pull used to designate “influence” is a vulgarism of the street and the political arena that should be discountenanced. “Influence” is a better word.
pupil. Compare [SCHOLAR].
push, the whole: A vulgar phrase used to designate all the persons that form a party: an Anglicism. In English slang “push” is used for “crowd” probably from the proverbial restlessness and crushing in which English crowds usually indulge.
put: For run or ran; as, “You ought to have seen him put”; “Then he put (sometimes, put out) for home”: an archaic usage now appearing as a colloquial Americanism. Stay put in the sense of “remain where (or as) placed” is also an Americanism, never used (unless playfully) by correct speakers.
Q
quantity is properly applied to that which is measurable, as is “number” to that which may be counted. “A quantity of people”; “a quantity of birds,” are both incorrect; substitute the word number in both cases.
quarter of: As applied to time this is incorrect. Such an ambiguity can be avoided by substituting to for of. For example, a quarter of seven is one and three-fourths not a quarter to the hour of seven; yet the phrase “quarter of” is often misapplied to time by persons of average education.
quit is sometimes used incorrectly for cease. You may quit business, but do not ask your companion to “quit fooling.”
quite: In general quite means “to the fullest extent, totally, perfectly”; colloquially, it means “very, considerably.” It is from the French quitte, meaning “discharged,” being the equivalent of the English “quits,” a word used in games to designate when the players are even with one another. Therefore such a phrase as “quite a number” is unjustifiable. “Number” is indefinite in its significance just as are also “few,” “little,” and “some.” As Richard Grant White says, “A cup or a theater may be quite full; and there may be quite a pint in a cup or quite a thousand people in the theater; and neither may be quite full.” Yet Thomas Hughes, author of “Tom Brown’s Schooldays,” wrote in a letter concerning an intercollegiate boat-race “quite a number of young Americans.” The local colloquialism “quite some” is wholly indefensible.