Posts filed under 'perplexing pairs'
August 12th, 2008
Two words that are easy to mix up, probably because we don’t get much practice with them, are “demur” and “demure.” They aren’t quite homonyms, but close enough to add to the confusion.
The former, “demur,” is most often used as a verb to mean “to hesitate because of one’s doubts or objections; have scruples; object.” It comes from the Latin “demorari” for “to delay.”
The preferred pronunciation is a “long e” sound on the first syllable. The stress is on the second, which is said the same as the “mur-” in “murder.”
The other word, “demure,” is an adjective meaning “decorous; modest; reserved” or “”affectedly modest or shy; coy.” It traces back to the Latin “maturus” for “mature.”
Its first syllable has a “short i” sound, as in “did,” and the stressed second syllable is pronounced like the “mur-” in “mural.”
It’s understandable that a demure person might demur on using either one.
July 25th, 2008
Early in Mel Brooks’ first movie, “The Producers,” the down-on-his-luck character played by Zero Mostel looks out a window to see a white Rolls-Royce and shouts, “That’s it, baby, when you got it, flaunt it!”
The verbs “flaunt” and “flout” have been known to cause confusion. “Flaunt,” used correctly in the film, is “to make a gaudy, ostentatious, conspicuous, impudent or defiant display.”
It’s the defiant aspect that also appears in “flout”: “to mock or scoff at; show scorn or contempt for” or “to openly disregard, as by rejecting, defying or ignoring.”
Adding to the potential for crossover, it’s often people who are flaunting their own perceived authority who flout that of others –Â the leader of a nation who openly disregards its laws, for instance.
I prefer emphasizing how the two words are different: To “flaunt” is to show off, and to “flout” is to show contempt.
July 9th, 2008
Is there a difference in meaning between “I understand how you feel” and “I know how you feel”? I look at it as the difference between “sympathy” and “empathy.”
The first one, sympathy, is more intellectual: I can imagine what you must be going through, and I share your grief. It works on many levels. That’s why we have sympathy cards instead of empathy cards.
The second, empathy, means I’ve been there, so I know what it’s like. From this perspective, I don’t think males can be empathetic when it comes to childbirth. We should be overflowing with sympathy, though.Â
These are not necessarily accepted distinctions. It’s just the way I look at it. Here are some other takes on the two:
From “Garner’s Modern American Usage” by Bryan A. Garner: ” ‘Empathy’ is the ability to imagine oneself in another person’s position and to experience all the sensations connected with it. ‘Sympathy’ is compassion for or commiseration with another.”
From “Words on Words” by John B. Bremner: ” ‘Empathy’ is stronger and more personal than ’sympathy.’ ‘Empathy’ involves vicarious identification and extends beyond feelings of pity or commiseration to an understanding of the very soul of another.”
From “Right, Wrong, and Risky” by Mark Davidson: “Use ‘empathy’ for the ability to identify with the feelings or thoughts of someone else. Use ’sympathy’ for the spontaneous reaction of pity.”
The dictionary says “empathy” is “the projection of one’s own personality into the personality of another in order to understand the person better” or “ability to share in another’s emotions, thoughts, or feelings.” For “sympathy” it has several definitions, one of them sounding a lot like “empathy”: “an entering into, or the ability to enter into, another person’s mental state, feelings, emotions, etc.”
Still trying to sort them out? I sympathize. Or maybe I empathize. Anyway, I feel your pain.
June 2nd, 2008
Yes, we make mistakes here at the Register Star, and we try to own up to the ones involving factual errors in our reporting by running corrections. Others are catch as catch can.
I’m mentioning this one because it can be instructional, and the lesson, often repeated, is “Watch out for homonyms.”
The correct term for an “abundant or rich source” is “mother lode,” NOT “mother load.” “Lode” is a mining term for a vein or deposit of a valuable substance. A “mother lode” is an especially rich concentration, the mother of all lodes.
This is not to say that mothers are not load-bearing, because they are — and usually to a greater extent than they ever get credit for.
Two other valuable “lode” terms: “lodestone” is specifically a strongly magnetized rock and generally anything that “attracts as with magnetic force”; and “lodestar” is a star used in navigation, especially the North Star, and generally “a guiding principle or ideal.”
May 23rd, 2008
Changing “affect” to “effect” or vice versa is one of the most frequent corrections I’ve made in my career as a copy editor. If these two confuse you, try going with the 90 percent strategy. Nine times out of 10, if you need a verb, choose “affect”; if you need a noun, go with “effect.”
To affect is to “influence; produce a change in; move or stir the emotions of.” We’re “affected” by sad stories. We feel “affection” for friends and family.
“Affect” also can express false emotion or pretense. The result is often an “affectation.”
Use the noun “effect” for the result of being affected. Wagner’s music has a powerful “effect” on you. You were wowed by the movie’s “special effects.” Reclaim your “personal effects” on the way out.
It also appears in the phrases “in effect,” “take effect” and “to the effect.” Adjectives are “effective” and “effectual.”
“Effect” as a verb, as in “to effect changes,” is fairly rare. And it ought to be. It’s weak and stuffy. Make changes, don’t effect them.
May 19th, 2008
The prefix “fore-” means “before in time, place, order or rank,” as in “forenoon” or “foreman.” It also can mean “the front part of,” as in “forehead.”
Remembering this should help avoid the common confusion between “forego” and “forgo.” The former, meaning “precede,” is rarely encountered except in uses such as “foregone conclusion” or “the foregoing statistics.” Note the sense of “before.”
The verb “forgo,” meaning “to do without; abstain from; give up,” is much more common — and commonly misspelled. There is no “e” in it.
A similar pair: the verb “forbear” (”to refrain from; avoid or cease”) and the noun “forebear” (”ancestor”). Some people want to make the latter “forebearer.” Most of us should consider that incorrect.
Next Posts
