Best. See [At best].
Between. This word is often misused for among; thus, "The word fellow, however much in use it may be between men, sounds very objectionable from the lips of women."—"London Queen." Should be, "among men." Between is used in reference to two things, parties, or persons; among, in reference to a greater number. "Castor and Pollux with one soul between them." "You have among you many a purchased slave."
Blame it on. Here is a gross vulgarism which we sometimes hear from persons of considerable culture. They use it in the sense of accuse or suspect; thus, "He blames it on his brother," meaning that he accuses or suspects his brother of having done it, or of being at fault for it.
Bogus. A colloquial term incompatible with dignified diction.
Both. We sometimes hear such absurd sentences as, "They both resemble each other very much"; "They are both alike"; "They both met in the street." Both is likewise redundant in the following sentence: "It performs at the same time the offices both of the nominative and objective cases."
Bound. The use of this word in the sense of determined is not only inelegant but indefensible. "I am bound to have it," should be, "I am determined to have it."
Bravery—Courage. The careless often use these two words as though they were interchangeable. Bravery is inborn, is instinctive; courage is the product of reason, calculation. There is much merit in being courageous, little merit in being brave. Men who are simply brave are careless, while the courageous man is always cautious. Bravery often degenerates into temerity. Moral courage is that firmness of principle which enables a man to do what he deems to be his duty, although his action may subject him to adverse criticism. True moral courage is one of the rarest and most admirable of virtues.
Alfred the Great, in resisting the attacks of the Danes, displayed bravery; in entering their camp as a spy, he displayed courage.
Bring—Fetch—Carry. The indiscriminate use of these three words is very common. To bring is to convey to or toward—a simple act; to fetch means to go and bring—a compound act; to carry often implies motion from the speaker, and is followed by away or off, and thus is opposed to bring and fetch. Yet one hears such expressions as, "Go to Mrs. D.'s and bring her this bundle; and here, you may fetch her this book also." We use the words correctly thus: "Fetch, or go bring, me an apple from the cellar"; "When you come home bring some lemons"; "Carry this book home with you."
British against American English. "The most important peculiarity of American English is a laxity, irregularity, and confusion in the use of particles. The same thing is, indeed, observable in England, but not to the same extent, though some gross departures from idiomatic propriety, such as different to for different from, are common in England, which none but very ignorant persons would be guilty of in America.... In the tenses of the verbs, I am inclined to think that well-educated Americans conform more closely to grammatical propriety than the corresponding class in England.... In general, I think we may say that, in point of naked syntactical accuracy, the English of America is not at all inferior to that of England; but we do not discriminate so precisely in the meaning of words, nor do we habitually, in either conversation or in writing, express ourselves so gracefully, or employ so classic a diction, as the English. Our taste in language is less fastidious, and our licenses and inaccuracies are more frequently of a character indicative of want of refinement and elegant culture than those we hear in educated society in England."—George P. Marsh.