Write It Right - A Little Blacklist of Literary Faults by Ambrose Bierce
page 36 of 59 (61%)
page 36 of 59 (61%)
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soldier in battle is obnoxious to danger.
_Occasion_ for _Induce_, or _Cause_. "His arrival occasioned a great tumult." As a verb, the word is needless and unpleasing. _Occasional Poems_. These are not, as so many authors and compilers seem to think, poems written at irregular and indefinite intervals, but poems written for _occasions_, such as anniversaries, festivals, celebrations and the like. _Of Any_ for _Of All_. "The greatest poet of any that we have had." _Offhanded_ and _Offhandedly_. Offhand is both adjective and adverb; these are bastard forms. _On the Street_. A street comprises the roadway and the buildings at each side. Say, in the street. He lives in Broadway. _One Another_ for _Each Other_. See _Each Other_. _Only_. "He only had one." Say, He had only one, or, better, one only. The other sentence might be taken to mean that only he had one; that, indeed, is what it distinctly says. The correct placing of only in a sentence requires attention and skill. _Opine_ for _Think_. The word is not very respectably connected. _Opposite_ for _Contrary_. "I hold the opposite opinion." "The opposite practice." |
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