Written English (part 1)

Written English is the art of putting words together in order to convey our thoughts to others. Good composition conveys our thoughts correctly, clearly, and pleasantly, so as to make them readily understood and easily remembered.
To express ourselves well we must first have something to say. If we have not been able to come to any definite conclusion about a subject, we should be silent.
We must next choose the right names for the things or actions of which we are going to speak. This is not always easy, for we are apt to talk loosely of quantities and qualities; to say there are “thousands” when there are only hundreds, to call an event “marvelous” when it is only unusual, or to refer to “ages” when there are only years.
Again, we must arrange our words in the right way, so that they shall fit one another and combine to make good sense, just as we must put bricks or stones together properly to make a building stand. All language is a construction; it is the building or binding of words.
There are many forms of written English, or composition—from a simple letter to the most elaborate treatise—but all are made up of the same elements, namely: words, sentences and paragraphs. It is essential, therefore, that these elements be thoroughly mastered at the outset. Beyond this comes the matter of style, the essentials of which may be summed up in four words: Accuracy, Clearness, Strength and Grace.
Accuracy and Clearness are requisite in all kinds of writing to insure the faithful presentation of thought.
Strength and Grace are more especially applicable to the higher branches of prose composition and to poetry.
Grammatical Connections.—No expression can form part of a good composition unless it be constructed in accordance with correct grammar. Every sentence is inaccurate which gives wrong forms of the parts of speech, or violates the rules of syntax. The most common errors are of two kinds:
(1) Errors in the use of single words or forms.
(2) False concords, that is, wrong genders, numbers, cases and tenses. (See Right and Wrong Use of Words.)

Rules Relating to Style

GOOD STYLE POOR STYLE

Purity
prescribes the use of - Correct forms and concords. - Wrong forms. Solecisms.

Classic or good English words. - Barbarisms.

Proper words, i.e., words fit for the occasion. - Improprieties.

Perspicuity
prescribes - Simplicity. - Roundabout, inflated or pedantic words or phrases.

Brevity. - Tautology.

Pleonasm.

Verbosity.

Precision. - Ambiguity or Obscurity.

a. In words.

b. In sentences from bad arrangement.

Choice and Use of Words.—Good usage—the usage of the best writers and speakers—sanctions only words that are in reputable, national, and present usage.
The term Barbarism is applied to unauthorized language. Some offenses against good usage are the following:
1. Obsolete words, words gone out of use.
2. Provincialisms, words peculiar to some locality.
3. Colloquialisms, words peculiar to familiar conversation.
4. Solecisms, ungrammatical expressions.
5. Archaisms, expressions which would be obsolete except for their occasional use in poetry.
The term Impropriety is used to designate reputable words misapplied.
Slang is a general name for current, vulgar, unauthorized language. It may take the form of barbarism or impropriety.
Use the fewest and simplest words that the subject will bear.
Specific words are usually more forcible than general terms.
Foreign and technical terms should be used with care.
Use idioms wherever it is possible.
Coherence demands that the parts shall be so connected that the thought will be clear and compact.
The length of sentences is governed by the effect to be produced. Short sentences give vigor, emphasis, and rapidity. Long sentences give weight and rhythm.
A well-constructed sentence keeps the same subject as long as possible.
All modifying elements should be placed as near as possible to the words they modify.
A Dangling Element—one that modifies nothing—must be avoided. Example: Looking into the water, a fish was seen.
A “Squinting Construction” is one that is so poorly placed in the sentence as to modify equally well the part preceding and the part following. Example: Will you say to Mr. Brown, when he comes, I will be ready.
Redundancy—A weak repetition of an idea—must be avoided.
Pleonasm consists in the addition of words which can be omitted without affecting the construction or the meaning of the sentence.
Tautology, or repeating a thought that has just been stated.
Verbosity or Prolixity is the fault in sentence-making caused by using needless words.
Don’t begin a sentence with—and, but, also, so, then, next, however, after this, of course, in consequence, as a matter of fact.
The Paragraph.—A Paragraph is a division in composition treating only one part of the subject. A paragraph must conform to the same rules that should govern the whole composition; that is, it must show unity, massing, and coherence.
Unity demands that all the thoughts in a sentence, in a paragraph, or in the whole theme shall cluster about one main idea.
Massing demands that the important thoughts shall be placed in prominent places.
Coherence demands that thoughts shall be closely connected.
The length of paragraphs is not to be regulated absolutely: the subject-matter to be treated, the appearance of the page, and the comfort of the reader must all be considered. In a dialogue a new paragraph is begun with each change of speaker.
The Sentence.—Rhetorically, sentences may be classified as periodic, loose, and balanced.
A Periodic sentence is one that holds the thought in suspense until the end. Example: In all his long life, from the time when, as a twelve-year-old boy, he was roaming in the fields and fishing the streams, to the days of his manhood, when he was upholding the honor of his state in the Senate, he showed the same simple, democratic nature.
A Loose sentence is one in which there is no attempt to show suspense; the different parts may come in where natural ease of expression suggests.
A Balanced sentence is one in which contrasting thoughts are stated in similar forms. Example: God made the country and man made the town.
The periodic and the balanced sentence are likely to result in artificiality of expression unless used with care. The loose sentence gives ease and naturalness, but these desirable qualities may easily change to slovenliness of expression in the hands of a careless writer.
Sentences, like paragraphs, should show unity, massing, and coherence.
Unity demands that the sentence shall have one main idea. The unity of a sentence is destroyed by putting together ideas that should be separated, by making the wrong idea subordinate, or by making ideas coördinate that are not of equal importance.
Examples of lack of unity:—
1. The words are very simple and I think it very strange that a tinker could write such a good book.
2. We went up the main road about half a mile, when we came to a pasture.
Massing in the sentence demands that the main thought shall be placed where it will “readily catch the eye.”

Right and Wrong Use of Words in Speaking and Writing

A and An.—a is used before a consonant sound; an, before a vowel sound; as, “a boy;” “an eye;” when a vowel has a consonant sound, as in the word eulogy, a, and not an, is required. In the case of words beginning with h, an is always required when h is silent; as, “an heir;” when h is aspirated, a is required, unless the accent is on the second syllable, when an is used; as, “a history;” “an historian.”

Abbreviations.—Such abbreviations or contractions as e’er, ne’er, o’er, e’en, ’tis, ’mid, and ’neath, are legitimate in verse, but should not be used in prose.

Ability for capacity.—Ability is the power of doing; capacity the faculty of receiving. “The ability is in me to do him good.” “Man’s capacities have never been measured.”

Abortive.—That is abortive which is premature, not brought to completion. A plan may be abortive but not an act. We may speak of an abortive effort.

About.—Not to be used as almost. “The day is almost gone,” not “The day is about gone.”

Above is an adverb, not an adjective. Say “The address given above,” not “The above address;” the “foregoing section,” not the “above section.”

Accept of.—Never use the preposition after this verb. We accept invitations, presents, hospitality, and the like.

Accept and Except.—Accept means to take when offered; except means to leave out, to exclude. I accepted the gift. All except two will go.

Accord.—To accord means to render or bestow upon another, as honor: therefore one should never say, “The information he desired was accorded him.”

Administer.—The man died from blows administered by the policeman. Oaths, medicine, affairs of state are administered. Blows are dealt.

Affect, Effect.—To affect means to influence or to pretend. To effect means to bring about. “He affected intoxication.” “He affected the audience strongly.” “I shall effect a reform.”

Afraid.—The adjective afraid should not be used for the verb fear; thus: we say, “I am afraid of fire,” but “I fear I cannot go,” not “I am afraid I cannot go.”

Aggravate means to heighten, intensify, or make worse. Do not use it for annoy or provoke.

Ain’t.—This is illiterately employed as a contraction for are not, am not, is not. Even as a contraction of am not it is censured by many critics, the form I’m not being universally preferred. “Am I not?” is required in interrogative sentences.

Allow.—This word is frequently misused for think, as “I allow that I shall go to town.” Say, “I think that,” etc.

Allude means to refer to indirectly, and not the same as mention. “By mentioning his lifelong companion he alluded to his wife.”

Almost.—Careless speakers sometimes err in saying most for almost, as, for example, “I have read most all the books in the library,” for “almost all.”

Among and Between.—Among is distributive, and may apply to any number more than two; between is used of only two persons or things; as, “They discussed this among themselves;” “This is between us two.”

Among One Another.—“Among one another” is censured by critics, “with one another,” or “among themselves” being suggested as preferable.

And should not be used instead of to in such sentences as “I’m going to go and get it,” for “I’m going to get it”; “Try and do it,” for “Try to do it.”

Angry At and Angry With.—“Angry at” is used when expressing anger for an animal or an inanimate object; “Angry with,” for a human being; as, “He is angry at his dog;” “He is angry with his brother.”

Anybody else’s, Anybody’s else.—The predominance of usage seems to be in favor of the first form, which is correct according to analogy of similar cases, which “throw” the apostrophe and s to the last word of the unified expression, generally nouns in apposition.

Any One, One, anybody, each, any one, everybody, either, neither, one, some one, somebody, should be followed by singular pronouns, or verbs.

Any one, anybody, each, every one, everybody, either, neither, nobody, some one, somebody, may be followed by he or his.

“Any one of these patterns is suitable.” “Every one of the ladies is here.” “Each one of the soldiers has a new uniform.” “If any one wishes to make a suggestion, I wish he (or she, or he or she) would make it.” “Anybody in his senses would have done it.”

One should be followed, by one or one’s. “One dislikes to be told of one’s errors.”

Appreciate means to estimate justly. “I appreciate his ill-will.” means “I am fully aware of the extent and intensity of his ill-will.”

Apt, Likely, Liable.—Apt means quick or skillful. “He is apt to learn,” means that he learns readily. “He is likely to learn,” means that he will probably learn. “He is liable to learn,” is incorrect. Liable for means responsible for; liable to means subject to. “He is liable for the entire sum, and liable to imprisonment if he does not pay.”

Apprehend and Comprehend.—Apprehend means to perceive; as, “I apprehend danger.” Comprehend means to understand; as, “I comprehend your meaning.”

As should not be used for that in such constructions as, “I do not know that I do.”

As—As, So—As.—Use the former in affirmative and the latter in negative propositions. “We are as wise as our teachers.” “I am not so young as I used to be.”

As If It Was.—Were, and not was, is required after as if, for the reason that the supposition is not known; thus: “It looks as if it were all right,” not “it looks as if it was all right.”

As though is often used for as if. In the sentence “He walked as though he were lame,” if the ellipsis is supplied the error will be evident. “He walked as (he would walk) though he were lame.” As though is seldom correct.

At, At and To, At All.—The presence of at improves such constructions as “He is at home,” instead of “He is home.” At and to are superfluous in such sentences as, “Where is he?” and “Where has he gone?” hence, their use should be avoided. At all is superfluous in such sentences as, “There is no use in your going;” “I do not know him.”

Authoress, Actress.—The terms “authoress,” “doctress,” “editress,” “poetess,” “lecturess,” are no longer used, author, doctor, etc., being correct for both sexes. Actress, not actor, however, is the required form for the feminine gender.

Avocation, Vocation.—Avocation should not be used for vocation. Vocation is one’s employment; avocation, one’s diversion from that employment.

Awful, Awfully.—Do not use these words as intensives or for supposed force. Awful should mean that which inspires awe. “The awful mysteries of the world unseen.”

Bad, Badly.—Bad is not to be used for severe, as “I have a bad headache.” Badly is also inelegantly used for very much, as “I need money badly.”

Character.—It is in general wrong to speak of a person as a character. Character is justly applied to the ideal personages delineated by novelists. Possessing no real personality, they are characters and nothing more.

Character, Reputation.—One’s character is what one really is; one’s reputation is what people think of one. We may have a good character and a poor reputation, and vice versa.

Choose, Chosen.—“She has chose the blue silk.” Say “has chosen.” But say, in the imperfect, “she chose him in preference to the others.”

Combine together.—“He combined them together.” Omit together.

Commence, Begin.—Begin, when followed by a verb, takes to and the infinitive after it. Commence should take the present participle. We “begin to do,” we “commence working.” Begin may take the participle, but commence should take the infinitive.

Consonant.—“It is consonant to our nature,” is a more usual expression than “it is consonant with.” But consonant with is not improper.

Contractions, while not permissible in dignified utterance or in formal writing, are in accordance with the conversational employment of the language. The following is the list:

I’m not, you’re not, he’s not, we’re not, they’re not are used in the declarative form, and isn’t he (she, or it), aren’t you (we, they) in the interrogative. In the declarative form, You’re not, he’s not, etc., are preferable to you aren’t, he isn’t, etc. Am I not is not contracted, ain’t being regarded as objectionable for am I not, and as a vulgarism for isn’t. [See ain’t.]

“He (she or it) don’t” for He (she or it) doesn’t is always incorrect. I don’t, you don’t, he doesn’t, we don’t, you don’t, they don’t, are in accordance with the conversational employment of the language.

Mayn’t I (or may I not) is correct in the interrogative form; you can’t (or you can not) in the declarative form. In this connection note that may is used when asking and granting permission, and that can, which ordinarily expresses ability, is used in the declarative form when denying permission; thus: “May I go.” “No, you can not.”

The contractions shan’t and won’t are in accordance with conversational usage.

Conversant.—We are conversant with men and in things. Conversant about things is improper.

Converse together.—“They conversed together for more than an hour.” Omit together.

Copy.—We copy after a person; we copy after actions. We copy from things, as from a picture, or from a statue. In such case, a copy from the work is also said to be a copy after the artist.

Correspond.—Correspond, meaning to hold intercourse by means of letters, is followed by with. “I have corresponded with him for several years.” With is also used with correspond, to signify consistent with. Correspond is frequently followed by to, when it expresses adaptability or appropriateness. “His style of living corresponded to his means.”

Cover over.—“He covered it over.” Say “he covered it.”

Dead corpses.—“Evil spirits are not occupied about the dead corpses of bad men.” Omit dead; it is implied in corpses.

Dependent.—“He is dependent of his father.” Say “dependent on.” But with independent say of.

Derogate.—Say derogate from, derogatory to, “derogation from,” or to.

Depot, Station.—A depot is properly a place where goods or stores are kept. The place where a railway train stops for passengers may better be called a station.

Did, Done.—“Who done it?” Say “who did it?” “who has done it?”

Differ.—We differ with a person in opinion. One differs from another in other respects. The English barbarism of differ to, different to, is intolerable, and reverses the meaning of the word to.

Direct, Address.—We address a letter to a person. We direct it to his post office, to the point at which, or to the person through whom, he will receive it. A letter addressed to the president may be directed to his secretary.

Disappointed, Agreeably Disappointed.—It is better to say agreeably surprised. The meaning most closely associated with disappointment is that it is not agreeable.

Dissent.—We dissent from, not with.

Distinct, Distinctly.—“The girl speaks distinct.” Say “speaks distinctly.”

Divide.—We divide things between two, among many.

Drank, Drunk.—“He was very thirsty, and drunk eagerly.” Say “drank.” “He has drank three glasses of soda water.” Say “has drunk.” “Drunken,” the ancient form of the participle, is not now used.

Drove, Driven.—“They have drove very fast.” Say “they have driven.” But, using the imperfect, say “They drove the people out, and locked the gates.”

Dry.—“I am dry, let me have a glass of water.” Say “I am thirsty.” Using dry in this sense suggests the dramshop.

Each, Either.—“A row of trees stood on either side of the river.” The use of either in such cases is disapproved by some writers, but it is sanctioned by long and unexceptional usage, and by the deliberate judgment of well-informed critics. The use of each—“a row of trees stood on each side of the river” is indisputably correct.

Each, Every, Either are singular, and take the verb in the singular number. Such errors as the following should be guarded against: “Each of the daughters take an equal share.” Say “takes.” “Every leaf, every twig, every blade, every drop of water, teem with life.” Say “teems.” Also, instead of “one of those houses have been sold,” say “has been sold.”

Eat, Ate, Eaten.—Say “I ate my breakfast at five o’clock this morning,” not “I eat it,” or “I et it.” “I have eaten my dinner,” not “I have ate it,” or “I have et it.”

Either is followed by or. “I shall either send it or bring it myself.”

Either and Neither are used when two objects are mentioned, or two assertions are made; when there are more than two objects or assertions, they need not be employed. In such case, instead of either, no pronoun or conjunction need be used; instead of neither, no or not may be employed. When two persons are mentioned, “Either you or I must go.” In case of three persons, “You or I or John must go.” With two assertions, negative, “He will neither do it himself nor let any one else do it.” With three negative assertions, “He will not publish the accounts of his office, or allow the public access to them, or permit them to be examined by competent, impartial parties.” Usage on the last point is not uniform. Very many good writers use neither, nor, nor, with three or more negative assertions.

Emigrant, Immigrant.—An emigrant is a person who goes out from a country or a state to reside in another; an immigrant is one who comes into the state to live, from abroad.

Equally as.—As should not be used after equally. Say equally high, equally dear, equally handsome, etc.; not equally as high, equally as dear, equally as handsome.

