood

  • 3. Barry Wood  |  May 28th, 2008 at 11:40 pm

    As far as I know, all it takes to become “an official Woodie” is to express the desire to do so. In other words, you’re in. And thanks for your interest in our wonderfully wacky language.

Leave a Comment

Required

Required, hidden

Security Code:

Some HTML allowed:
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <code> <em> <i> <strike> <strong>

Trackback this post  |  Subscribe to the comments via RSS Feed