lot or lots: A slipshod colloquialism for “great many”; as, “We sold a lot of tickets”; “He has lots of friends”; to be avoided, as are all other vague, ill-assigned expressions, as tending to indistinctness of thought and debasement of language. Compare [HEAP].
love. Compare [LIKE].
lovelily: To the general exclusion of this word, lovely is now made to do duty both as adverb and adjective.
lovely: A valuable word in proper use, as applied to that which is adapted and worthy to win affection; but as a colloquialism improperly applied indiscriminately to every form of agreeable feeling or quality. A bonnet is lovely, so is a house, a statue, a friend, a poem, a bouquet, a poodle, a visit; and it is even said after an entertainment, “The refreshments were lovely!”—all examples of careless diction.
low-priced: Often confounded with cheap. A thing is cheap when its price is low compared with its intrinsic worth, it is low-priced when but little is paid or asked for it. A low-priced article may be dear; a cheap article may not be low-priced; as, “One horse was low-priced (he paid only $50 for it), and it was dear at that price; the other cost him $500, but was cheap at that price.”
lurid should not be used for brilliant. Lurid means “giving a ghastly, or dull-red light, as of flames mingled with smoke, or reflecting or made visible by such light.”
luxuriant, luxurious: These words are not identical in sense. The former signifies growth, as “hair of luxuriant growth”; the latter implies luxury, as “luxurious ease.”
“But grace abused brings forth the fondest deeds,
As richest soil the most luxuriant weeds.”