Equally as well as.—“I can do it equally as well as he.” Omit equally; it is implied in the words as well as.

Equally the same.—“It is equally the same.” Say “it is the same.”

Everybody, Anybody.—Refers to male and female.

For want of a pronoun of common gender, use the masculine—he, his, him—unless the other sex is specified. “They” is plural and must not be used.

Anybody can do what they like. (wrong.)

Anybody can do what he likes.

Everybody will have to make up their minds. (wrong.)

Everybody will have to make up his mind.

Everybody has their faults. (wrong.)

Everybody has his faults.

If anybody calls, let them wait. (wrong.)

If anybody calls, let him wait.

Exceeding, Exceedingly.—“He was exceeding kind to me.” Say exceedingly kind. “She was exceeding careful.” Say exceedingly careful.

Except, Unless, are often used confusedly. “I shall go except I am ill.” Say “unless I am ill.” “I saw them all unless two or three.” Say “except two or three.” The correct usage is easily learned by observing that except should be used as a preposition, unless as a conjunction.

Fall.—We fall under reproach, notice, censure, etc. We fall from our friends, from virtue; we fall upon our enemies, among evil associations, into bad habits.

Farther, Further.—Farther refers to space; further to time, degree, and extensions of thought. The distinction is not a necessary one, but it is now very generally observed.

Fewer, Less.—Fewer relates to numbers, less to quantities. “No man had less friends,” should be fewer friends. But say less money, less strength, etc.

Few, Little, Many, Much.—Few and many refer to number; little and much to quantity. In speaking of articles that are rated by counting, use few and many; in speaking of articles which are rated by measure, use little and much. “A few potatoes,” “so many days.”

First.—“The two first” should be “the first two.” There can be only one first.

Fluent, Fluently.—“He speaks very fluent.” Say very fluently.

Forward, backward, toward, upward, onward, downward, hitherward, thitherward, afterward, heavenward, earthward, etc., should be written without the final s which is often added to them.

Funeral obsequies.—Say obsequies. The sense of funeral is contained in this word. It would be as proper to speak of a “wedding marriage-ceremony” as of “funeral obsequies.”

Generally, always, never, often, rarely, seldom, sometimes, are adverbs which generally come before the verb.

Gentleman friend, Lady friend.—Instead of “my gentleman friend,” say “my friend Mr. ——.” Instead of “my lady friend,” say “my friend Miss ——,” or Mrs. ——.

Gentleman, Lady.—These titles have been applied without discrimination till they have lost almost all the meaning they once had. Many persons have ceased to use them entirely, and employ man and woman as good enough titles for anybody. There are no nobler titles than man, woman; no higher expressions for qualities of grace or virtue than manly, womanly.

Get.—“I am afraid Mary is getting crazy.” Say “is growing,” or “is becoming crazy.” “John got left by the train.” Say “was left.” We get anything that we come in possession of. We may also get a disease. But get must be followed by a noun as its object.

Good for Well.—“He can do it as good as any one else can.” Say as well.

Got.—I have a pen. Not I have got a pen.

Gratuitous.—“That is a gratuitous assumption.” It is better to say “unfounded,” “unreasonable,” or “unwarranted.”

Guess.—Guess is commonly used in the United States to mean think, as in “I guess you are right” for “I think,” etc.

Had ought.—Provincial and incorrect. Had or any form of the verb to have cannot correctly be used as an auxiliary with ought. Use should or ought not. Not “He hadn’t ought to have gone,” but “He should not have gone.”

Hain’t.—A vulgarism. There is no such contraction for have not or has not.

Hang, Hanged.—The verb hang has two forms for the past participle, hanged and hung. Hanged is used for persons; hung for other objects. “The man was hanged.” “The coat was hung on the rack.”

He, Him.—It is him whom.—“It is him whom you said it was.” Say “it is he.”

Healthy, Healthful.—That is healthy which is in good health; that is healthful which promotes health. “Bread and milk is a healthful food which makes healthy children.”

I and Me.—“They went with James and I.” Say “with James and me.”

If I was.—Use the subjunctive in all cases where the conditions are contrary to fact. “If I were you, I should go.” “If I were a man, I should practice law.” I am not you, and I am not a man. Use the indicative in cases of uncertainty. “If I was in town that day, I did not see you.” I am uncertain as to whether I was or not.

In, Into.—Use in to signify rest in a place; use into to signify motion toward a place. “He was standing with his hands in his pockets.” “I put my hands into my pockets.” “I came in an automobile.” “The stranger walked into the room.”

Indeterminate possessive.—“Every child should obey their parents.” Say “his parents.” “No one should incur censure for being careful of their good character.” Say his, or her if talking more particularly of women. “Let each of us mind their own business.” Say “his own business.” Their is frequently used improperly, as a substitute. In such cases, his or her should be used, according as the object most prominent in the expression, or in the speaker’s thought, is masculine or feminine. In cases of doubt or indifference, use his. In the nominative we may say one. But in the possessive and objective we must say his, him or her.

Indifferent, indifferently.—“He was indifferent honest.” Say “indifferently honest.”

Infinitive.—See Split Infinitive.

Ingenuous, Ingenious.—Ingenuous is simple, honest, open, unaffected. Ingenious is skillful, versatile, ready in contriving.

Jew, Hebrew, Israelite.—A Jew is a member of the Hebraic division of the Semitic race; in consequence Hebrew is the linguistic name of the Jews. Historically, under the theocracy, they were known as Hebrews; under the monarchy, as Israelites; and during foreign domination, as Jews. The modern representatives of this stock call themselves Hebrews in race and language, and Israelites in religion, but Jews in both senses.

Jewelry, Jewels.—Jewelry is a collective noun, and jewels is a plural noun. In nice usage the term jewelry designates the stock of a jeweler; jewels, the articles of adornment worn by a lady.

Join issue and Take issue.—In nice usage, “join issue” means to admit the right of the denial of a statement. “Take issue” means merely to deny.

Kind of should not be used for somewhat. Instead of “I am kind of tired,” one properly says, “I am somewhat tired.”

Kind of a.—A is superfluous in such constructions as, “What kind of man is he?” (not “kind of a”). The same rule applies to sort.

Kind and Kinds.—See These and This.

Know, Knew, Known.—“I knowed it.” Say “I knew it.” “I have knowed it all along.” Say “I have known it.”

Latter end.—“I expect to get through by the latter end of the week.” Say “by the end of the week.” “The latter end of that man shall be peace.” Say “the end of that man.”

Learn, Teach.—These words are often confounded. The pupil learns, the instructor teaches. One person cannot learn another, but must teach him.

Leave, Lief.—Say “give me leave to tell you,” not lief. But “I would as lief do it as not,” not leave.

Leisure upon one’s hands.—“If you have any leisure upon your hands.” Say “if you are at leisure.”

Lend, Loan.—“Loan me five dollars.” Say “lend me five dollars.” The money having been lent him, the borrower has obtained a loan of that sum, or has borrowed it.

Lengthways, Sideways, Otherways.—These forms are erroneous. Say, and write, lengthwise, sidewise, otherwise.

Lie, Lay.—Distinguish between the verbs:—

lie—to tell lies

Present Tense—He lies like truth.

Present Tense—He is lying.

Past Tense—But he lied unto him.

Past Tense—Wherefore have ye lied to me?

Past Tense—Why have you been lying to me?

lie—to lie down

Present—The dog lies under the table.

Present—The dog is lying under the table.

Past—He lay upon the bed.

Past—He has lain there for hours.

Past—He has been lying there for hours.

lay—to put a thing down

Present—The boy lays his books on the table.

Present—The boy is laying his books on the table.

Past—He laid his head upon the block.

Past—The hen has laid an egg.

Past—The hen has been laying all the winter.

Liable, Apt.—Apt means fit, ready, quick to do a thing, or to be subjected to certain conditions. It generally implies willingness. Liable signifies bound to duties, subject or exposed to inconveniences or dangers, and implies no regard to the will of its subject. “John will be apt to catch the fever if he goes into that house,” should be “John will be liable,” etc. A person who is studious may be spoken of as apt to learn, and liable to become dyspeptic.

Like.—“We don’t do that like you do.” Say “as you do.” This misuse of like is common with English women novelists. As should be used when a verb follows, or is understood to follow. Where no verb is implied, like may be employed.

Like for As.—Like should not be used as a conjunction. Say: “Do as I do,” not, “do like I do,” or, “do like me.”

Like, Love.—Love is often used instead of like, and is thereby made to lose all its force. We love what the heart goes out to, that for which we entertain a fond and lasting affection. We love wives, husbands, parents, children, near friends. We like what we have a taste for, what pleases us in passing, or what is generally agreeable to us, as acquaintances, sweetmeats, pleasant weather, music, painting, reading. We regret for a long time the loss of what we love, we soon cease to be troubled at missing what we like.

Limb.—“She fell, and bruised her limb.” Say what limb. The arm is a limb, as well as the leg. The foolish shame which avoids mentioning the leg by name, is not modesty, but prudery.

Lit.—Not to be used for lighted. Instead of saying “He lit the gas,” say “he lighted the gas.” Do not say “He lit on his feet,” but “he lighted on his feet.”

Locate.—“I shall locate in Iowa.” Say settle. Locate has acquired a certain technical currency. The purchaser of land warrants locates by selecting a particular tract to claim under it. Place, settle, fix, establish, can be substituted for it in most cases, and are better.

Mad.—Should not be used for angry.

Mail man.—An inelegant form for postman.

Me being.—“Me being absent, the young folks lived high.” Say “I being absent,” or “while I was absent,” or “during my absence.”

Me, I.—“Is it me you mean?” Say “is it I?” or “do you mean me?”

Me, My.—“In consequence of me neglecting.”—“The horse got away in consequence of me neglecting to fasten the gate.” Say “in consequence of my neglecting,” etc.

Monstrous.—Monstrous does not mean large. It means ill-formed, misshapen, deviating from the course of nature, of a character to inspire unpleasant feelings. But an object so unusually large as to appear terrible may be figuratively styled monstrous.

More—than, not more—as. “He was more beloved but not so much admired as his brother.” This sentence must be recast.

“He was more beloved than his brother, but not so much admired.” Or,

“Though not so much admired as his brother, he was more beloved.”

Mortgagor, Mortgagee.—The mortgagor is the debtor, who pledges the property which is in mortgage. The mortgagee is the creditor, to whom the mortgage is made.

Most.—Not to be used for almost; as “He is here most every day.”

Mutual.—Does not mean common, but reciprocal. “We may have a common friend, but a mutual dislike”; that is, a dislike for each other.

Myself.—Not to be used for I. Do not say “John and myself are friends”; but “John and I,” etc.

Near, Nearly.—“I lost near twenty pounds.” Say “nearly twenty pounds.”

Neither for Either.—“That is not the case, neither.” Say “either.” The double negative is wrong.

Neither, Nor.—Negatives other than neither may take or or nor as their correlative. With subjects connected by “either—or,” “neither—nor,” the verb must be singular:—

Neither he nor his brother were trained for the ministry.

should be

Neither he nor his brother was trained for the ministry.

Either the master or his servant was responsible.

Neither ignorance nor negligence has been the cause of his ruin.

New beginner.—Say beginner. When one begins anything, he is new at it of course.

Nice.—A very generally misused word. Properly nice means delicate, discriminating, fastidious. The works of a watch show nice construction; a man may be nice in his manners. The word should not be used to mean agreeable or charming as “I had a nice time.”

Nicely.—Do not use nicely for well, as “The sick man is doing nicely.”

Nobody else.—“There was nobody else but him.” Omit else.

No for Not.—“I cannot tell whether this is correct or no,” is wrong. Say, “I cannot tell whether this is correct or not.”

None, is the same as no one, and is properly singular. It is, however, used in both numbers, according as the context seems to make appropriate.

Not as I know of.—Incorrectly used for not that I know of.

Not me.—“Who made that noise?” “Not me.” Say “not I.” “It wasn’t me.” Say “it wasn’t I.” The use of me is defended by some writers.

Not only—but also.—Correlatives must be placed immediately before the words connected.

“He not only lent me his horse but also sent his carriage.”

“He lent me not only his horse but also his carriage.”

Number, Quantity.—Number should be used in speaking of objects that are counted, quantity with those that are measured. Much, little, and less, answer to quantity, and many, few, and fewer, to numbers; more answers to both.

Of.—“A child of four years old.” Say “a child four years old,” or “a child of four years.”

Off of.—“There were ten yards of the cloth before I cut this piece off of it.” Say “before I cut this piece off it,” or “from it.”

One.—One is the only singular personal pronoun of common gender.

“One must not forget one’s duty to one’s country.” This frequent repetition is disagreeable.

“No man must forget his duty to his country.”

“A man must not forget his duty to his country.”

Only is best placed immediately before the word it modifies. In case there can be no ambiguity it may be placed immediately after the word it modifies.

Only I wrote to him to-day. (No one else wrote.)

I only wrote to him yesterday. (I did not telephone.)

I wrote only to him to-day. (I wrote to no one else.)

I wrote to him only to-day. (No longer ago than to-day.)

I wrote him to-day only. (I had not written before.)

This car for members only. (For none but members.)

Only, Alone.—“He alone can do it,” implies that he can do it without help. It would be better, “He can do it alone.” “He only can do it,” signifies that he, and no other person, can do it. Using alone in the sense of only may lead to ambiguity.

Onto.—We get on a horse and on a chair, not onto.

Orate.—An unauthorized form commonly used to mean to give an oration.

Over.—Do not use over in the sense of more than; as, “I have over a hundred dollars”; “The stick is over a yard long.”

Over a bridge.—“He went over the bridge.” It is more exact to say, “he went across the bridge.” A bird may fly over a bridge, if it does not touch the bridge.

Overhead and ears.—“We went in overhead and ears.” Say overhead. The head carries the ears. But “overhead and ears in debt” is a phrase which it will be hard to abolish.

Partial, Partially.—“This view is partially correct.” “Partly correct,” or “in part correct,” is better. Partially means, properly, one sided, with bias.

Persuasion, in the sense of religious denomination or belief, is objectional. Sect, denomination, belief, or “school of belief,” are proper substitutes.

Plunge down.—“He plunged down into the stream.” Omit down.

Possessives.—

Rule.—Use the apostrophe and the letter s (or change the form) only when the noun (or pronoun) itself represents the possessor.

This is a photograph of my uncle.

She is a servant of my aunt’s.

This is a criticism of John. (Some one else wrote it about John.)

This is an opinion of John’s. (John’s opinion; that is, John uttered it.)

This is an opinion of John. (Some one else uttered it.)

Plural and Singular Words.—Molasses is singular. The habit of giving it a plural construction is an error. Say “that molasses is souring,” not “them molasses are souring.”

Words like scissors, snuffers, tongs, trousers, etc., denoting articles which are paired or coupled, are plural, and take a plural verb. “The scissors are dull,” not “is dull.”

This is the birthplace of the President. (Not President’s.)

This is the private office of the Secretary. (Not Secretary’s.)

He is a friend of the Bank’s. (One of several friends.)

He is an enemy of mine. (One or more possessed by me.)

He is a brother of mine. (One or more possessed by me.)

He is a friend of hers. (One or more possessed by her.)

I cannot endure that rasping voice of Bridget’s. (One voice.)

Prepositions.—Never use a preposition to end a sentence:

For whom is that? To whom are you writing? The matter to which I am referring.

Two prepositions should not come together, as: “That is the man I went to for advice.” But, “That is the man to whom I went for advice.”

Previous, Previously.—“He wrote me previous to his coming.” Say “previously to his coming.”

Quantity, Number.—Quantity is used of that which can be measured; number, of that which can be counted; as, “There is a large quantity of sugar on hand”; “There are a large number of eggs in the basket.”

In connection with the use of the singular or the plural verb with the word number, note that the plural verb is used when number means several; the singular, when number is used to stand for a unit; as, “A number of persons are going” (several); “The number is limited to five.”

Quite.—“There are quite a number of Americans here.” Say “there are several.” One is quite a number. It is correct to say “there are quite twenty” to express that the number is completely made up—which is the meaning of quite.

Raised.—“I was raised in the South.” Say “brought up.” “I was raised in Mr. Stephens’ family.” Say “taken care of,” “brought up,” “instructed,” or “trained.” We “raise” horses, cattle, sheep, swine, poultry and crops, but apply a more refining process to human beings.

Ran, Run.—Say “this horse has often run a mile in two minutes and a half; yesterday he ran a mile in two minutes and three-quarters.”

Rang, Rung.—“I have rang the bell half a dozen times.” Say “have rung.” But say in the imperfect, “they rang the bells merrily for Christmas day.”

Rather—than, Prefer—to.—“He preferred doing nothing rather than run the risk of doing wrong,” should be “He preferred doing nothing rather than running the risk of doing wrong”; or “He preferred to do nothing rather than to run the risk of doing wrong.”

Receipt and Recipe.—One properly says, “The receipt calls for three cupfuls of flour,” recipe being restricted in its use as a medical term. Century gives the following: Receipt is distinguished from recipe by the common restriction of that word [recipe] to medical and relative uses; as, “A receipt for a pudding.”

