sealing. Compare [CEILING].
search me: A colloquialism used usually as a noncommital reply to an interrogatory and best rendered by a decisive answer as, “I don’t know.”
seasonable, timely: These terms are not synonymous. That which is seasonable is in harmony or keeping with the season or occasion; that which is timely is in good time. A thing may be timely in appearance that is not seasonable.
see, witness: These words are not synonymous. See is used of things, witness of events. Thus, we may see soldiers, but witness a review; see a man, but witness an assault.
seem. Compare [APPEAR].
seldom or ever: A very common error for “seldom if ever.” One may say “I seldom if ever speak so,” meaning to imply doubt; thus, “I seldom speak so if indeed I ever do.” An alternative form is “I seldom or never speak so,” which is more emphatic and implies personal opinion, as “I speak so very seldom or (according to my belief) probably never.”
semi-occasionally: A meaningless expression for “once in a while” which is decidedly preferable.
sensation should not be used for “noteworthy event.”
sensual, sensuous: These are not synonymous terms. A sensual man is one who is given to the inordinate indulgence of his animal appetites; a sensuous one is one who has a warm appreciation for the beautiful and is keenly alive to sense-affecting influences.