Writers Tricks of the Trade Issue 3 Volume 9 | Page 26

•Parameter means a variable and does not
mean a boundary condition, a limit.
Correct: The forecast is based on parameters
like inflation and interest rates. / We need to
work within budgetary limits.
•Phenomena is a plural count noun — not a
mass noun.
Correct: The phenomenon was intriguing, but it
was only one of many phenomena gathered by
the telescope.
•Politically correct means dogmatically left-
liberal and does not mean fashionable, trendy.
[Note: Pinker considers its contemporary roots
as a pejorative term by American and British
conservatives, not its more casual use as mean-
ing inoffensive.]
Correct: "The theory that little boys fight be-
cause of the way they have been socialized is
the politically correct one." / Williamsburg is
the trendy place to live in Brooklyn.
•Practicable means easily put into practice and
does not mean practical.
Correct: His French was practicable in his job,
which required frequent trips to Paris./ Learning
French before taking the job was a practical de-
cision.
•Proscribe means to condemn, to forbid and
does not mean to prescribe, to recommend, to
direct.
Correct: The policy proscribed employees from
drinking at work. / The doctor prescribed an an-
tibiotic.
•Protagonist means active character and does
not mean proponent.
Correct: "Vito Corleone was the protagonist in
'The Godfather.' " / He is a proponent of solar
energy.
•Refute means to prove to be false and does not
mean to allege to be false, to try to refute. [Note:
That is, it must be used only in factual cases.]
F ALL 2019
Correct: His work refuted the theory that the
Earth was flat.
•Reticent means shy, restrainedand does not
mean reluctant.
Correct: He was too reticent to ask her out. /
"When rain threatens, fans are reluctant to buy
tickets to the ballgame."
•Shrunk, sprung, stunk, and sunk are used in
the past participle — not the past tense.
Correct: I've shrunk my shirt. / I shrank my
shirt.
•Simplistic means naively or overly simple and
does not mean simple or pleasingly simple.
Correct: His simplistic answer suggested he
wasn't familiar with the material. / She liked the
chair's simple look.
•Staunch means loyal, sturdy and does not
mean to stanch a flow.
Correct: Her staunch supporters defended her in
the press. / The nurse was able to stanch the
bleeding.
•Tortuous means twisting and does not mean
torturous.
Correct: The road through the forest was tortu-
ous. / Watching their terrible acting for two
hours was a torturous experience.
•Unexceptionable means not worthy of objec-
tion and does not mean unexceptional, ordinary.
Correct: "No one protested her getting the prize,
because she was an unexceptionable choice." /
"They protested her getting the prize, because
she was an unexceptional choice."
•Untenable means indefensible or unsustainable
and does not mean painful or unbearable.
Correct: Now that all the facts have been re-
vealed, that theory is untenable. / Her death
brought him unbearable sadness.
•Urban legend means an intriguing and widely
circulated but false story and does not mean
someone who is legendary in a city.
P AGE 22
W RITERS ’ T RICKS OF THE T RADE