Reckon.—Provincial for think. “I reckon he will come soon.” Say “I think” or “I believe.”

Reference, Recommendation.—A person seeking employment or position, names certain persons who know him as his references. They may, if they are so disposed, and can do so with truth, give him their recommendation.

Regard.—“In regard of this matter.” Say “in regard to,” or “with regard to.”

Regarded from that standpoint, but looked at in that light.

Relations, Relatives, Kin, Kindred.—It is better to speak of ones relatives than of his relations. Relations has other meanings. Kin and kindred are old English words, which deserve to be more in fashion than they are.

Relative Pronouns.—Who is used exclusively with persons, which exclusively with things, and that with persons and things. In common conversation that is more frequently used with persons than who. But who is considered more elegant.

Examples of the correct use of the relative pronouns, who, which, that, and what:

I gave the money to the driver, who will give it to his employer.

I brought her a book, from the library, which she enjoyed very much.

This is the house that she bought.

I do not want you to repeat what I have told you.

(1) In the last sentence what is equivalent to that which or the thing which. It differs from the other relative pronouns in that its antecedent is never expressed, it being implied in the word itself (that which).

(2) What is always of the neuter gender, and is used in only the nominative and the objective case. Who, whose, and whom are either masculine and feminine (common gender) and are used, respectively, in the nominative, the possessive, and the objective case.

(3) Which is neuter and may be used in either the nominative or the objective case.

(4) Whose is the form of the possessive for either who or which.

Remarkable, Remarkably.—“She is a remarkable pretty girl.” Say remarkably pretty.

Reside and Live.—The simple word live is preferable to reside when referring to one’s place of residence, reside being reserved for more stately occasions.

Respect.—Instead of “in respect of,” say “in respect to,” or “with respect to.”

Respectfully and Respectively.—Respectfully mean in a respectful manner; respectively refers to persons or things thought of singly; as, “He behaved respectfully toward his parents”; “The names of the boys are, respectively, John, Henry, and James.”

Rise up.—“He rose up and left the room.” Say “he rose”; say also, raise, lift, hoist; not raise up, lift up, hoist up.

Saw, Seen, See.—“I see him last Monday.” Say “I saw him.” “I seen him yesterday.” Say “I saw him.” “I haven’t saw him for along time.” Say “I haven’t seen him.” See is present, saw imperfect, seen the participle. The habit of confusing them prevails widely.

Section.—“Mr. —— does not live in this section.” Say “in this neighborhood,” “vicinity,” or “part of the country.” A section, in geography, is one square mile, or six hundred and forty acres of land, which has been laid out by the government.

Shall and Will.—Shall in the first person and will in the second and third persons denote mere futurity.

Will in the first person and shall in the second and third denote volition.

In asking questions shall must always be used with a subject in the first person. In the second and third persons we use shall and will according to the answers that we expect. When we expect the answer shall, we use shall in asking the question. When we expect the answer will, we use will in asking the question.

Similar statements are true of should and would.

The proper use of shall, will, should, and would in indirect discourse may be determined by turning the sentence into the direct discourse and choosing the proper word according to the rule.

With all three persons, we may use would to express a wish. Also we may use would without regard to future time, to denote that an action is customary; as, “He would often fish for days in succession.”

Should is sometimes used in its original sense of ought; as, “You should not do that.”

The forms given below are examples of the simple future statement.

Examples:

I shall be happy. We shall be happy.

You will be happy. You will be happy.

He will be happy. They will be happy.

If we wish to add the idea of a compelling force, or of determination or obligation, the proper auxiliary for the first person is will; for the second and third persons, shall.

Examples:

I will go means I am determined to go.

You shall go means You must go.

He shall go means He must go.

We will go means We are determined to go.

You shall go means You must go.

They shall go means They must go.

I shall have satisfaction means that the satisfaction will come in the course of time.

I will have satisfaction means I am determined to have it.

Sink down.—“The stone sunk down in the water.” Omit down.

Some for Somewhat.—“He is some better today.” It is better to say “he is somewhat better.”

Split Infinitive.—To explain, to thank (infinitive). These words should not be separated (split). “Have the goodness to clearly explain,” should be “Have the goodness to explain clearly.”

“I want to personally thank you,” should be “I want to thank you personally.”

Tenses.—In subordinate clauses the tense of the verb is relative to the tense of the principal verb.

“He intended to have done so,” should be “He intended to do so.”

The imperfect tense, I did is used in speaking of events which took place before a time that is past.

The perfect tense, I have done, is used in speaking of events which have been completed before the present time.

Than me.—“He is taller than me.” The word after than should be in the same case with the word before it.

Than him.—“You are stronger than him.” Say “than he.”

That.—See Relative Pronouns.

Thee and You.—“I owe thee a heavy debt of gratitude, and you will not permit me to pay it.” Avoid such confusion of numbers. Use the same word—either thee or you—in both clauses.

Them, They.—“It was them.” Say “it was they.”

These, This.—I don’t like these sort of folks (this sort).

Those kind of boots—that kind (those kinds).

These kind, Those sort.—Kind and sort are singular nouns, and should be modified by singular adjectives. Say “this kind,” “that sort.”

They, Everyone.—Do not use they indefinitely instead of everyone, as, “They are always in a hurry in the city”; better say “Everyone is in a hurry in the city.”

Though is followed by yet. “Though he was rich, yet for our sakes he became poor.”

Through.—Often misused in the sense of finished. “I am through with my breakfast,” instead of “I have finished my breakfast.”

To be.—The verb “to be” takes the same case after it as before it. Example: “Who is there?” “It is I.” Say “It was I who rang the bell.”

Trousers, Waistcoat, Gown, Petticoat, are good old respectable English words, which point out particular garments without possibility of mistake. They are better than the new ones, pantaloons, vest, dress, skirt.

Try and.—“I will try and do it.” Say “I will try to do it.”

Unique is not properly modified by very, unique meaning the only one of its kind.

Use to.—Used to, not use to, is the correct form; as, “I used to go there very often.” In negative constructions “didn’t used to” is always incorrect.

View to and View of.—One properly says, “With a view to finding out.” or “With the view of finding out.”

Visit with.—Visit is improperly followed by with in such constructions as, “I am visiting with friends in New York,” “I am visiting friends,” etc., being the correct form.

Vocation.—A man’s vocation is his calling, his regular business. His avocation is something outside of his business with which he occupies himself incidentally. My friend’s vocation is the practice of law; his avocation is photography. Still, while avocation, in the sense of vocation, is usually avoided by good writers, such use has some sanction of authority.

Want.—Avoid want in the sense of “ought” or “had better,” as, “You want to hurry if you are going to catch the car”; better say “You had better hurry if you expect to catch the car.”

Was, Were.—“Was you?” “You was.” Say “were you?” “You were.”

Way, Away.—Way should not be used for away. “I saw him away (not way) down the road.”

What for Who, Which, and That.—See Relative Pronouns.

Where for In which.—“It is a cause where justice is particularly concerned.” Say in which. “We presented a paper where his case was fully explained.” Say “a paper in which.” But where may be used instead of which and a preposition when place is the predominant idea. “The old house where I was born.”

Whether is followed by or. “Whether he will go or not, I cannot tell.”

Which.—See Relative Pronouns.

Who.—See Relative Pronouns.

Without, Unless.—Without must not be used for unless. “You won’t catch the train without you run,” should be, “You won’t catch the train unless you run.”

“My uncle would not take me without my mother wished it,” should be “My uncle would not take me unless my mother wished it.”

Wrong and Wrongly.—Wrong is an adverb as well as an adjective. For this reason, wrong is often interchangeably used with wrongly; as, “The mail was sent off wrong” (or wrongly). When preceding the verb, wrongly is required; as “The letter was wrongly addressed.”

Use of Capital Letters

The following are the general rules for the use of capitals, together with the abbreviations most commonly used. Many special uses of capital letters are also insisted upon by writers which cannot be reduced to general rules.

Rule 1.—The first word of every sentence should begin with a capital letter.

A sentence preceded by an introductory word or clause such as Resolved, Be it enacted, etc., begins with a capital notwithstanding the introductory word.

Rule II.—The first word of a direct quotation, of an important statement, and of a direct question, should begin with a capital.

Examples:

One truth is clear: Whatever is, is right.—Pope. Ask yourselves this question: Are you doing right?

Rule III.—The first word of every line of poetry should begin with a capital.

Rule IV.—All proper names begin with capitals. If the proper name consists of several words, all are capitalized except articles, prepositions, and conjunctions.

Examples:—San Diego, Burton-on-Trent, the Grand Army of the Republic.

The words street, road, lake, river, mountain, etc., should begin with capitals when used in connection with proper names.

Examples:—Crawford Road, Prospect Street, Lake Erie, Cuyahoga River, Little Mountain.

North, South, East, and West, should begin with capitals when they mean sections of the country and not points of the compass.

Example:—Chicago, the largest city of the West, is south of Lake Michigan.

Capitalize city only when part of the corporate name, New York City, Washington City.

Rule V.—Names of days and months always take a capital; but the names of seasons of the year are not commonly capitalized.

Rule VI.—Titles of office before personal names, and other titles so placed which are not mere common names of vocation, are written with capitals.

Examples:—Senator Jones, Doctor (or Dr.) Brown, Aunt Jane, Miss or Master Gray; but coachman Smith, barber Harris, etc.

Titles of dignity are also commonly capitalized when used alone, as in address, or with the definite article.

Examples:—the President, Senator, Judge, the Judge, District Attorney.

When title, with or without Christian name, precedes “de,” use lower-case “d”; this rule applies also to “la,” “di,” “von,” “van,” etc.

Examples:—Marquis de Lafayette, Di Cesnola, Prince von Moltke, Von Humboldt, Dr. la Mond, De Chaulnes, Mr. van Renssalaer.

Rule VII.—Many special names of a common kind are, in particular uses, treated as proper nouns and capitalized.

Examples:—Congress, Parliament, Senate, House of Representatives, State (for one of the United States), Hudson River Railroad, Aldine Printing Company.

Capitalize the names of political parties; as, Republican Party, Democratic Party, Progressive Party, etc.

Capitalize Christmas Day, New Year’s Day, Lincoln’s Birthday, Washington’s Birthday, Good Friday, Decoration Day or Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day, Election Day, Thanksgiving Day, etc.; a noted day, as Black Friday, etc.; but blue Monday.

Capitalize Northerner, Southerner, Northern gentleman, Southern blood, etc.

Capitalize names of important events and periods: as, the Creation, the Fall, the Flood, the Reformation, the Revolution (French or American), Civil War (American), the Middle Ages, the Union, Reconstruction.

Capitalize religious denominations; as, Methodist, Episcopal Church, St. Mark’s Church, Church and State, etc.

Church is without the capital always when used alone or when meaning congregation or building; as, a Methodist church in Hoboken.

Capitalize College, Club, Society, etc., when referring to that particular body, in by-laws, proceedings, or other publications of a college, club, society, company, etc.

Capitalize Monsieur, Madame, Signor, etc.

Capitalize State only when referring to one of the United States.

Rule VIII.—Adjectives and nouns derived from proper names are written with capitals.

Examples:—Jacksonian, New Yorker, Congressman (if Congress has a capital).

Names of countries and places, and adjectives derived from them.

Examples:—a German dictionary. The best Spanish wines.

But such words used in some other common way are not capitalized.

Examples:—morocco leather, russia leather, india rubber, plaster of paris, etc.

Rule IX.—Names of families and larger groups in natural history, and of genera, are written with capitals; also botanical specific names derived from proper names, and those that have formerly been genus-names, though zoölogical usage gives a small initial to every specific name.

Examples:—Asplenium Trichomanes (a fern). Menticirrhus americanus (a fish). Carya alba (a hickory tree).

Rule X.—In headings the important words only should be capitalized.

Titles of books, newspapers, plays, and the like, are written with capitals beginning the important words, most commonly nouns, principal verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. The word the is capitalized as part of the title if the title is quoted exactly.

Examples:—A History of the Rebellion.

Examples:—Free Trade and Protection.

Examples:—Put Yourself in his Place.

Examples:—Milton’s Select Poems.

Examples:—The Beginnings of Poetry.

Rule XI.—The pronoun I and the interjection O are capitalized.

Rule XII.—All names of God, all words that may be regarded as titles of the Deity, should begin with capitals.

Rule XIII.—In compound words, as vice-president, ex-president, etc., the prefix (vice) should not be capitalized.

Rule XIV.—In personification it is usual to capitalize the personified words.

Examples:—
Vice is a monster; smiling Spring.
The Voice of Nature; but: true to nature.

Abbreviations, Contractions and Degrees

Military or naval and some professional titles preceding names are nearly always abbreviated; as Capt. Jones, Dr. Brown, Rev. Dr. Smith.
Titles of collegiate degree are abbreviated; as, William Lee, Ph. D., LL. D.
In general writing, it is better to avoid abbreviation as far as possible.

