21. “John is my oldest brother:” say, eldest. Elder and eldest are applied to persons—older and oldest to things. Usage, however, does not make these distinctions imperative.
22. “The cloth was wove in a very short time:” say, woven.
23. “I prefer the yolk of an egg to the white:” the more common word is yelk, with the l sounded; but if yolk be used, it should be pronounced like yoke.
24. Sparrowgrass: it is only the grossest ignorance which confounds this word with asparagus. The same is the case with ing-uns for onions. A man in an obscure section of New Jersey, inquiring at a country store for onions, was told that there were none in the place. On his going out, the storekeeper turned to half a dozen idlers sitting round the stove, and said, “I wonder if that ’tarnal fool meant ing-uns!”
25. “You are very mischievous:” pronounce mischievous with the accent on mis, and not on chie, and do not say mischievious (mis-cheev-yus).
26. The following words were posted, as a sign, in a reading-room—“No Talking Allowed;” which was designed to prohibit all conversation. A wag altered the inscription so as to read, “No Talking Aloud,” which (he declared) did not prevent whispering, and chatting in low tones. What shall be said of the following—“No Smoking Aloud?”
27. “No extras or vacations:” [from the prospectus of a schoolmistress:] say, nor vacations.
28. “He was never known to be covetous:” pronounce covetous as if written covet us, and not covetyus.
29. The Three R.’s.—An ignorant and vain pedagogue, on being asked what he could teach, replied, “The three R.’s—’ritin’, ’rethmetic, and readin’.” Any persons among the readers of this little book, who may chance to be schoolmasters, are warned against giving such a course of instruction.
30. “Dearly beloved brethren:” when beloved is placed before the noun, as in this instance, pronounce it in three syllables; when placed after, in two syllables, as, “She was much be-loved by us all.” When used as a noun by itself, it is pronounced in three syllables; as, “Be-lov-ed, let us love one another.”