obnoxious: Formerly this word meant “liable, amenable, subject,” but the meaning is sometimes forgotten in the more recently acquired sense, “odious, hurtful.” This difference is beautifully illustrated by a question propounded to Dean Alford—“Which of these two is right, ‘Death is obnoxious to man’ or ‘Men are obnoxious to death?’” Death, or the idea of death, is certainly distasteful to most men, but, this notwithstanding, all men are subject to death.
observance: Distinguish from observation. Though the act of observing is signified by both, it is, as regards observance, in the sense of holding sacred, whereas, so far as observation is concerned it is in the sense of making examination or careful note. Thus there is an observance of the law, but an observation of the works of nature.
occupancy, occupation: The word occupancy differs only slightly from occupation in meaning. The first refers rather to the state or fact of possession, while the second carries with it an idea of the rights or results of such occupancy. The right or legal fact of occupancy entitles a person to occupation at will. One may speak of the occupancy of a domain and the occupation, not occupancy, of a region by troops.
occur, take place: These terms are not always synonymous. Occurrences are due to chance or accident but things take place by arrangement. Compare [TRANSPIRE].
of: That the force of this word is not fully understood is proved by the fact that many ministers choose to omit it from the title of Scriptural books. Dean Alford in referring to the habit of announcing “The Book Genesis” instead of “The Book of Genesis,” says, “This simply betrays the ignorance of the meaning of the preposition of. It is used to denote authorship, as the Book of Daniel; to denote subject matter, as the first Book of Kings; and as a note of apposition signifying which is called, as the Book of Genesis.... The pedant, who ignores of in the reading-desk must however, to be consistent, omit it elsewhere: I left the city London, and passed through County Kent, leaving realm England at town Dover.” Of is also frequently misused for from. Nothing but custom can justify the common form of receipt, “Received of...”.
of any: Sometimes used incorrectly for of all; as, “This is the finest of any I have seen”; say, rather, “finer than any other,” or “finest of all.”
off of: The preposition off, when noting origin and used in the sense of from is frequently followed most ungrammatically by of. No well educated person would say “I got these eggs off of Farmer Jones,” nor would they “buy a steak off of the butcher” but “of” or “from” him. Off should not be used of a person, where from would suffice. You take a book from, not off, your friend; who may take it off a shelf. You do not even, in correct speech, take a contagious disease off him, as though it were something visible and tangible, and were bodily removed from his person.
official: A term sometimes used incorrectly for officer. An official is one holding public office or performing duties of a public nature; usually he is a subordinate officer; an officer is one who holds an office by election or appointment, especially a civil office, as under a government, municipality, or the like.
of the name of. Compare [BY THE NAME OF].
older, oldest: These terms are, according to best usage, applied only to persons belonging to different families or to things, as, Lincoln was older than Hay; this book is the oldest in the library. Compare [ELDER, ELDEST].