• A., a. Adjective.
• A. Alto.
• A., ans. Answer.
• a., @ (Lat. ad). To; At.
• ä, ää. The like quantity of each.
• A. A. A. S. American Association for the Advancement of Science.
• A. B. (Lat. artium baccalaureus). Bachelor of Arts.
• Abbr., Abbrev. Abbreviated, Abbreviation.
• Abl., ablat. Ablative.
• Abp. Archbishop.
• A. C. (Lat. ante Christum). Before Christ; Analytical Chemist.
• Acad. Academy.
• Acc., Accus. Accusative.
• Acc., Acct. Account.
• A. D. (Lat. anno Domini). In the year of our Lord.
• A. D. C. Aide-de-camp.
• Ad., advt. Advertisement.
• Adj. Adjective.
• Adjt. Adjutant.
• Adjt. Gen. Adjutant-General.
• Ad lib., Ad libit. (Lat. ad libitum). At pleasure.
• Adm. Admiral.
• Admr. Administrator.
• Admx. Administratrix.
• Adv. Adverb.
• Æ., Æt. (Lat. ætatis). Of Age, Aged.
• A. G., Agt.-Gen. Adjutant-General.
• Ag. (Lat. argentum). Silver.
• Agl. Dept. Agricultural Department.
• Agr., Agric. Agriculture, Agricultural.
• Agt. Agent.
• A. L. of H. American Legion of Honor.
• Al., Ala. Alabama.
• Alas. Ter. Alaska Territory.
• Ald. Alderman.
• Alex. Alexander.
• Alf. Alfred.
• Alg. Algebra.
• A. M. (Lat. anno mundi). In the year of the world.
• A. M. (Lat. ante meridiem). Before noon.
• A. M. (Lat. artium magister). Master of Arts.
• Am., Amer. America, American.
• Amer. Phil. Soc. American Philosophical Society.
• Amt. Amount.
• an. (Lat. anno). In the year.
• Anal. Analysis.
• Anat. Anatomy, Anatomical.
• Anc. Ancient.
• Anon. Anonymous.
• Ans. Answer.
• Ant., Antiq. Antiquities, Antiquarian.
• Anthrop. Anthropology, Anthropological.
• A. O. U. W. Ancient Order of United Workmen.
• Ap., App. Apostle, Apostles.
• A. P. A. American Protestant Association; American Protective Association.
• Apoc. Apocalypse, Apocrypha.
• Apog. Apogee.
• App. Appendix.
• approx. Approximate, -ly.
• Apr. April.
• Aq. (Lat. aqua). Water.
• Ar. Arab. Arabic, Arabian.
• A. R. A. Associate of the Royal Academy.
• Arab. Arabic, Arabian.
• Aram. Aramaic.
• Arch. Architecture.
• Archæol. Archæology.
• Archd. Archdeacon.
• Arith. Arithmetic, Arithmetical.
• Ariz. Arizona.
• Ark. Arkansas.
• Art. Article.
• A. S., A.-S. Anglo-Saxon.
• Asst. Assistant.
• A. S. S. U. American Sunday School Union.
• Assyr. Assyrian.
• Astrol. Astrology.
• Astron. Astronomy, Astronomical.
• Atty. Attorney.
• Atty.-Gen. Attorney-General.
• A. U. A. American Unitarian Association.
• A. U. C. (Lat. anno urbis conditæ). In the year from the building of the city—Rome.
• Aug. Augustus; August.
• Auxil. Auxiliary.
• Avoir. Avoirdupois.
• B., Brit. British.
• b. Born.
• B. A. Bachelor of Arts [A. B.]
• Bal. Balance.
• Balt., Balto. Baltimore.
• Bap., Bapt. Baptist.
• Bar. Barrel, Barometer.
• Bart., Bt. Baronet.
• bbl., bbls. Barrel, Barrels.
• B. C. Before Christ.
• B. C. L. (Lat. baccalaureus civilis legis). Bachelor of Civil Law.
• B. D. (Lat. baccalaureus divinitatis). Bachelor of Divinity.
• Bd. Bound.
• Bdls. Bundles.
• B. E. Bachelor of the Elements; Bachelor of Elocution.
• Belg. Belgic, Belgian.
• Ben., Benj. Benjamin.
• Bib. Bible, Biblical.
• Biog. Biography, Biographical.
• Biol. Biology, Biological.
• B. L., B. L. L. (Lat. baccalaureus legum). Bachelor of Laws.
• B. ès L. (F. Bachelier ès Lettres). Bachelor of Letters.
• bls. Bales.
• B. M. (Lat. baccalaureus medicinæ). Bachelor of Medicine.
• B. M., B. Mus. (Lat. baccalaureus musicæ). Bachelor of Music.
• B. O. Branch Office.
• B. O. Bachelor of Oratory.
• Boh. Bohemian or Czech.
• Bot. Botany, Botanical.
• Bp. Bishop.
• Br., Bro. Brother.
• Brig. Brigade.
• Brig.-Gen. Brigadier-General.
• Brit. Britain, Britannia, British.
• B. S. Bachelor of Surgery; Bachelor of Science.
• B. Sc. (Lat. baccalaureus scientiæ). Bachelor of Science.
• Bt. Baronet.
• bush. Bushel.
• B. V. Blessed Virgin.
• B. V. M. Blessed Virgin Mary.
• bx., bxs. Box, Boxes.
• C. Cent, Cents; Centigrade; Consul; Centime, Centimes; a hundred.
• C., Cap. (Lat. caput). Chapter.
• C. A. Chartered Accountant.
• Cal. California; Calendar.
• Cant. Canticle.
• Cantab. (Lat. Cantabrigiensis). Of Cambridge.
• Cap. (Lat. caput). Capital; Chapter.
• Caps. Capitals.
• Capt. Captain.
• Card. Cardinal.
• Cath. Catharine; Catholic.
• C. D. V. Carte-de-Visite.
• C. E. Civil Engineer.
• Celt. Celtic.
• Cent. (centum). A hundred; Centigrade.
• Centig. Centigrade.
• Cert., Certif. Certify; Certificate.
• Cf. (Lat. confer). Compare.
• C. ft. Cubic feet.
• C. G. Coastguard; Commissary-General.
• C. G. S. Centimetre-Gramme-Second.
• C. H. Court House.
• Ch. Church; Chapter.
• Chal., Chald. Chaldee.
• Chan. Chancellor.
• Chap. Chapter.
• Chas. Charles.
• Chem. Chemistry, Chemical.
• Ch. Hist. Church History.
• Chr. Christ; Christian; Christopher.
• Chron. Chronology, Chronological.
• Cit. Citation; Citizen.
• Civ. Civil.
• C. J. Chief Justice.
• Class. Classical.
• Clk. Clerk.
• cm. Centimetre.
• C. M. Certified Master; Common metre.
• C. M. (Lat. chirurgiæ magister). Master in Surgery.
• C. M. G. Companion of the Order of St. Michael and George.
• Co. Company; County.
• C. O. D. Cash on delivery; Collect (payment) on delivery.
• Col. Colonel; Colossians; Column.
• Colloq. Colloquial; Colloquialism; Colloquially.
• Colo. Colorado.
• Com. Commander; Commerce; Commissioner; Committee; Commodore; Common.
• Comm. Commentary; Commerce.
• Comp. Compare; Comparative; Compound, Compounded.
• Con., contra (Lat.). Against.
• Con. Cr. Contra Credit.
• Cong. Congregation, Congregational, Congregationalist; Congress.
• Conj. Conjunction.
• Conn. Connecticut.
• Contr. Contracted, Contraction.
• Cop., Copt. Coptic.
• Cor. Corinthians.
• Cor. Mem. Corresponding Member.
• Corrup. Corruption, Corrupted.
• Cor. Sec. Corresponding Secretary.
• Cos. Cosine.
• C. P. Clerk of the Peace; Common Pleas.
• C. P. A. Certified Public Accountant.
• C. P. C. Clerk of the Privy Council.
• C. P. S. (Lat. custos privati sigilli). Keeper of the Privy Seal.
• C. Q. D. Come quick—danger.
• Cr. Credit, Creditor.
• C. R. (Lat. Civus Romanus). Roman Citizen.
• C. R. (Lat. custos rotulorum). Keeper of the Rolls.
• Cres. Crescendo.
• Crystall., Crystallog. Crystallography.
• C. S. A. Confederate States of America.
• C. S. Court of Sessions, Clerk to the Signet.
• Csks. Casks.
• Ct. (Lat. centum). A hundred.
• Ct. Court.
• Ct., Conn. Connecticut.
• C. T. A. U. Catholic Total Abstinence Union.
• Cu. (Lat. cuprum). Copper.
• Cub., Cu. ft. Cubic, Cubic foot.
• Cur., Curt. Current—this month.
• Cwt. A hundredweight; Hundredweights.
• Cyc. Cyclopædia.
• d. (Lat. denarius, denarii). A penny, Pence.
• d. Died.
• Dan. Daniel; Danish.
• Dat. Dative.
• Dav. David.
• D. C., Dist. Col. District of Columbia.
• D. C. L. Doctor of Civil (or Canon) Law.
• D. D. (Lat. divinitatis doctor). Doctor of Divinity.
• D. D. S. Doctor of Dental Surgery.
• D. E. Dynamic Engineer.
• D. Eng. Doctor of Engineering.
• Dec. December.
• decim. Decimetre.
• Def. Definition.
• Deft. Defendant.
• Deg. Degree, Degrees.
• Del. Delaware.
• Dep., Dept. Department.
• Dep. Deputy.
• Der. Derived, Derivation.
• Deut. Deuteronomy.
• D. G. (Lat. Dei gratia). By the grace of God.
• Dict. Dictionary.
• Dim., Dimin. Diminutive.
• Dis., Disct. Discount.
• Dist. District.
• Dist. Atty. District Attorney.
• Div. Divide; Dividend; Division; Divisor.
• D. Lit., D. Litt. Doctor of Literature.
• D. L. O. Dead Letter Office.
• D. M., D. Mus. Doctor of Music.
• D. M. D. Doctor of Dental Medicine.
• D. O. Doctor of Osteopathy; Doctor of Optics.
• Do. (Ital. ditto). The same.
• Dols. Dollars.
• Doz. Dozen.
• Dpt. Deponent.
• Dr. Debtor; Doctor; Dram, Drams.
• Dram. Dramatic, Dramatically.
• D. Sc. Doctor of Science.
• D. T. (Lat. doctor theologiæ). Doctor of Theology.
• Du., Dut. Dutch.
• Dub. Dublin.
• Duo., 12mo. Duodecimo (twelve folds).
• D. V. (Lat. Deo volente). God willing.
• D. V. M. Doctor of Veterinary Medicine.
• D. V. S. Doctor of Veterinary Surgery.
• Dwt. (Lat. denarius, an English weight). Pennyweight, Pennyweights.
• Dynam. Dynamics.
• E. East, Eastern; English; Edinburgh.
• Ea. Each.
• Eccl., Eccles. Ecclesiastical.
• Econ. Economy.
• Ed. Editor; Edition; Edinburgh.
• Ed., Edm. Edmund.
• Edin. Edinburgh.
• Edw. Edward.
• E. E. Electrical Engineer.
• e. g. (Lat. exempli gratia). For example.
• Elec., Elect. Electric, Electricity.
• Eliz. Elizabeth, Elizabethan.
• Emp. Emperor, Empress.
• Ency., Encyclo. Encyclopædia.
• E. N. E. East-northeast.
• Eng. England, English.
• Eng., Engin. Engineer, Engineering.
• Eng. Dept. Department of Engineers.
• Ent., Entom. Entomology, Entomological.
• Env. Ext. Envoy extraordinary.
• Eph. Ephesians; Ephraim.
• Epiph. Epiphany.
• Epis. Episcopal.
• Epist. Epistle, epistolary.
• Eq. Equal, equivalent.
• Equiv. Equivalent.
• Esd. Esdras.
• E. S. E. East-southeast.
• Esq., Esqr. Esquire.
• et al (Lat. et alibi). And elsewhere.
• et al. (Lat. et alii, or aliæ, alia). And others.
• etc., &c. (Lat. et cæteri, cæteræ, or cætera). And others, and so forth.
• Ethnol. Ethnology, ethnological.
• et seq., sq., or sqq. (Lat. et sequentes, or et sequentia). And the following.
• Etym. or Etymol., Etymology.
• Ex. Example; Examined; Exception; Exodus.
• Exc. Excellency; Except, excepted.
• Exch. Exchange; Exchequer.
• Ex. Doc. Executive Document.
• Exec. Executor.
• Execx. Executrix.
• Exod. Exodus.
• Exon. (Lat. Exonia). Exeter.
• Exr. Executor.
• Exx. Executrix.
• Ez. Ezra.
• Ezek. Ezekiel.
• E. & O. E. Errors and omissions excepted.
• F. Fellow; Folio; Fahrenheit.
• f. Farthing, farthings.
• f., fem. Feminine.
• f. Franc, francs.
• Fahr. Fahrenheit.
• F. A. S. Fellow of the Society of Arts.
• F. C. Free Church of Scotland.
• Fcp. Foolscap.
• F. C. S. Fellow of the Chemical Society.
• F. D., Fid. Def. (Lat. Fidei Defensor). Defender of the Faith.
• Feb. February.
• Fec. (Lat. fecit). He (or She) did it.
• Fem. Feminine.
• F. E. S. Fellow of the Entomological (or Ethnological) Society.
• Feud. Feudal.
• F. F. V. First Families of Virginia. (Humorous).
• F. G. S. Fellow of the Geological Society.
• fi. fa., Fieri facias. (Lat.). A form of judicial writ.
• Fig. Figure, figures; figurative, figuratively.
• Fl. Flemish; Florin, florins; Flourished.
• Fla. Florida.
• Flem. Flemish.
• F. L. S. Fellow of the Linnæan Society.
• F. M. Field Marshal.
• Fo., Fol. Folio.
• F. O. Foreign Office; Field Officer.
• F. O. B. Free on board.
• For. Foreign.
• Fort. Fortification.
• F. P. Fire-plug.
• Fr. France, French; Francis; Francs.
• fr. From.
• F. R. C. S. Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons.
• Fred. Frederick.
• F. R. G. S. Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.
• Fri. Friday.
• F. R. S. Fellow of the Royal Society.
• F. S. A. Fellow of the Society of Arts, or of Antiquaries.
• Ft. Fort; Foot, feet.
• Fth. Fathom.
• Fur. Furlong.
• F. Z. S. Fellow of the Zoölogical Society.
• F. & A. M. Free and Accepted Masons.
• G. Genitive; Guinea, guineas; Gulf.
• Ga. Georgia.
• Gael. Gaelic; Gadhelic.
• Gal. Galatians.
• gal. Gallon, gallons.
• G. A. R. Grand Army of the Republic.
• G. C. B. Grand Cross of the Bath.
• G. C. H. Grand Cross of Hanover.
• G. C. L. H. Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor.
• G. C. M. G. Grand Cross SS. Michael and George.
• G. C. S. I. Grand Commander of the Star of India.
• G. D. Grand Duke, Grand Duchess.
• Gen. General.
• Gen. Genesis; Genitive.
• Gend. Gender.
• Genit. Genitive.
• Gent. Gentleman, gentlemen.
• Geo. George; Georgia.
• Geog. Geography, geographical.
• Geol. Geology, geological.
• Geom. Geometry, geometrical.
• Ger., Germ. German.
• Gi. Gill, gills.
• G. L. Grand Lodge.
• G. M. Grand Master.
• Go., Goth. Gothic.
• G. O. P. Grand Old Party.
• Gov. Governor.
• Gov.-Gen. Governor-General.
• Govt. Government.
• G. P.-O. General Post-Office.
• gr. Grain, grains; Gross.
• Gr. Great; Greek.
• Gram. Grammar, grammatical.
• gro. Gross.
• G. T. Good Templars; Grand Tyler.
• gtt. (Lat. gutta or guttæ). Drop or drops.
• H. Hour, hours.
• H. B. M. His (or Her) Britannic Majesty.
• H. C. Heralds’ College; House of Commons.
• H. C. M. His (or Her) Catholic Majesty.
• h. e. (Lat. hoc est, hic est). That (or this) is.
• Heb., Hebr. Hebrew, Hebrews.
• Her. Heraldry, heraldic.
• Hf.-bd. Half-bound.
• H. H. His (or Her) Highness; His Holiness (the pope).
• Hhd. Hogshead, hogsheads.
• H. I. H. His (or Her) Imperial highness.
• Hind. Hindu, Hindustan, Hindustani.
• Hist. History, historical.
• H. J., H. J. S. (Lat. hic jacet, hic jacet sepultus). Here lies, Here lies buried.
• H. M. His (or Her) Majesty.
• H. M. S. His (or Her) Majesty’s Service, Ship, or Steamer.
• Hon., Honble. Honorable.
• Hor., Horol. Horology, horological.
• Hort., Hortic. Horticulture, horticultural.
• H. P. Half-pay; High Priest; Horse power.
• H. R. House of Representatives.
• H. R. E. Holy Roman Empire, or Emperor.
• H. R. H. His (or Her) Royal Highness.
• Hun., Hung. Hungary, Hungarian.
• Hund. Hundred, hundreds.
• Hydraul. Hydraulics.
• Hydros. (See Hyd.)
• Hypoth. Hypothesis, hypothetical.
• I. Island.
• Ia. Iowa.
• Ib., Ibid. (Lat. ibidem). In the same place.
• Icel. Iceland, Icelandic.
• Ich., Ichth. Ichthyology.
• Id. (Lat. idem). The same.
• Ida. Idaho.
• i. e. (Lat. id est). That is.
• I. H. S. (Lat. Iesus [or Jesus] Hominum Salvator). Jesus the Savior of Men.
• Ill. Illinois.
• Imp. (Lat. imperator). Emperor; Imperial; impersonal.
• Imp., Imperf. Imperfect.
• in. Inch, inches.
• Incog. (Ital. incognito, incognita). Unknown.
• Ind. India, Indian; Indiana.
• Indic. Indicative.
• Ind. Ter. Indian Territory.
• Inf., Infin. Infinitive.
• In loc. (Lat. in loco). In its place.
• I. N. R. I. (Lat. Iesus [or Jesus] Nazarenus Rex Iudæorum [or Judæorum]). Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.
• Ins., Insur. Insurance.
• Ins.-Gen. Inspector-General.
• Inst. Instant; the present month; Institute, Institution.
• Int. Interest.
• Int. Dept. Department of the Interior.
• Interj. Interjection.
• Intrans. Intransitive.
• In trans. (Lat. in transitu). On the passage.
• Int. Rev. Internal Revenue.
• Introd. Introduction.
• Io. Iowa.
• I. O. F. Independent Order of Foresters.
• I. O. G. T. Independent Order of Good Templars.
• I. O. O. F. Independent Order of Oddfellows.
• I. O. R. M. Improved Order of Red Men.
• I. O. S. M. Independent Order of Sons of Malta.
• I. O. U. I owe you.
• i. q. (Lat. idem quod). The same as.
• Ir. Ireland, Irish.
• Irreg. Irregular.
• Is., Isa. Isaiah.
• I. S. Irish Society.
• Isl. Island.
• I. S. M. Jesus Salvator Mundi.
• It., Ital. Italy; Italic; Italian.
• Itin. Itinerary.
• J. Judge; Justice.
• J. A. Judge-Advocate.
• Jac. Jacob, Jacobus (= James).
• Jan. January.
• J. A. G. Judge Advocate General.
• J. C. Jesus Christ.
• J. C. D. (Lat. juris civilis doctor). Doctor of Civil Law.
• J. D. (Lat. jurum doctor), Doctor of Laws.
• Jer. Jeremiah.
• J. H. S. [I. H. S.]
• Jno. John.
• Jon., Jona. Jonathan.
• Jos. Joseph.
• Josh. Joshua.
• Jour. Journal.
• J. P. Justice of the Peace.
• Jr. Juror; Junior.
• J. U. D. (Lat. Juris utriusque doctor). Doctor of both laws (i. e., of civil and canon law).
• Jud. Judith.
• Judg. Judges.
• Jul. July; Julius; Julian.
• Jun. June.
• Jun., Junr. Junior.
• Juris. Jurisprudence.
• K. King; Knight.
• Kan., Ks. Kansas.
• K. B. Knight of the Bath.
• K. B. King’s Bench.
• K. C. King’s Counsel; Knights of Columbus.
• K. C. B. Knight Commander of the Bath.
• K. C. H. Knight Commander of the Guelphs of Hanover.
• K. C. M. G. Knight Commander of St. Michael and St. George.
• K. E. Knight of the Eagle.
• Ken., Ky. Kentucky.
• K. G. Knight of the Garter.
• K. G. E. Knight of the Golden Eagle.
• K. G. C. Knight of the Grand Cross.
• K. G. C. B. Knight of the Grand Cross of the Bath.
• K. G. F. Knight of the Golden Fleece.
• K. G. H. Knight of the Guelphs of Hanover.
• Kilog. Kilogramme.
• Kilom., Kilo. Kilometre.
• Kingd. Kingdom.
• K. L. H. Knight of the Legion of Honor.
• K. M. Knight of Malta.
• Kn. N. S. Knight of the Loyal Northern Star (Sweden).
• Knick. Knickerbocker.
• Knt. Knight.
• K. of P. Knights of Pythias.
• Ks. Kansas.
• K. S. Knight of the Sword (Sweden).
• Kt. Knight.
• K. T. Knight of the Thistle; Knight Templar.
• K. T. S. Knight of Tower and Sword (Portugal).
• Ky. Kentucky.
• L. Latin; Lake; Lord; Lady.
• L., l, £. (Lat. libra). Pound, pounds (sterling).
• L., lb. ℔ lb. (Lat. libra). Pound, pounds (weight).
• La. Louisiana.
• L. A. Law Agent; Literate in Arts.
• Lam. Lamentations.
• Lat. Latin; Latitude.
• lb. Pound, pounds (weight).
• L. c. Lower case (in printing).
• L. c., loc. cit. (Lat. loco citato). The place cited.
• L. C. Lord Chamberlain; Lord Chancellor.
• L. C. J. Lord Chief-Justice.
• Ldp. Lordship.
• Leg., Legis. Legislature, legislative.
• Leip. Leipsic.
• Lev. Leviticus.
• Lex. Lexicon.
• Lexicog. Lexicography, lexicographer, lexicographical.
• L. G. Life Guards.
• L. Ger. Low German or Platt Deutsch.
• L. H. D. Doctor of Humanities.
• L. I. Light Infantry; Long Island.
• Lib. (Lat. liber). Book.
• Lib. Library, librarian.
• Lieut., Lt. Lieutenant.
• Lieut.-col. Lieutenant-colonel.
• Lieut.-gen. Lieutenant-general.
• Lieut.-gov. Lieutenant-governor.
• lin. Lineal, or right-line measures; e. g., lin. yd.; lin. ft., etc.
• Linn. Linnæus, Linné, Linnæan.
• Liq. Liquor, liquid.
• Lit. Literally, literature, library.
