A Book About Words

by G. F. Graham

‘Either’ and ‘neither’ cannot be properly applied to more than two persons or things. Speaking of three or four people, it is incorrect to say that ‘neither’ of them is clever, though we may say that ‘none,’ or ‘no one,’ of them is clever. Nor would it be good grammar to say, ‘either of the six children may go;’ we must here say ‘any one.’

‘All of them.’ This is a form which some critics have attacked, and not without reason. They say that ‘of’ here means ‘out of;’ that it corresponds exactly with the Latin preposition e, or ex, and that therefore the expression must be incorrect. We do not take ‘all of them,’ but we take ‘them all.’ We may correctly say one, two, three, &c., or most of them, but when there is question of all, no preposition should be used.

‘Equanimity of mind.’ As equanimity means evenness of mind, why should ‘of mind’ be repeated? ‘Anxiety of mind’ is, of course, open to the same objection.

‘Incorrect orthography.’ The fault in this very common expression arises from the idea that ‘orthography’ means merely spelling (good or bad), whereas the true meaning of the word is ‘correct spelling.’ Now, spelling cannot be correct and at the same time incorrect, and therefore the two terms are incompatible. We may say ‘incorrect spelling,’ but we must not say ‘incorrect orthography.’

‘A confirmed invalid.’ What is this? one who is strengthened in his weakness? There is certainly here a contradiction, for no weakness can be strong.

‘Old news’ is another contradictory form, where the terms are incompatible with each other. It may be placed in the same class with ‘enjoying bad health.’

It is inaccurate to say that a man’s ‘defects are improved.’ A defect means the want of some good quality, and to ‘improve’ means ‘to make better.’ Wants may be ‘decreased’ or ‘supplied,’ but they cannot be made better; and, therefore, the two terms should not be used together.

It is a common error to use ‘quantity’ for ‘number.’ The former can only be said of a collection or mass. A ‘quantity’ of meat or a ‘quantity’ of milk is good English, but not a quantity of pens or books, &c. To separate individual objects we must apply ‘number,’ but to a collected mass ‘quantity.’ We may say a ‘quantity’ of wood, but it must be a ‘number’ of faggots.

In many cases the wrong preposition is used; and, indeed, there are few writers or speakers who are invariably correct in this respect. The very common fault, ‘different to,’ we need hardly stop to inquire into, but we often find equally wrong forms which pass unnoticed. Occasionally we meet with ‘to disagree from,’ though in general the form used is ‘to disagree with.’ Here the ‘dis’ in ‘disagree’ and the preposition ‘with’ seem to pull two ways. Which, then, is right—to disagree from or with? The proper phrase is to ‘assent to’ and to ‘dissent from;’ and if the latter is correct, why not also ‘to disagree from?’

As it is admitted that ‘different to’ is wrong, on the same principle, ‘averse to’ must be wrong. No one can go two ways at once. The a in ‘averse’ certainly means ‘from;’ and therefore the word should be followed by ‘from,’ and not ‘to.’ The first is already adopted by many good writers.