By Kenneth Rosen
Half of my spring break was spent on the road—Louisiana, North Carolina, Florida—and the other half noticing not only the amount of grammar and spelling errors I’d see from day-to-day, but how many words are used and written differently.
Here at District, I use the 2010 AP Stylebook in conjunction with Webster’s New World College Dictionary, Fourth Edition (“The Official Dictionary of the Associated Press”).
In reviewing my column “Write good: or well,” it was brought to my attention that the word “peruse” was used incorrectly. I spun in my seat and argued that there was no way “peruse” could mean “to read casually” and also “to scrutinize.”
The thought left me perplexed. “How could a word possibly mean one thing and its opposite?” Yet, alas I stand corrected.
I’m left with more confusion as the English language reveals itself as even more confusing than I had thought.
So, without further ado, this week’s lesson: “Which is it?!”
The use of “peruse”: revisited
Webster’s lists three definitions of the word. How else besides hearing it in context will you ever know which it truly is?
To examine in detail; scrutinize
To read carefully or thoroughly; study
To read in a casual or leisurely way
What a trashy mess
In a recent article I reviewed, trash was the subject. I was told it should be spelled “trashcan” or “trashbin” and the author had something completely different. Here are the acceptable AP Style methods:
“Dumpster” is capitalized, as it is a trademark for a large metal trash bin.
Trash bin
Trash container
Hyphy hyphens
I often see writers throw hyphens as “joiners” (as the Stylebook calls them) in places where they do not need to be. A hyphen is used to reduce ambiguity in two or more words that may otherwise be confusing. “In most cases,” the Stylebook says, “[it’s] a matter of taste, judgment and style sense.”
Here are some examples of correct usage:
first-quarter
full-time
know-it-all
two-timer
Use your dictionary and some form of style book, whether it be AP, MLA or Chicago. You do have one, right?