• Lit. D., Litt. D. (Lat. literarum doctor). Doctor of Literature.
• Lith. Lithography.
• Liv. Livre.
• LL. B. (Lat. legum baccalaureus). Bachelor of Laws.
• LL. D. (Lat. legum doctor). Doctor of Laws.
• LL. M. Master of Laws.
• L. M. Long metre.
• Lon., Lond. London.
• Lon., Long. Longitude.
• Loq. (Lat. loquitur). He (or she) speaks.
• Lou. Louisiana.
• L. S. (Lat. locus sigilli). Place of the seal.
• L. s. d. (Lat. libræ, solidi, denarii). Pounds, shillings, pence.
• Lt. Lieutenant.
• Lt. Inf. Light Infantry.
• Luth. Lutheran.
• m. Married; Masculine; Mètre, mètres; Mile, miles; Minute, minutes.
• M. Marquis; Middle; Monday; Morning; Monsieur.
• M. (Lat. mille). Thousand.
• M. (Lat. meridies). Meridian, Noon.
• M. A. (Master of Arts). [A. M.]
• Mac., Macc. Maccabees.
• Mad., Madm. Madam.
• Mag. Magyar; Magazine.
• Maj. Major.
• Maj.-gen. Major-general.
• Mal. Malachi; Malay, Malayan.
• Manuf. Manufactures, manufacturing.
• Mar. March; Maritime.
• Marq. Marquis.
• Mass. Massachusetts.
• Math. Mathematics, mathematician, mathematical.
• Matt. Matthew.
• M. B. (Lat. medicinæ baccalaureus). Bachelor of Medicine.
• M. B. (Lat. musicæ baccalaureus). Bachelor of Music.
• M. C. Member of Congress; Master of Ceremonies.
• Mch. March.
• M. D. (Lat. medicinæ doctor). Doctor of Medicine.
• Md. Maryland.
• Mdlle. (Fr. mademoiselle). Miss.
• Mdse. Merchandise.
• M. E. Most Excellent; Military Engineer; Mining Engineer; Mechanical Engineer.
• M. E. Methodist Episcopal.
• Me. Maine.
• Meas. Measure.
• Mech. Mechanics, mechanical.
• Med. Medicine, medical; Mediæval.
• Mem. Memorandum, memoranda.
• Messrs. (Fr. messieurs). Gentlemen.
• Metall. Metallurgy.
• Metaph. Metaphysics; Metaphorically.
• Meteor. Meteorology, meteorological.
• Meth. Methodist.
• Mex. Mexico.
• Mfd., Mfs. Manufactured, manufactures.
• Mfg. Manufacturing.
• M. H. Ger. Middle High German.
• M. I. C. E. Member of the Institute of Civil Engineers.
• Mich. Michaelmas; Michigan.
• Mid. Middle; Midshipman.
• Mil., Milit. Military.
• M. I. M. E. Member of the Institute of Mining Engineers.
• Min. Mineralogy, mineralogical; Minute, minutes.
• Minn. Minnesota.
• Min. Plen. Minister Plenipotentiary.
• Miss. Mississippi.
• Mlle. (Fr. mademoiselle). Miss.
• MM. Their Majesties.
• MM. (Fr. messieurs). Gentlemen.
• mm. Millemetres; Micrometers.
• Mme. (Fr. madame). Madame.
• M. N. A. S. Member of the National Academy of Sciences.
• Mo. Missouri; Month.
• Mod. Modern.
• Mod. (Ital. moderato). Moderately.
• Mon. Monday.
• Mons. (Fr. monsieur). Sir, Mr.
• Mont. Montana.
• M. P. Member of Parliament.
• M. P. P. Member of Provincial Parliament.
• M. P. S. Member of the Pharmaceutical Society; Member of the Philological Society.
• Mr. Master, Mister.
• M. R. A. S. Member of the Royal Asiatic Society.
• M. R. C. P. Member of the Royal College of Physicians.
• M. R. C. S. Member of the Royal College of Surgeons.
• M. R. G. S. Member of the Royal Geographical Society.
• M. R. I. Member of the Royal Institution.
• Mrs. Mistress (when abbreviated pronounced mis´sis).
• M. S. Master of Surgery.
• M. S. Master of Science.
• M. S. (Lat. Memoriæ sacrum). Sacred to the memory of.
• MS. Manuscript.
• MSS. Manuscripts.
• Mt., Mts. Mount, mountains.
• Mus. Museum; Music, musical.
• Mus. B. (Lat. Musicæ Baccalaureus). Bachelor of Music.
• Mus. D., Mus. Doc., Mus. Doct. (Lat. Musicæ Doctor). Doctor of Music.
• Myth. Mythology, mythological.
• N. Noon; North; Noun; Number; New; Neuter.
• N. A. North America, North American.
• Nap. Napoleon.
• Nat. Natural; National; Natal.
• Nat. Hist. Natural History.
• Nat. Phil. Natural Philosophy.
• Naut. Nautical.
• N. B. New Brunswick; North Britain (i. e. Scotland).
• N. B. (Lat. Nota bene). Note well, Take notice.
• N. C. North Carolina.
• N. D., N. Dak. North Dakota.
• N. E. New England; Northeast.
• Neb. Nebraska.
• Neg. Negative, negatively.
• Neth. Netherlands.
• Neut. Neuter.
• Nev. Nevada.
• New Test., N. T. New Testament.
• N. F. Newfoundland.
• N. H. New Hampshire.
• N. J. New Jersey.
• N. Lat. North Latitude.
• N. M. New Mexico.
• N. N. E. North-northeast.
• N. N. W. North-northwest.
• No. (Lat. numero). Number.
• nol. pros. (nolle prosequi). To be unwilling to proceed.
• Nom. Nominative.
• Non con. Non-content, dissentient. (The formula in which Members of the House of Lords vote.)
• Non obst. (Lat. non obstante). Notwithstanding.
• Non pros. (Lat. non prosequitur). He does not prosecute.
• Non seq. (Lat. non sequitur). It does not follow (as a consequence).
• n. o. p. Not otherwise provided for.
• Nor., Norm. Norman.
• Nor. Fr., Norm. Fr. Norman French.
• Norw. Norway, Norwegian, Norse.
• Nos. Numbers.
• Nov. November.
• N. P. Notary Public.
• N. S. New style (since 1752); Nova Scotia.
• N. T. New Testament.
• Num., Numb. Numbers.
• N. V. M. Nativity of the Virgin Mary.
• N. W. Northwest.
• N. W. T. Northwest Territory.
• N. Y. New York.
• N. Z. New Zealand.
• O. Ohio; Old.
• ob. (Lat. obiit.) He (or she) died.
• Ob., Obad. Obadiah.
• Obdt., Obt. Obedient.
• Obj. Objective.
• Obs. Obsolete.
• Oct. October.
• Oct., 8vo. Octavo.
• O. H. Ger. Old High German.
• O. K. “All correct.”
• Okl. Oklahoma.
• Old Test., O. T. Old Testament.
• Olym. Olympiad.
• Op. Opposite, opposition.
• Opt. Optative; Optics, optical.
• Ordn. Ordnance.
• Ore. Oregon.
• Orig. Original, originally.
• Ornith. Ornithology, ornithological.
• O. S. Old Style (previous to 1752); Old Saxon.
• O. S. A. Order of St. Augustine.
• O. S. F. Order of St. Francis.
• O. T. Old Testament.
• O. U. A. M. Order of United American Mechanics.
• Oxf. Oxford.
• Oxon. (Lat. Oxonia, Oxoniensis). Oxford; of Oxford.
• Oxonien. (Lat. Oxoniensis). Of Oxford.
• oz. Ounce. [The z in this contraction and in viz., represents an old symbol (ʒ), used to mark a terminal contraction.]
• P. Page; Participle; Past; Pole; Port.
• Pa. Pennsylvania.
• P. a., par. a. Participial adjective.
• Paint. Painting.
• Pal., Palæont. Palæontology, palæontological.
• Par. Paragraph.
• Parl. Parliament, parliamentary.
• Part. Participle.
• Pass. Passive.
• Pat. Patrick.
• Payt. Payment.
• P.C. (Lat. Patres Conscripti). Conscript Fathers.
• P. C. Police Constable; Privy Council, Privy Councilor.
• Pd. Paid.
• P. E. Protestant Episcopal.
• P. E. I. Prince Edward Island.
• Penn. Pennsylvania.
• Pent. Pentecost.
• Per., Pers. Persia; Persian; Personal.
• Per. an. (Lat. per annum). Yearly.
• Per cent., per ct. (Lat. per centum). By the hundred.
• Perf. Perfect.
• Persp. Perspective.
• Peruv. Peruvian.
• Pet. Peter.
• P. G. M. Past Grand Master.
• Phar., Pharm. Pharmacy.
• Ph. B. (Lat. Philosophiæ Baccalaureus). Bachelor of Philosophy.
• Ph. D. (Lat. Philosophiæ Doctor). Doctor of Philosophy.
• Phil., Phila. Philadelphia.
• Phil. Philip; Philippians; Philosophy, philosophical.
• Philol. Philology.
• Philos. Philosophy, philosophical.
• Ph. M. Master of Philosophy.
• Photog. Photography, photographic, photographer.
• Phren., phrenol. Phrenology, phrenological.
• Phys. Physics, physical, physiology, physiological.
• Physiol. Physiology, physiological.
• Pinx., Pxt. (Lat. pinxit). He (or she) painted it.
• Pk. Peck.
• Pl. Place; Plate; Plural.
• P. L. Poet Laureate.
• Plff., Pltff. Plaintiff.
• Plu. Plural.
• Plup., Plupf. Pluperfect.
• Plur. Plural.
• P. M. (Lat. post meridiem). Afternoon.
• P. M. Past Master; Peculiar Meter; Postmaster.
• P. M. G. Postmaster-General.
• P. O. Post-office.
• P. & O. Co. Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company.
• Pol. Polish.
• Polit. Econ. Political Economy.
• P. O. O. Post-office order.
• Pop. Population.
• Port. Portugal, Portuguese.
• Poss. Possessive.
• pp. Pages.
• p. p. Past (or perfect) participle.
• P. P. (Lat. pater patriæ). Father of his country.
• P. C. C. (Ft. pour prendre congé). To take leave. [T. T. L.]
• Pph. Pamphlet.
• p. pr. Present participle.
• Pr. Present; Priest; Prince.
• P. R. (Lat. populus Romanus). The Roman people.
• P. R. C. (Lat. Post Roman conditam). After the building of Rome. [A. U. C.]
• Pref. Prefix; Preface.
• prep. Preposition.
• Pres. President; Present.
• Prim. Primary.
• Prin. Principal; Principles.
• Print. Printing.
• Prob. Problem; Probable, probably.
• Prof. Professor.
• Pron. Pronoun; Pronounced, pronunciation.
• Prop. Proposition; Properly.
• Pros. Prosody.
• Pro tem. (Lat. pro tempore). For the time being.
• Prov. Proverbs, proverbial, proverbially; Provincial, provincially; Provost.
• Provinc. Provincial.
• Prox. (Lat. proximo). Next of or of the next month.
• Prs. Pairs.
• Prus. Prussia, Prussian.
• P. S. (Lat. post scriptum). Postscript.
• P. S. Privy Seal.
• Ps., Psa. Psalm, psalms.
• Psychol. Psychology.
• Pt. Part; Payment; Point; Port.
• P. T. Post-town; Pupil teacher.
• Pub. Public; Published, publisher.
• Pub. Doc. Public Documents.
• Pwt. Pennyweight.
• Pxt. [Pinx.]
• Q., Qu. Query; Question.
• Q. d. (Lat. quasi dicat). As if he should say.
• Q. e. (Lat. quod est). Which is.
• Q. E. D. (Lat. quod erat demonstrandum). Which was to be proved.
• Q. E. F. (Lat. quod erat faciendum). Which was to be done.
• Q. E. I. (Lat. quod erat inveniendum). Which was to be found out.
• Q. l. (Lat. quantum libel). As much as you please.
• Q. M. Quartermaster.
• Q. M. Gen. Quartermaster-General.
• Qr. Quarterly; Quire.
• Q. S. Quarter Sessions.
• Q. s. (Lat. quantum sufficit). A sufficient quantity.
• Qt. Quart.
• Qu. Queen; Query; Question.
• Quar., quart. Quarterly.
• Quar., 4to. Quarto.
• Ques. Question.
• Q. v. (Lat. quod vide). Which see.
• Qu. Query.
• R. Railway; Réaumur; River.
• R. (Lat. rex). King; (Lat. regina.) Queen.
• R. (Lat. recipe). Take.
• R. A. Royal Academy, Royal Academician; Rear-Admiral; Royal Arch; Royal Artillery.
• Rad. (Lat. radix). Root.
• R. C. Roman Catholic.
• R. E. Reformed Episcopal.
• Réaum. Réamur.
• Rec. Recipe.
• Recd. Received.
• Recpt. Receipt.
• Ref. Reference.
• Ref. Ch. Reformed Church.
• Ref. Pres. Reformed Presbyterian.
• Reg. Regular.
• Reg., Regr. Registrar.
• Reg., Regt. Regiment, regimental.
• Rel. Pron. Relative Pronoun
• Rem. Remark, remarks.
• Rep. Report; Representative.
• Rep. Repub. Republic; Republican.
• Res. Resolution.
• Retd. Returned.
• Rev. Revelation; Revenues; Reverend; Reviews; Revise.
• Revd. Reverend.
• Revs. Reverends.
• Rev. Stat. Revised Statutes.
• R. F. D. Rural Free Delivery.
• Rhet. Rhetoric, rhetorical.
• R. I. Rhode Island.
• Riv. River.
• R. M. S. Royal Mail Steamer; Royal Mail Service.
• R. N. Royal Navy.
• Robt. Robert.
• Rom. Roman, Romans.
• Rom. Cath. Roman Catholic.
• R. P. Regius Professor.
• R. R. Railroad.
• R. S. V. P. (Fr. Repondez s’il vous plait). Please reply.
• Rt. Right.
• Rt. Hon. Right Honorable.
• Rt. Rev. Right Reverend.
• R. T. S. Religious Tract Society
• Rt. Wpful. Right Worshipful.
• Russ. Russia, Russian.
• R. V. Revised Version; Rifle Volunteers.
• Ry. Railway.
• S. Saint; Saturday; Section; Shilling; Sign; Signor; Solo; Soprano; South; Sun; Sunday; Sabbath.
• s. Second, seconds; See; Singular; Son; Succeeded.
• S. A. South Africa; South America.
• S. A. (Lat. secundem artem). According to the rules of art.
• Sab. Sabbath.
• Sam., Saml. Samuel.
• Sam., Samar. Samaritan.
• Sans., Sansc., Sansk. Sanscrit, Sanskrit.
• Sat. Saturday.
• Sax. Saxon, Saxony.
• S. C. South Carolina.
• Sc. [Scil. Scull.]
• S. caps., Sm. caps. Small capitals. (In printing.)
• Sc. B. (Lat. scientiæ baccalaureus). Bachelor of Science.
• Sc. D. (Lat. scientiæ doctor). Doctor of Science.
• Sch. (Lat. scholium). A note.
• Sci. Science.
• Sci. fa. Scire facias.
• Scil. Sc. (Lat. scilicet). Namely; to wit.
• Sclav. Sclavonic.
• Scot. Scotland, Scotch, Scottish.
• Scr. Scruple, scruples.
• Scrip., Script, Scripture, scriptural.
• Sculp. Sculpture.
• Sculp., Sculpt., Sc. (Lat. sculpsit). He (or she) engraved it.
• S. D. Doctor of Science.
• S. D., S. Dak. South Dakota.
• S. E. Southeast.
• Sec. Second.
• Sec., Sect. Section.
• Sec., Secy. Secretary.
• Sec. Leg. Secretary of Legation.
• Sen. Senate, senator.
• Sen. Doc. Senate Document.
• Sep., Sept. September.
• Seq. (Lat. sequentes, sequentia). The following or the next.
• Serg., Sergt. Sergeant.
• Serg. Maj. Sergeant-Major.
• Serv. Servian.
• Sess. Session.
• S. G. Solicitor-general.
• Sh. Shilling, shillings.
• Sing. Singular.
• S. J. Society of Jesus.
• S. J. C. Supreme Judicial Court.
• Skr. Sanskrit.
• Slav. Slavonic.
• Soc., Socy. Society.
• Sol.-gen. Solicitor-general.
• Sp. Spain, Spanish; Spirit.
• s. p. (Lat. sine prole). Without issue.
• S. P. C. A. Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
• S. P. C. C. Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.
• S. P. C. K. Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge.
• Spec. Special, specially.
• sp. gr., s. g. Specific gravity.
• S. P. Q. R. (Lat. Senatus Populusque Romanus). The Senate and the People of Rome.
• sq. Square; sq. ft. Square foot, feet; sq. in. Square inch, inches; sq. m. Square mile, miles; sq. yd. Square yard; sq. rd. Square rod.
• Sr. Senior; sir.
• S. R. I. (Lat. Sacrum Romanum Imperium). The Holy Roman Empire.
• SS. Saints.
• S. S. Sunday-school.
• S. S. E. South-southeast.
• S. S. W. South-southwest.
• St. Saint; Stone; Strait; Street.
• st. (Lat. stet). Let it stand (in printing).
• Stat. Statute, statutes; Statuary.
• S. T. B. Bachelor of Sacred Theology.
• S. T. D. (Lat. sacræ theologiæ doctor). Doctor of Divinity.
• ster., stg. Sterling.
• Str. Steamer, steam vessel.
• Subj. Subjunctive.
• Suff. Suffix.
• Sun., Sund. Sunday.
• Sup. Superior; Superlative; Supplement; Supine.
• Sup. Ct. Supreme Court.
• Supt. Superintendent.
• Sur., Surg. Surgeon, surgery.
• Sur.-gen. Surgeon-general.
• Surv. Surveying, surveyor.
• Surv.-gen. Surveyor-general.
• S. v. (Lat. sub voce). Under the word or title.
• S. W. Senior Warden; Southwest.
• Sw. Sweden, Swedish.
• Switz. Switzerland.
• Syn. Synonym, synonymous.
• Synop. Synopsis.
• Syr. Syria, Syriac; Syrup.
• T. Tenor; Ton; Tun; Tuesday.
• Tab. Table; Tabular statement.
• Tan. Tangent.
• Tech. Technical, technically.
• Ten., Tenn. Tennessee.
• Ter. Territory.
• Term. Termination.
• Teut. Teutonic.
• Tex. Texas.
• Th. Thomas; Thursday.
• Theo. Theodore.
• Theol. Theology.
• Theor. Theorem.
• Thess. Thessalonians.
• Tho., Thos. Thomas.
• Thu., Thur., Thurs. Thursday.
• Tier. Tierce.
• Tit. Title; Titus.
• Tom. Tome, volume.
• Tonn. Tonnage.
• Topog. Topography, topographical.
• Tp. Township.
• Tr. Translation, translator, translated; Transpose; Treasurer; Trustee.
• Trans. Transaction; Translation, translator, translated.
• Trav. Travels.
• Treas. Treasurer.
• Trig., Trigon. Trigonometry, trigonometrical.
• Trin. Trinity.
• Tu., Tues. Tuesday.
• Turk. Turkey, Turkish.
• Typ. Typographer.
• Typog. Typography, typographical.
• U. C. (Lat. urbis conditæ). From the building of the city—Rome. [A. U. C.]
• U. K. United Kingdom.
• Ult. (Lat. ultimo). Last, of the last month.
• um. Unmarried.
• Unit. Unitarian.
• Univ. University.
• Up. Upper.
• U. P. United Presbyterian.
• U. S. United States.
• U. S. A. United States of America; United States Army.
• U. S. L. United States Legation.
• U. S. M. United States mail; United States marine.
• U. S. M. A. United States Military Academy.
• U. S. N. United States Navy.
• U. S. N. A. United States Naval Academy.
• U. S. S. United States Senate; United States ship or steamer.
• U. S. S. Ct. United States Supreme Court.
• Usu. Usual, usually.
• V. Verb; Verse; Victoria; Violin.
• V., vs. (Lat. versus). Against.
• V. (Lat. vide). See.
• V. A. Vicar Apostolic; Vice-admiral.
• Va. Virginia.
• Val. Valve; Value.
• Var. Variety.
• Vat. Vatican.
• V. aux. Verb auxiliary.
• V. C. Vice-chancellor; Victoria Cross.
• Ven. Venerable.
• V. G. Vicar-General.
• V. g. (Lat. verbi gratia). For the sake of example.
• V. i. Verb intransitive.
• Vice-pres. Vice-president.
• Vid. (Lat. vide). See.
• V. imp. Verb impersonal.
• V. irr. Verb irregular.
• Vis., Visc. Viscount.
• Viz. (Lat. videlicet). Namely; to wit. [Oz.]
• V. n. Verb neuter.
• Voc. Vocative.
• Vol. Volume.
• Vols. Volumes.
• V. P. Vice-president.
• V. Rev. Very Reverend.
• Vs. (Lat. versus). Against.
• V. S. Veterinary surgeon.
• V. t. Verb transitive.
• Vt. Vermont.
• Vul., Vulg. Vulgate.
• vv. ll. (Lat. variæ lectiones). Various readings.
• W. Wednesday; Week; Welsh; West, western.
• Walt. Walter.
• Wash. Washington.
• w. c. Water closet.
• W. C. A. Women’s Christian Association.
• W. C. T. U. Women’s Christian Temperance Union.
• Wed. Wednesday.
• Wel. Welsh.
• w. f. Wrong font (in printing).
• Whf. Wharf.
• W. I. West Indies, West Indian.
• Wis., Wisc. Wisconsin.
• Wk. Week.
• W. Long. West Longitude.
• Wm. William.
• W. N. W. West-northwest.
• Wp. Worship.
• Wpful. Worshipful.
• W. S. W. West-southwest.
• Wt. Weight.
• W. Va. West Virginia.
• Wyo. Wyoming.
• Xm., Xmas. Christmas.
• Y. Year.
• Yd. Yard.
• Yds. Yards.
• Ye. The; Thee.
• Y. M. C. A. Young Men’s Christian Association.
• Y. M. Cath. A. Young Men’s Catholic Association.
• Y. M. H. A. Young Men’s Hebrew Association.
• Y. P. S. C. E. Young People’s Society of Christian Endeavor.
• Yr. Year; Younger; Your.
• Ys. Years; Yours.
• Y. W. C. A. Young Women’s Christian Association.
• Zach. Zachary.
• Zech. Zechariah.
• Z. G., Zoo. Zoölogical Gardens.
• Zoöl. Zoölogy, zoölogical.

