CORRECTIONS & EXPLANATIONS - October 26, 2008

Here are the corrections and explanations for last week's postings.

Monday

ALLEGED/ ALLEGEDLY

“Alleged” is an adjective (technically a participle) meaning supposed, suspected, so-called or assumed.

“Allegedly” is an adverb meaning purportedly or supposedly.

How are "alleged" and "allegedly" misused and overused.

To say that a crime is alleged when there is an obvious victim of the crime or abuse is ridiculous. The crime had been committed; there is no alleged victim or alleged crime; there is a victim and a crime. Thus, in this case, by deduction there is no such thing as an alleged perpetrator. Reporters and writers often make this mistake in a seeming attempt to not influence a case.


Tuesday

PRONUNCIATION/ARTICULATION

“Pronunciation” means the stress that is put on a syllable.
Other words for this are emphasis or accent.
In Canada we should say “finance” with the stress on the second syllable. In the states, the stress is on the first syllable.

“Articulation” is the clarity with which a syllable is spoken. Another word for this is enunciation.
“Little” has two “ts” in the middle and should not be sloppily spoken as “liddle”.


Wednesday

DRAUGHT/DRAFT

“Draft” (n.) means a drawing or sketch, a current of air or a levy such as conscription.
The beer industry has adopted “draft” in place of “draught” for obvious marketing and advertising reasons.

“Draught” (n.) means a current of air such as in a room or chimney, a drawing of a liquid.

Today, the words are almost completely interchangeable.


Thursday

ACCEPT/EXCEPT

“Accept” (v.) means to receive.

“Except” is usually a preposition meaning but or leaving out.
“Except” can be used as a verb such as in , “He excepted the results.” The meaning is that he did not include them in whatever conclusion he was drawing.
The two words are almost perfect antonyms.


Friday

Identify and correct the error in the following entry.

“The number of homicides in Canada went down last year from the year before, although an increasing number of slayings are related to gang warfare, Statistics Canada reported Thursday.”

If “number” refers to all individuals, “are” is acceptable. Normally, “number” is a collective singular noun and a singular verb, “is” is required.

“The number of homicides in Canada went down last year from the year before, although an increasing number of slayings is related to gang warfare, Statistics Canada reported Thursday.”


A GREAT LIFE APHORISM

“Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort.”
Franklin D. Roosevelt said this.


LAST WEEK’S WORDS

“Recrimination” (n.) means an accusation, blame or reproach.

“Interlocutor” (n.) is a person who takes part in a conversation or dialogue with another.

“Acquisitive” (adj.) means greedy, covetous, avaricious or grasping.

“Morbid” (adj.) means gloomy, morose, dark or moody.

“Tipple” (n.) means a cocktail, a pint, a beer, a nip or an intoxicating liquor. As a verb, it means to drink or tip one.

“Tipple” (n.) is a device that is used to overturn a freight car to dump its contents. It also means a place where the cars are emptied of their contents.