"The heroes prayed, and Pallas from the skies
Accords their vow."—Pope.
The goddess of wisdom, when she granted the prayers of her worshipers, may be said to have accorded; not so, however, when the clerks of our Sub-Treasury answer the inquiries of their chief.
Accuse. See [Blame it on].
Acquaintance. See [Friend].
Ad. This abbreviation for the word advertisement is very justly considered a gross vulgarism. It is doubtful whether it is permissible under any circumstances.
Adapt—Dramatize. In speaking and in writing of stage matters, these words are often misused. To adapt a play is to modify its construction with the view of improving its form for representation. Plays translated from one language into another are usually more or less adapted; i. e., altered to suit the taste of the public before which the translation is to be represented. To dramatize is to change the form of a story from the narrative to the dramatic; i. e., to make a drama out of a story. In the first instance, the product of the playwright's labor is called an adaptation; in the second, a dramatization.
Adjectives. "Very often adjectives stand where adverbs might be expected; as, 'drink deep,' 'this looks strange,' 'standing erect.'
"We have also examples of one adjective qualifying another adjective; as, 'wide open,' 'red hot,' 'the pale blue sky.' Sometimes the corresponding adverb is used, but with a different meaning; as, 'I found the way easy—easily'; 'it appears clear—clearly.' Although there is a propriety in the employment of the adjective in certain instances, yet such forms as 'indifferent well,' 'extreme bad,' are grammatical errors. 'He was interrogated relative to that circumstance,' should be relatively, or in relation to. It is not unusual to say, 'I would have done it independent of that circumstance,' but independently is the proper construction.
"The employment of adjectives for adverbs is accounted for by the following considerations:
"(1.) In the classical languages the neuter adjective may be used as an adverb, and the analogy would appear to have been extended to English.