Punctuation

Punctuation is the indication, by means of stops, of the different pauses necessary to show the meaning of a sentence.
Stops, therefore, are used to elucidate the meaning of words in their relation to other words.

The Period [.].—Declarative and imperative sentences, when not connected in construction with what follows, are closed by periods.

Examples:—The child is father of the man.

Examples:—The king is dead, long live the king.

A period should be placed after every abbreviation. The period thus used is part of the abbreviation.

Examples:—Wash., Washington; Gen., General; Pro tem., pro tempore, for the time being; Esq., Esquire; Gov., Governor.

Such expressions as 3d, 18th, 8mo, are not abbreviations and do not require a period after them.

A period should always be placed after the Roman numerals.

Examples:—I., II., III., IV., V., VI., VII., VIII., IX., X., etc.

Interrogation Point [?].—The interrogation point is used for marking all questions. When the question consists of several parts, or when several questions are contained in one sentence, there is some difficulty in deciding whether there should be one or more interrogation points. The principle is that if one answer is sufficient for all, one point is enough; if different answers are required, a point should be placed after each question.

Examples:—What can I do for you?

Examples:—Now, you understand?

Exclamation Point [!].—The exclamation point is placed at the end of every sentence, clause, phrase, or word intended to convey strong emotion.

Examples:—Praise be thine, O God!

Examples:—Lost! Lost! O that I were home!

Colon [:].—Two clauses, one or both of which are subdivided by the semicolon, should be separated from each other by the colon.

Example:—This chapter is divided into two sections: the first, which was written many years since, being a history of the institution; the second, a prophecy as to its future.

The colon is used before all direct quotations, if formally introduced, and after all words which formally introduce a sentence to follow. If the quoted matter begins a new paragraph, the colon should be followed by a dash.

Examples:—Cæsar spoke as follows: (His speech to follow.)

He replied in these words: “I shall always be prepared in future.”

My dear Friend: (A letter following.)

The colon is sometimes used between complete sentences where the period would indicate too long a pause, and the semicolon too short a pause.

Examples:—It was a dark and dreary night: the wind was blowing in fitful gusts.

It is over: let us go.

Semicolon [;].—When two clauses are united by either of the conjunctions for, but, and, or an equivalent word—the one clause perfect in itself, and the other added as a matter of inference, contrast or explanation—they are separated by a semicolon.

Example:—Economy is no disgrace; for it is better to live on a little than to outlive a great deal.

A semicolon is placed between two or more parts of a sentence when these, or any of them, are divisible by a comma into smaller portions.

Example:—Men are not to be judged by their looks, habits, and appearances; they should be judged by the character of their lives and conversations, and by their works.

When in a series of expressions the particulars depend on a commencing or concluding portion of the sentence, they should be separated from each other by a semicolon if laid down as distinct propositions or of a compound nature.

Example:—Philosophers assert that Nature is unlimited in her operations; that she has inexhaustible treasures in reserve; that knowledge will always be progressive; and that all future generations will continue to make discoveries of which we have not the slightest idea.

When several short sentences follow one another, slightly connected in sense or in construction, they should be separated by a semicolon.

Example:—Stones grow; vegetables grow and live; animals grow, live, and feel.

A semicolon is put before as, viz., to-wit, namely, i. e., or that is, when they precede an example or a specification of particulars, or subjects enumerated; and also between these particulars when they consist each of a disjunct pair of words, or of a single word or phrase but slightly connected with the others.

Example:—Many words are differently spelled in English; as, “Inquire, enquire; jail, gaol; skeptic, sceptic.”

Comma [,].—Two words belonging to the same part of speech, or used as such, when closely connected by one of the conjunctions and, or, nor, are not separated by a comma from each other.

Example:—Pay supreme and undivided homage to goodness and truth.

Two words of the same part of speech and in the same construction, if used without a conjunction between them, are separated from each other by a comma.

Example:—We are fearfully, wonderfully made.

Two nouns or pronouns in apposition, or a noun and a pronoun, should not be separated by a comma if they may be regarded as a proper name or as a single phrase.

Example:—The poet Milton wrote excellent prose and better poetry.

But a noun or pronoun and a phrase, or two or more phrases, if put in apposition so that they may not be so regarded, are separated by a comma from each other, and from what follows in the same sentence.

Example:—Homer, the greatest poet of antiquity, is said to have been blind.

Words or phrases contrasted with each other, or having a mutual relation to others that follow them in the same clause, are separated by commas.

Example:—False delicacy is affectation, not politeness.

A comma is put before a relative clause when it is explanatory of the antecedent or presents an additional thought.

Example:—Behold the emblem of thy state in flowers, which bloom and die.

But the point is omitted before a relative that restricts the general notion of the antecedent to a particular sense.

Example:—Every teacher must love a boy who is attentive and docile.

Expressions of a parenthetical or intermediate nature are separated from the context by commas.

Example:—The sun, with all its attendant planets, is but a very little part of the grand machine of the universe.

A word or an expression used independently in addressing a person or an object is separated by a comma from the rest of the sentence.

Example:—Antonio, light my lamp within my chamber.

Adjectival, participial, and absolute phrases are each separated by a comma from the remainder of the sentence.

Example:—Awkward in his person, James was ill qualified to command respect.

Adverbs or adverbial phrases, when used as connectives, or when they modify not single words, but clauses or sentences, are each followed by a comma; and if used intermediately they admit a comma before as well as after them.

Example:—The most vigorous thinkers and writers are, in fact, self-taught.

When a phrase beginning with a preposition, an adverb, or a conjunction relates to or modifies a preceding portion of the sentence, a comma is unnecessary if the parts are closely connected in sense.

Example:—For that agency he applied without a recommendation.

Many phrases which, in their natural or usual order, do not require to be punctuated, are, when placed in some other or unnatural position, set off by a comma from the rest of the sentence.

Example:—By Cowley, the philosopher Hobbes is compared to Columbus.

When one of two clauses depends on the other, they are separated by a comma.

Example:—If you would be revenged on your enemies, let your life be blameless.

Two correlative expressions united by the conjunction as or than are written without a point between them.

Example:—Men are never so easily deceived as when they plot to deceive others.

But when united by any other word than one of these conjunctions, the correlative expressions are separated by a comma.

Example:—Though learned and methodical, yet the teacher was not a pedant.

Words or phrases in the same construction, forming a series, are separated from each other by commas.

Example:—Scrooge was his sole executor, his sole administrator, his sole assign, his sole residuary legatee, his sole friend, and sole mourner.—Dickens.

But when the members of the series are closely connected in sense, the commas should be omitted.

Example:—Government of the people by the people for the people.

When in a compound sentence the clauses have each a different nominative, but have only one verb, expressed in the first clause and understood in the others, the ellipsis, or place of the verb, should be supplied by a comma.

Example:—A wise man seeks to shine in himself, a fool to outshine others.

A short quotation, or any expression that resembles a quotation, is separated by a comma from an introductory clause.

Example:—Dr. Thomas Brown truly says, “The benevolent spirit is as universal in its efforts as the miseries which are capable of being relieved.”

Dash —.—The dash denotes an abrupt break in a sentence.

Example:—Here lies the great—false marble, where?

Example:—Nothing but sordid dust lies here.

The dash is used to indicate that something is left unfinished.

Example:—We cannot hope to succeed unless—

Example:—But we must succeed.

The dash is sometimes used instead of brackets before and after a parenthesis.

Example:—The man actually—this is in the strictest confidence—filled his pocket with my cigars when he thought I was not looking.

The dash is used instead of the colon where the word “namely” is implied but not expressed.

Example:—The sentence should be amended to read “—whenever and wherever the president shall determine.”

Parentheses[]. —Parentheses are used to inclose an explanation, authority, definition, reference, translation, or any matter not belonging to the grammatical construction of the sentence.

Example:—He gained from heaven (’twas all he wished) a friend.

Brackets ().—The use of brackets is about the same as that of the marks of parenthesis, but is generally confined to words inserted in quotations for the sake of explanation.

Example:—Dickens has given a very lively account of this place [the Academy] in his paper entitled “Our School,” but it is very mythical in many respects.

Quotation Marks [“”].—Quotation marks are used before and after a passage quoted in the exact words of another.

Example:—“My very dog,” sighed poor Rip, “has forgotten me.”

Matter quoted indirectly, or given only in substance, is not placed within quotation marks.

A quotation within a quotation is inclosed in single marks.

Example:—“His staff and knapsack, her little bonnet and basket, etc., lie beside him. ‘She’ll come to-morrow,’ he says, when it gets dark, and goes sorrowfully home.”

Where a quotation consists of several paragraphs, quotation marks should be used at the beginning of each paragraph, but at the close of the last paragraph only.

Titles of books, essays, newspapers, etc., should be placed within quotation marks, unless in italics or capitals.

Hyphen [-].—The hyphen is used between the parts of certain compound words, and to mark the division of syllables in showing the spelling of words. It is sometimes used in place of the diæresis after a prefix ending in a vowel before a word beginning with a vowel.

Example:—Horse-chestnut, Franco-Prussian, re-edit, de-vi-ate, truth-telling, text-book.

Compound Words.—Rule I.—Compounds made by omitting particles, and used literally, are generally written with a hyphen.

Many such words that coalesce in pronunciation, and have become very familiar, are written continuously.

after-events

almond-oil

arrow-head

battle-ax

broomstick

eyeball

milkman

outlook

Rule II.—Two or more normally separate words are joined with hyphens if used in an adjective sense before a noun.

A sight never to be forgotten.

