Every-Day Errors of Speech

by L. P. Meredith

Lapel—la-pĕl´, not lăp´el. That part of a coat which laps over the facing.

Lariat—lăr´i-at, not lā´ri-at. A lasso.

Lay. This word in the sense here considered is a transitive verb, or one in which the action or state implied by the verb, passes over to an object. The present tense is lay; the imperfect tense and past participle are laid; and the present participle laying. Requiring an object in each of the various meanings attached to it, it is proper to say: "The hen lays an egg every day;" "The man laid his load on the ground;" "The rain has laid the dust;" "The hunter is laying a snare." The verb lie is an intransitive verb and can have no object after it. The present tense is lie; the imperfect tense is lay; the past participle is lain; the present participle is lying. Having no objective case to which the action or state passes over, it is correct to say: "Ohio lies north of Kentucky;" "The sick man lay upon the bed yesterday;" "He has lain there helpless for weeks;" "The goods I bought are lying on my hands." Contrasting the sentences under each verb it will be readily seen that Ohio does not lie Kentucky, but the hen lays the egg; the invalid did not lay the bed like the man laid his load; he has not lain anything, as the rain has laid the dust; and the goods are not lying anything, as the hunter is laying the snare. If the foregoing differences have been carefully observed, I imagine that it will always be easy to select the proper word by remembering the following rules:

1. If the person or thing spoken of exerts an action that must pass over to an object, use lay, laid and laying.

2. If the person or thing spoken of exerts an action that does not pass over to an object, use lie, lay, lain and lying.

"He laid upon the bed," then, is incorrect, for the verb has no object. It should be: "He lay upon the bed." But, "He laid himself upon the bed," would be correct, for there is an objective case, himself, supplied. "Let these papers lay," should be, "Let these papers lie." "The ship lays at anchor," should be, "The ship lies at anchor." "The ship laid at anchor," should be, "The ship lay at anchor." "They have laid in wait for you," should be, "They have lain in wait for you." "This trunk is laying in our way," should be, "This trunk is lying in our way." Errors connected with the use of these verbs are more common, probably, than any others in our language, being detected in the conversation and writings of many of the best educated people. Attention to the above rules, and a few trial sentences in the different moods, tenses, numbers and persons, ought to make the selection of the proper word so simple, that persons should seldom make mistakes.

Learn. Learning is done by the scholar or student, and teaching by the instructor. "She will learn me how to play," should be, "She will teach me how to play," etc.

Leasing—leez´ing, not lēs´ing. An obsolete word meaning falsehood; lying. "Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing."—Bible.

Leg. Of late years there has become quite popular a prudish notion that it is indelicate to say leg when one of the limbs that supports the human body is meant, limb being preferred instead. Leg is certainly a less euphonious word than limb, and if the latter had the same signification attached to it, there would be no objection to its employment; but limb means arm just as much as it does leg. There is nothing immodest in the sound or meaning of the word leg; if there were, it would be well to speak of the limb of a table, a limb of mutton, or a three limbed stool; and the mention of such words as legacy or legate should cause the blush to rise to our cheeks. The very use of the word limb indicates what is passing in the mind of the speaker—a thought of leg, an indelicate meaning attached to it, and a fear to speak the word. The mind of the listener is affected similarly and the result is that a conversation intended to be perfectly pure, has a slight stain left upon it. If we could pass through life without ever finding it necessary to speak of our legs to strangers, there would be no danger of compromising ourselves; but run-away and other accidents are constantly occurring in which legs are broken or otherwise injured. When a surgeon is called, if he is told that a limb is injured, he has one chance in four of guessing the riddle. It is not always safe to trifle thus with some of the serious, practical old followers of Esculapius. Before now they have given such rebukes as to make people ashamed that they did not say leg in the first place; or they have left the bedside abruptly with such a remark as: "When you find out whether it is your arm or your leg, send for me again." If people will persist in using limb for leg, it is to be hoped that they will adopt some adjective prefix to remove all ambiguity. How would north-east, south-east, etc., do? Any one informed that the south-east limb was fractured, would know at once that it was the right leg.

Legate—lĕg´ate, not lē´gāte.