Readers: Because our language is not perfect, words have, for a variety of reasons, become twisted so that people now use them in ways different or even opposite from their intended meaning. Each of these sentences uses the word wrong at least once, and sometimes both times. Remember, it’s all about clarity! If people aren’t sure what you mean, you have failed as a communicator.
1. Denny’s impacted tooth impacted his quality of life.
The impacted tooth is OK. But repeat after us: “Impact is not a verb. Impact is not a verb. Impact is not a verb!” OK, the dictionary disagrees, but trust us. It’s jargon.
2. The immigrants gazed hopefully toward America. Hopefully, they got there. Later, the immigrants thankfully kissed the ground. Thankfully, they’d survived the dangerous journey.
These are all-star goofs. In both cases, the first reference is wrong. While you can hopefully look toward America, “hopefully” does NOT mean “It’s hoped that…” And you can thankfully kiss the ground, but “thankfully” does not mean the world is thankful.
3. The train will be stopping momentarily, but it will be stopping momentarily.
“Momentarily” means “for a moment,” not “in a moment.” If your plane is landing “momentarily,” that’s bad! “Wait,” you say. “Context makes this clear.” Not always. In the example we gave, you’re not sure whether you’re being told that the train is about to stop, or that the stop will be brief. Important if that’s your stop.
4. Hollywood director Spike Jones filmed the debate live, but also filmed it.
It can be argued “film” has gone the way of “dialing the phone.” No one physically turns a dial on a phone anymore, so the evolution of that word isn’t a problem. But “filming” refers to recording something on actual film, and some people still are doing that. “Taped” no longer works either as a colloquial, since virtually nothing is recorded on magnetic tape, but, rather, on memory cards. Say, “recorded” or “shot.” You certainly don’t film something live. You broadcast or stream it live.
5. Make sure you have plenty of funds in your fund.
A fund is a bank account. Money is not “funds.”
6. I finished my dentist's appointment and made an appointment for my next appointment.
Your visit to the doctor is not an appointment. It’s a visit. An appointment is something you mark in your calendar. Substitute “reservation” for “appointment” and you see how it doesn’t work.
7. Police will not identify the person killed in the crash, although they have identified him.
Don’t say police haven’t identified the person. Unless they say otherwise, they know exactly who it is. They just, for whatever reason, don’t want to tell the public yet. Say, “Police will not name the person killed in the crash.”
8 The deadly bomb caused a deadly explosion.
“Deadly” means having the potential to kill. A missile heading toward a plane is deadly, but a plane crash isn’t deadly. No potential to speak of. It already happened.
9. Falling between the cracks.
Besides being another brutal cliché, it’s wrong. Things fall through the cracks. The part between the cracks is the floor. Nothing will fall through that.
Watch this on video! https://youtu.be/_2-c0SVy67w
Next time: Homophones
Readers: "Something Went Horribly Wrong," features samples of bad writing we see nearly every day. You can participate! Be our duly deputized “grammar police:” Your motto: “To protect and correct.” Send in your photos of store signs, street signs, newspaper headlines, tweets, and so on. It doesn’t have to be a grammatical error. It can be just what we call “cowardly writing.” Include your name and home town so we properly can credit you. You're free to add a comment, although we reserve the right to edit or omit. Now get out there! Send to Eliot@eliotkleinberg.com