A never-to-be-forgotten sight.

Rule III.—A full phrase used as the name of something not literally indicated by the phrase is written with a hyphen or hyphens.

Those here given are names of plants:

Aaron’s-beard

forget-me-not

Rule IV.—Compound words showing arbitrary application of the literal idea expressed by their separated elements take no hyphen.

blackberry

bluefish

everybody

however

cottonwood (a tree)

pronghorn (antelope)

marrowfat (a pea)

arrowhead (a plant)

matchlock (a gun)

(Care should be taken not to apply this rule in cases where it does not really fit. Thus, any one, one’s self, etc., are often wrongly printed as anyone, oneself, etc.)

Apostrophe[’]. —The apostrophe is used in the possessive case of nouns, to denote the plural of figures and letters, and to mark the elision of letters at the beginning or middle of a word, and the omission of figures in a number or date.

Example:—John’s, men’s, 2’s, 7’s, p’s and q’s, I’ve, I’ll, don’t, won’t, Po’keepsie, tho’, ’92, ’76.

Miscellaneous Marks

Ellipsis [* * * *] signifies a leaving out, defect, omission.

Leaders [...] serve to carry the eye across the pages of indexes, tables, contents, etc.; thus:

Needle-gun invented...................1856

Brace [{].—It is the vertical curved line used to signify that two or more words or lines are to be taken together—thus:

Americans { Aboriginal

Native

Emigrants

Asterisk [*].—It is used in printing or writing as a reference to a passage or note in the margin or at the bottom of a page, and also to supply the omission of letters or words.

Dagger, or Obelisk [†] is so called from its resemblance to a dagger, or inverted obelisk. It is also a mark of reference to a note in the margin or at the bottom of the page.

Double Dagger [‡] is the third reference mark used when there are more than two used on a page.

Parallels [‖].—This character is used in writing and printing to call attention to a similarly marked note in the margin or at the foot of the page.

Section Mark [§] is the character often used to denote a division of a writing or subdivision of a chapter; a paragraph.

Paragraph [¶] is the sign which notes the division of a writing into distinct parts, sections or subdivisions.

Index, or Pointer [☞] is used to direct particular attention to a note or paragraph. It is sometimes called a fist.

Asterism [⁂ or ⁂], or cluster of stars, is used as a sign to direct attention to a passage, or paragraph, especially when such attention is deemed very important.

Rhetorical Figures of Speech

Figures of speech, or tropes, are used to make language more effective by adding special strength and beauty. They are words used in meanings not their own designed to secure a peculiarly happy effect. Thus when the poet writes:

“But yonder comes the powerful king of day,
Rejoicing in the East..........”

he uses “king of day” for “sun”; and no one can fail to notice the pleasureable effect produced.

Chief Rhetorical Figures of Speech

Resemblance. Contiguity. Contrast or
Surprise.

a. Comparison or
Simile. a. Autonomasia—
Individual for
class. a. Antithesis and
Epigram.

b. Metaphor— b. Hyperbole.

1. Identification
of like quali-
ties. b. Synecdoche—
Part for whole.

c. Irony and
Euphemism.

2. Identification
of like things. c. Metonymy—
Cause for effect,
badge for class,
etc.

Arrangement.

a. Climax.

c. Personification. b. Anti-climax.

d. Allegory. c. Emphasis, or
Inversion.

But the new word images introduced must really be suited to add strength or beauty. Notice the contrast between these two descriptions of morning:

The saffron morn, with early blushes spread,
Now rose refulgent from Tithonus’ bed,
With new-born day to gladden mortal sight,
And gild the courts of heaven with sacred light.
—Pope’s Homer.

The sun had long since in the lap
Of Thetis taken out his nap;
And, like a lobster boiled, the morn
From black to red began to turn.
—Butler’s Hudibras.

Principal Figures—The common figures are metaphor, simile, allegory, personification, apostrophe, euphemism, hyperbole, antithesis, epigram, irony, climax, onomatopœia (ŏn-ŏm-a-tō-pœ´-ĭ-a), and alliteration.

Simile.—A simile is a comparison between objects that are not of the same class, and usually expressed by either like or as.

Examples:—The warrior fought like a lion.

Examples:—His spear was like the mast of a ship.

Examples:—His wrath was as the storm.

Metaphor.—A metaphor is a comparison which is implied between two objects that are not of the same class. Unlike the simile, it does not state the resemblance, it takes that for granted and proceeds as if the two things were one—we no longer say, “He fought like a lion,” but, “He was a lion in the fight.”

Allegory.—Under which head fall Fables and Parables, is an extended Metaphor generally accompanied by Personification.

Example:—Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress; Spenser’s Faerie Queene.

Personification.—Attributes life to inanimate objects. It speaks of “The childhood of a nation,” of “a learned age” of “the thirsty ground,” of “eager darts,” of “winged words.”

Apostrophe.—Is a Personification accompanied by an address, or an address to an absent person.

Example:—

Ye hills and dales, ye rivers, woods, and plains,
And ye that live and move, fair creatures, tell.

Hyperbole is effective exaggeration.

Example:—

Her eye in heaven
Would through the airy region stream so bright,
That birds would sing and think it were not night.

Antithesis is a contrast of words or thoughts.

Examples:—

Better be first, he said, in a little Iberian village
Than be second in Rome.

Epigram is a short antithesis. It is often of the nature of a proverb.

Examples:—

Some are too foolish to commit follies.
The child is father of the man.

Irony is hidden satire.

Example:—

’Tis pretty, sure, and very probable,
That eyes, that are the frail’st and softest things,
Should be called tyrants, butchers, murderers.

Metonymy.—Metonymy is a figure of rhetoric in which the name of one object is put for another, the two being so related that the mention of one recalls the other.

Examples:—

He writes a good hand (handwriting).
Death fell in showers (bullets).
The kettle boils (water).
The pen is mightier than the sword (intelligence vs. force).

Synecdoche occurs where the part is taken for the whole, the species for the genus, the material for the thing made of it, where the person is designated by the most conspicuous trait of his character or the effect he produces.

Thus we may speak of “all hands being at work,” of so many “head” of cattle.

Climax.—Climax, or the rhetorical ladder, is the arrangement of a succession of words, or clauses, in such a way that the weakest may stand first; and that each in turn may rise in importance and make a deeper impression on the mind than that which preceded it.

Anti-climax reverses the order: this is often used in humorous writings.

Examples:—

I came, I saw, I conquered.
Since concord was lost, friendship was lost, fidelity was lost, liberty was lost—all was lost.
We have petitioned, we have remonstrated, we have supplicated, we have prostrated ourselves before the throne.—Patrick Henry.

Alliteration repeats the same sound in words for the purpose of adding to the euphony.

Examples:—

Silently out of the room there glided the glistening savage,
Bearing the serpent’s skin and seeming himself like a serpent,
Winding his sinuous way in the dark to the depths of the forest.

*Onomatopœia emphasizes the meaning by adapting the sound to the sense.

Example from Cataract of Lodore:—

And sounding and bounding and rounding,
And bubbling and troubling and doubling,
And grumbling and rumbling and tumbling,
And clattering and battering and shattering.

* Name-making; the formation of words in imitation of the sounds made by the things signified: as, buzz, hiss, peewit, etc. It is held by some philologists that all language had its origin in onomatopœia, words formed by this principle being the most natural, and readily suggesting the actions or objects producing the sounds which the words are intended to represent.

Euphemism is the form of expression by which bad or dangerous things are spoken of in gracious terms. As an example we say death is “parting” or “falling asleep.”

Emphasis, or Inversion, adds greatly to the precision as well as vigor of style when temperately used. That is, when the predicate or object are much more impressive or mentally prominent than the subject they may with advantage precede it.

Any special emphasis may justify inversion. It is frequently used to indicate a swift or abrupt action—Commands frequently assume this form and owe to it half their force.

Examples:—

Great is Diana of the Ephesians,
Sweet is the breath of morn.
Low she lies who blessed our eyes.
Silver and gold have I none.
Go he shall. Stay not here.
Up goes the fool, and gets sent down again.

Forms of Written English

All forms of language composition are either Prose or Poetry; and these in turn are subdivided rhetorically into certain well-recognized special forms. The following classification shows at a glance the most important of these:

I. Prose

Letter Writing.—Business and public letters, social letters, ceremonial letters and notes.
Narration.—Letters, journals, memoirs, biographies, history, travel, news, fiction.
Description.—Descriptions of external objects, of character and its development, of intellectual processes.
Exposition.—Essays, treatises, editorials, reviews, criticisms.
Argument.—Argumentative essays, debates, briefs, etc.
Persuasion or Oratory.—Orations, addresses, lectures, sermons.

II. Poetry

Epic and Narrative Poetry.—The great epics, metrical romances, metrical tales, ballads, pastorals, idylls, etc.
Dramatic (including all narrative poetry which presents actors as speaking and acting for themselves).—Tragedy, comedy, farce, opera, melodrama, mask, interlude, etc.
Lyric.—Odes, sacred and secular songs, elegy, sonnets, simple lyrics.
Didactic.—Moral essays in verse, satiric poetry, etc.

Letter Writing, or Correspondence.

A letter is a written communication on any subject from one person to another. In other words, it is written conversation, or “speaking by the pen.” Letters deserve very careful attention, for no species of composition is more generally used by all classes of persons. Remember that the letter “bespeaks the person,” and that many will judge of a person’s character and attainments from his correspondence.
The first endeavor of a writer should be to express himself as easily and naturally as in conversation, though with more method and conciseness.
So, before you begin to write a letter, arrange in your mind the ideas you wish to convey; then express them as if you were talking to the person to whom you are writing.

Divisions of a Letter.—In every business or social letter there are five things to consider: the heading, the introduction, the body of the letter, the complimentary close, and the signature. Business letters should have an introductory address before the salutation.

The Heading.—The heading consists of the name of the place at which the letter is written, and the date. If you write from a city like St. Louis, Boston, or New York, give the door number, the name of the street, of the city, and of the state. If you are at a hotel or a school, its name may take the place of the door number and the name of the street. If in a small country place, give your postoffice address, the name of the county, and that of the state.

The date consists of the month, the day of the month, and the year.

Leave at least one inch vacant on the top of the first page.

Put on the first line, and to the right, your own postoffice address; and, either on the same line or on the next, the date—that is, the month, day, and year, thus:

25 Endicott Street, Boston, Mass.,
August 6, 1904.

The Introduction.—The introduction consists of the address—the name, the title, and the place of business or the residence of the one addressed—and the salutation.

The Salutation and the Complimentary Close should be appropriate to the person addressed. (See list of forms of Salutation and Complimentary Close on page 737).

Titles of respect and courtesy should appear in the address. Prefix Mr. to a man’s name; Messrs. to the names of several gentlemen; Miss to that of a young lady; Mrs. to that of a married lady. Prefix Dr. to the name of a physician, but never Mr. Dr.; Rev. to the name of a clergyman, or Rev. Mr. if you do not know his christian name; Rev. Dr. if he is a Doctor of Divinity, or write Rev. before the name and D. D. after it.

Salutations vary with the station of the one addressed, or the writer’s degree of intimacy with him. Strangers may be addressed as Sir, Rev. Sir, General, Madam, etc.; acquaintances as Dear Sir, Dear Madam, etc.; friends as My dear Sir, My dear Madam, My dear Jones, etc.; and near relatives and other dear friends as My dear Wife, My dear Boy, Dearest Ellen, etc. Examples:

Mr. William C. Jones,
Washington, D. C.
Dear Sir:
Your letter, etc.
American Book Co.,
New York City.
Dear Sirs:
Kindly send, etc.

The Body.—Begin the body of the letter at the end of the salutation, and on the same line, if the introduction consists of four lines—you may do so even if the introduction consists of but three—in which case the comma after the salutation should be followed by a dash; otherwise, on the line below. (See general observations as to subject matter, style, etc.)

The Conclusion consists of the complimentary close and the signature. The forms of the complimentary close are many, and are determined by the relation of the writer to the one addressed. In letters of friendship may be used Your sincere friend; Yours affectionately; Your loving son or daughter, etc. In business letters, use Yours; Yours truly; Truly yours; Yours respectfully; Very respectfully yours, etc. In official letters use I am, with respect, your obedient servant; I have the honor to be your obedient servant, etc.

The complimentary close often forms part of the last paragraph; at other times it stands separately, and then it usually begins about the middle of the line. Example:

Very sincerely
Mary E. Shattuck.

A married woman should sign her own given name, but indicate her proper title of address; thus:

Mrs. J. F. Martin.

The Superscription, on the outside of the envelope, is the same as the address, consisting of the name, the titles, and the full directions of the one addressed. It should be written very plainly, and include the town, county, state, and country, if it goes abroad.

The number of the postoffice box, or the door number and the name of the street, or the name of the county, may stand at the lower left-hand corner.

Style of Letters.—It makes a considerable difference in our style whether we write as officials or business men, or as individual members of society.

The style should be determined in some measure by the nature of the subject, but in a still greater degree by the relative positions of the writer and the person addressed. On important subjects, the composition is expected to be forcible and impressive, on lighter subjects, easy and vivacious; in condolence, tender and sympathetic; in congratulation, lively and joyous. To superiors, it should be respectful; to inferiors, courteous; to friends, familiar; and to relatives, affectionate.

We may, therefore, usefully distinguish letters into three kinds—official or business letters and personal or social letters, and ceremonial letters or notes.

Official or Business Letters.—These include all those written by a person in the capacity of an officer, a professional man, a merchant, a tradesman, etc. They are classed together because they are mainly subject to the same rules.

In writing business letters, the following rules should be observed:

1. Be very clear, so that your exact meaning cannot fail to be understood at first sight. Read your letter over with close attention to see that all your thoughts are correctly, fully, and clearly expressed.

2. Take care that the handwriting be legible, else you may get boots for books, matches for hatchets or latches, two ponies instead of one hundred pansies.

3. Be brief and to the point; business men have no time to waste.

4. Confine yourself to strict business. If you wish to add matters of friendship, it is well to write them on a separate leaf, that the business portion may be separately filed.

5. Write grammatical and idiomatic English, and paragraph and punctuate as in other kinds of writing.

Personal and Social Letters.—Under this head may be placed those letters written by any person in his private capacity as an individual. Such letters may be dictated by friendship, by charity or kindness, by politeness, by respect, by gratitude, by self-interest, or by any other reasonable motive.

Among these are the following:

Letters of Friendship are such as are dictated by mutual affection between relatives and friends. They should be natural, easy, frank, without the least affectation. “I wish you to open to me your soul, not your library,” said Mme. de Sévigné, who wrote exquisitely herself. Such letters may treat of any subject of common interest to the parties concerned. Their language is that of the heart. Kindness, affection, charity, good-nature should dictate, prudence and common sense supervise them.

Letters of Congratulation are written on occasion of the New Year, a birthday, a preferment, or when a friend has met with some uncommon good fortune, and should be dictated by genuine friendship and sincere esteem, and expressed modestly without any exaggerated praise.

Letters of Condolence.—These require great skill and care. Act like the humane surgeon who touches the wound gently, and only to heal it. If your correspondent knows the sad news already, sympathize sincerely with him. If you are to announce the bad news yourself, prepare the way slowly; state the news as delicately as you can. Express your grief again before you conclude.

Letters of Introduction or Recommendation require special prudence. Think first whether it is proper to write such a letter at all for such a person. Avoid two dangers: do not offend the applicant for a recommendation, do not deceive your correspondent by exaggerated praise of the one recommended.

If the applicant is worthy state his merits, express reasonable confidence in him. If he is unworthy or doubtfully worthy, give him a letter which he will prefer not to present; for every such letter is an open letter, which the bearer is expected to read before delivering.

A letter of introduction or recommendation should never be sealed, as the bearer to whom it is given ought to know the contents.

Letters of Petition should be modest and every way moderate. Ingratiate yourself in a manly way; state your reasons briefly but forcibly; show your appreciation of the trouble your correspondent may be put to in consequence of the favor; promise gratitude.

In answering such letters favorably be brief and show your pleasure at rendering the little service asked. In refusing show how reluctantly you do so; give good reasons for it. Express your hope of finding, some other time, a better opportunity of showing your affection or esteem.

Letters of Thanks should never be neglected when a favor has been received. Express your appreciation both of the favor and of the kindness with which it was bestowed. Hope for an opportunity, not of repaying the person, but of showing your gratitude.

Ceremonial Letters and Notes.—Under this heading may be classed notes of invitation, acceptance, and regret, both formal and informal.

Informal invitations, acceptances, and regrets are simply friendly notes written always in the first person. They vary in form to suit the occasion. They should be cordial in tone, but brief, and are in better taste when confined to the subject of the invitation, outside items being permissible only under special circumstances which may require their mention.

An informal invitation should never, under any circumstances, be answered in the third person.

Invitation:—

30 Rampart St.,

May 4th, 1917.

Dear Mr. Brooks:

We would be very pleased to have you dine with us on Monday next, the 12th, at seven o’clock, if disengaged.

Cordially yours,
Helen Clements.

Acceptance:

Eastern Point,

April 29th, 1917.

Dear Mrs. Clements:

I will be most happy to dine with you on Monday, the 12th, at seven o’clock.

Faithfully yours,
Arthur Brooks.

Formal notes are always expressed in the third person, and all answers to such should correspond in form and style.

Although invitations to large affairs are usually printed from engraved plates, a few forms are here given, principally to show the correct forms of reply to the several kinds of invitation.

Invitation to a reception:

Mr. and Mrs. Charles L. Harrington
request the pleasure of your company
on Thursday evening, November tenth,
from eight until eleven o’clock,

896 Fifth Avenue.

Acceptance:

Miss Evelyn Hall
accepts with pleasure
Mr. and Mrs. Charles L. Harrington’s
invitation for Thursday evening,
November tenth.

Dinner invitation:

Mr. and Mrs. Henry W. King
request the pleasure of
Mr. and Mrs. Mayhew Marbury’s
company at dinner
on Tuesday evening, April tenth,
at eight o’clock,

40 Maple Avenue.

Acceptance:

14 West Street,

March 31st, 1917.

Mr. and Mrs. Mayhew Marbury
accept with pleasure
Mr. and Mrs. Henry W. King’s
invitation to dinner on
Tuesday evening, April tenth,
at eight o’clock.

Additional Suggestions.—Always use good paper and black ink. Decorated or highly colored writing papers are in poor taste. Plain white or slightly tinted paper of medium weight is best.

All letters and notes should be written legibly and neatly, carefully punctuated, and absolutely correct as to spelling.

All letters and notes, with a few special exceptions, require a prompt acknowledgment of receipt, if not an immediate answer.

This is especially the case in business letters and those containing enclosures of any kind.

All letters and notes should be courteous. To inferiors in station be kindly; to superiors, respectful; and to equals, friendly.

All letters and notes asking information should be re-read immediately before answering.

Official and Titled Salutations

Titles in the United States are either official or academic.

OFFICIAL TITLES

To the President of the United States, an official letter commences, Sir.

Conclusion: I have the honor to remain your most obedient servant.

Salutation of a social letter: My dear Mr. President.

Conclusion: I have the honor to remain most respectfully [or sincerely] yours.

Inscription on envelope: President Woodrow Wilson.

To the Vice-President, an official letter begins, Sir, or Dear Sir.

Conclusion: I have, Sir, the honor to remain your most obedient servant.

Salutation of a social letter: My Dear Mr. Marshall.

Conclusion: as given for president.

Inscription on envelope: The Vice-President, Thomas R. Marshall.

To a Justice of the Supreme Court, an official letter begins and concludes as in the case of a vice-president.

Salutation of a social letter: Dear Mr. Justice White, or Dear Justice White.

Conclusion: Believe me, truly [or most sincerely] yours, etc.

Inscription on envelope: Mr. Justice Edward D. White.

To a Senator, an official letter begins and concludes as to a vice-president.

Salutation of a social letter: My Dear Senator Lewis.

Conclusion: as given for a justice.

Inscription on envelope: Senator Hamilton Lewis or To the Hon. Hamilton Lewis.

To a Member of the House of Representatives, an official letter begins as to a senator.

Conclusion: as in the case of a vice-president.

Salutation of a social letter: My dear Mr. Clark.

Conclusion: as given for a justice.

Inscription on envelope: Hon. Champ Clark.

To a Member of the Cabinet, an official letter begins and concludes as to a vice-president.

The salutation and conclusion of a social letter are as in the case of a member of the House of Representatives.

Inscription on envelope: Honorable Robert Lansing, Secretary of State.

To the Governor of a State, an official letter begins: Sir.

Conclusion: I have the honor, Sir, to remain your obedient servant.

A social letter begins: Dear Governor McCall or Dear Mr. McCall.

Conclusion: Believe me, truly [or most sincerely] yours.

Inscription on envelope: Governor [or Hon.] Samuel W. McCall.

To a Mayor, an official letter begins: Sir or Your Honor.

Conclusion: Same as a governor.

Social letter begins: My dear Mayor Rockwood or Dear Mr. Rockwood.

Conclusion: Same as a governor.

Inscription on envelope: His Honor the Mayor of Cambridge, Wendell D. Rockwood.

CLERICAL TITLES

The Pope—His Holiness Pope Benedict XV.

To a Roman Catholic Archbishop, an official or a social letter begins: Most Reverend and Dear Sir.

Conclusion: I have the honor to remain your humble servant.

Inscription on envelope: The Most Reverend John J. Keane, Archbishop of Dubuque, Iowa.

To A Cardinal, whether official or social, a letter begins: Your Eminence.

Conclusion: as to an archbishop.

Inscription on envelope: His Eminence Cardinal Gibbons.

To a Roman Catholic Bishop, either an official or a social letter begins: Right Reverend and Dear Sir.

Conclusion: as to an archbishop.

Inscription on envelope: To the Right Reverend Philip J. Garrigan, Bishop of Sioux City, Iowa.

To A Protestant Bishop, an official letter begins as in the case of a Roman Catholic bishop. A social letter begins: Dear Bishop Lawrence.

Conclusion: I have the honor to remain your obedient servant, or I remain respectfully or sincerely yours.

Address on envelope: The same as to a Roman Catholic bishop.

To an Archbishop of the Anglican Church, an official letter begins: My Lord Archbishop, may it please your Grace.

Conclusion: I remain, My Lord Archbishop, your Grace’s most obedient servant.

Salutation of a social letter: My dear Lord Archbishop.

Conclusion: I have the honor to remain, my dear Lord Archbishop.

Inscription on envelope: The Most Rev. His Grace the Archbishop of York.

To an Anglican Bishop, an official letter begins: My Lord.

Conclusion: I have the honor to remain your Lordship’s obedient servant.

Salutation of a social letter: My Dear Lord Bishop.

Conclusion: I have the honor to remain, my dear Lord Bishop, faithfully yours.

Inscription on envelope: To the Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of Oxford.

ENGLISH TITLES OF ROYALTY, NOBILITY AND OFFICE

The following list illustrates the various titles used for the different ranks among individuals either in the complimentary address or superscription on the envelope:

1. In Letters or Conversation.

2. The Directions of Letters.

The Royal Family

The King—

1. Sir; Most Gracious Sovereign; May it please your Majesty.

2. To the King’s Most Excellent Majesty.

The Sons and Daughters, Brethern and Sisters of Sovereigns—

1. Sir, or Madam, May it please your Royal Highness.

2. To His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales.

To Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cambridge.

Other Branches of the Royal Family—

1. Sir, or Madam, May it please your Highness.

2. To His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge; or, To Her Highness the Princess Mary of Cambridge.

The Nobility

A Duke, or Duchess—

1. My Lord, or My Lady, May it please your Grace.

2. To His Grace the Duke of Bedford; or, To Her Grace the Duchess of Bedford.

A Marquis, or Marchioness—

1. My Lord, or My Lady, May it please your Lordship, or May it please your Ladyship.

2. To the Most Noble the Marquis, or Marchioness, of Westminster.

An Earl or Countess—The same.

To the Right Honorable the Earl, or Countess, of Shrewsbury.

A Viscount or Viscountess—

1. My Lord, or Madam, May it please your Lordship, or, May it please your Ladyship.

2. To the Right Honorable Viscount, or Viscountess, Lifford.

A Baron or Baroness—The same.

To the Right Honorable, the Lord Wensleydale, or The Lady St. John.

The Widow of a Nobleman is addressed in the same style, with the introduction of the word Dowager in the superscription of her letters.

To the Right Hon. the Dowager Countess of Chesterfield.

The Sons of Dukes and Marquises, and the Eldest Sons of Earls, have, by courtesy, the titles of Lord and Right Honorable; and all the daughters have those of a Lady and Right Honorable.

The Younger Sons of Earls, and the Sons and Daughters of Viscounts and Barons, are styled Honorable.

Official Members of the State

A Member of His Majesty’s Most Honorable Privy Council—

1. Sir, or My Lord, Right Honorable Sir, or My Lord, as the case may require.

2. To the Right Honorable ——, His Majesty’s Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.

Ambassadors and Governors—

1. Sir, or My Lord, as the case may be; May it please your Excellency.

2. To his Excellency the French (or other) Ambassador.

3. To his Excellency ——, Lieutenant General and General Governor of that part of the United Kingdom called Ireland.

Judges—

1. My Lord, May it please your Lordship.

2. To the Right Honorable ——, Lord Chief Justice of England.

The Lord Mayor of London, York, or Dublin, and the Lord Provost of Edinburgh, during office—The same.

1. My Lord, May it please your Lordship.

2. To the Right Honorable ——, Lord Mayor of London. To the Right Honorable ——, Lord Provost of Edinburgh.

The Lord Provost of every other town in Scotland is styled Honorable.

The Mayors of all Corporations (excepting the preceding Lord Mayors), and the Sheriffs, Aldermen, and the Recorder of London, are addressed Right Worshipful; and the Aldermen and Recorders of other Corporations, and the Justices of the Peace, Worshipful.

The Parliament

House of Peers—

1. My Lords, May it please your Lordships.

2. To the Right Honorable the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, in Parliament assembled.

House of Commons—

1. May it please your Honorable House.

2. To the Honorable the Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

The Speaker of Ditto—

1. Sir, or Mr. Speaker.

2. To the Right Honorable James W. Lowther, the Speaker of the House of Commons.

A Member of the House of Commons Not Ennobled—

1. Sir.

2. To Thomas Hughes, Esq., M.P.

Narration

Narration is a species of composition which relates the particulars of a real or fictitious event in the order of their occurrence. In a wider meaning, narration is the statement of successive facts. In a story or drama the plot is the series of incidents which form the skeleton of the story.
If the subject deals with real facts, as in biography, or history, or news, the rule of fidelity to the truth is essential. It requires that not only the main facts shall be true as they are narrated, but also that all the striking and important details be faithfully stated as they are known to have occurred or happened.

Biography.—After the letter, the simplest form of composition is biography. The order of events from youth to age is established.

This style of composition is strongly to be recommended for beginners. It affords excellent practice for all. It promotes a habit of putting things in order.

Outline scheme of biography:—

• 1. When was he born?
• 2. Where was he born?
• 3. Who were his parents?
• 4. Where was he educated?
• 5. Whom did he marry?
• 6. What was his profession?
• 7. What great work did he do?
• 8. When and where did he die?
• 9. Where was he buried?

Answer each question in a complete sentence.

You have nine statements in chronological order.

Each of these can be expanded into one or more paragraphs.

Fiction and Drama.—If the composition is a story or drama, the principal requirements involve the following:

The story should develop one or more of the following: plot, situation, character.

The story should have interest.

1. It should begin attractively and as directly as possible.

2. It must move, and not simply “mark time.”

3. It may be made effective by dramatic situations and turning points.

4. It may use description, but the description must be closely connected with the story and must not hinder the movement.

5. It should discriminate in the number and the importance of details.

6. It may make effective use of suspense and suggestion.

7. It should have no inconsistency in the speech or the actions of the characters.

8. It should have an effective ending.

News, or the Newspaper “Story,” is another very important form of narrative. The newspaper is the great popular educator of the day, and in its columns are found not only excellent examples of vivid and telling narratives, but frequently excellent types of spontaneous writing.

News and news reporting require accuracy, clearness, brevity, and a style that either charms, or compels interest. Indeed, it too frequently happens that to secure the element of interest practically all else is sacrificed.

Reporting and news writing are best learned by careful study of the daily papers, and from constant practice. Shorthand is an invaluable aid in securing the exact words of the speaker if the news takes the form of an interview, or report of a public address or meeting.

The relation of the “facts” and “story” may be illustrated in the following:

Report of exact words of the speaker:—

“I assure you, my friends, that I for my part, will do all I possibly can to resist this measure. You know that I have always been opposed to it; as recently as yesterday I spoke against it here in this very hall. Do you think that the people of this country will tolerate such injustice? I am sure they will not.”

How the newspaper report appeared:—

He assured his friends that he for his part would do all he possibly could to resist that measure. They knew that he had always been opposed to it; as recently as the day before he had spoken against it there in that very hall. Did they think, he asked, that the people of this country would tolerate such injustice? He was sure they would not.

Exposition

Exposition is a form of composition designed to explain. Its important characteristic is clearness, and it, therefore, makes large use of illustration.
The main points may be stated in various ways in order to make them clear.
Essays and editorials are among the best known forms of exposition.

Essay.—An essay is a short composition upon any subject. The subject may be of any kind whatever, one fit for treatment, and with great fulness, in any of the species of discourse described above, or one without sufficient dignity for such treatment. No other species of writing ranges over so wide and varied a field of topics—nothing less than that of all others combined—and none other allows such freedom and diversity in the handling.

In style of thought the essay may be dreamy and semi-poetical, and charm by its beauty, it may be simply instructive or critical, it may blaze with its brilliancy, sting with its satire, convulse with its humor, convince with its logic, inflame with its appeal and move to instant duty. The author may wander off in leisurely excursions to the right and the left, and load his pages with gleanings by the way; or, like the orator, he may keep his eye on the point he would reach, and move, with the directness of an arrow’s flight, toward it.

The style of expression should fit the thought, and October woods are not more varied in color than this department of literature in utterance.

Outline of the Essay.—1. Give a clear definition of the subject or proposition to be discussed, amplified, paraphrased, or explained.

2. Set out the reason for, or the truth of, the proposition.

3. Add the confirmation of further proofs, including demonstration of the unreasonableness of the contrary.

4. Illustrate the truth of the proposition by comparison or analogy from nature or art.

5. Give direct examples or instances to corroborate the truth.

6. Quote the testimony of standard authors.

7. Conclude by summing up, with pertinent observations.

Remember that all this working to a formula is only a training in the habit of clear thinking—a mental discipline.

When you can do without the formula, and not till then, you will begin to be a writer.

Editorials are, in point of fact, simply little essays, usually following closely the news or issues of the day. Their function is to elucidate, summarize, inform, persuade, or merely comment. In their highest form they are to prose writing what the sonnet is to verse; but it must be confessed that numerous editorials are so completely dominated by the so-called “editorial policy” of newspaper owners, or colored by one of the various hues of partisanship, that their otherwise beneficent influence and power are largely neutralized.

Description.—We mean by a description the delineation of some object or scene. Narration deals with successive facts; description with objects that exist at the same time. We rarely find any literary production of great length which is entirely descriptive; but descriptions are often introduced into narratives with happy effect.

Sometimes they serve the purpose of making the narration impressive, by moving the passions of the reader. At other times they are intended to make the events more intelligible. Thus we have seen that some narratives of battles are hard to follow because the writer has neglected to give us a clear description of the battle-field.

Descriptions frequently serve as ornaments, affording an agreeable variety to the narration, and presenting scenes of striking interest to the imagination.

Rules.—The governing rules in description are the following:

1. In every good description a point of view should be established.

2. The description should be governed by the point of view.

3. The general outline of the picture should, ordinarily, be given first.

4. The number of details should be so few and so insignificant as to make a vivid picture.

5. The order of the details should be determined by the character of the object described.

Argument.—This form of composition is designed to prove the truth or the falsity of a proposition.

A brief is a summary of an argument showing the development of the argument by a series of headings and sub-headings.

The first step in the argument should be to define the terms of the proposition or to determine the facts in the case.

State reasons to establish facts.

The conclusion should be warranted by the premises.

Illustrations may be used effectively, but not conclusively.

Analogy should be used for illustration, not as a basis for conclusions.

Arguments should usually be arranged in the order of their strength, the strongest last.

Poetry and Poetics

Poetry is usually classified as epic, lyric, dramatic, and didactic.

Epic Poetry is that which deals with the life and adventures of some real or mythic personage, called a hero.

1. The great epic is considered the highest effort of poetic talent, on account of the loftiness of its conceptions, the dignity of its character, and the difficulty of its execution. Few epic poems have gained general admiration. Those most highly prized are Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey; Virgil’s Æneid; Milton’s Paradise Lost; and Tasso’s Jerusalem Delivered.

2. The Metrical Romance differs from the great epic in its theme, which is less serious; its metre, which is lighter; and its control of events, which is mainly human; the love element is more prominent in this form of the epic. Examples: Scott’s Marmion and The Lady of the Lake.

3. The Tale is a simple form of narrative poetry telling a complete story. Examples: Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales; Tennyson’s Enoch Arden.

4. The Ballad is a direct, rapid, and condensed story, having peculiarities of phrase and poetic accent. Examples: Chevy Chase; Coleridge’s Ancient Mariner.

5. Pastorals and Idylls have a great deal of description, often of simple country scenes, mingled with the narrative. Examples: Goldsmith’s Deserted Village; Tennyson’s Idylls of the King.

Dramatic poetry tells a story by means of characters speaking and acting in such a way as to develop a plot. The drama is divided into acts, often five, the fifth act showing the results of the plot which has been developing.

The classes of dramatic poetry are tragedy and comedy.

Tragedy deals with the grave situations and problems of life and engenders in the spectator noble emotions.

Comedy deals with the pleasanter and more trivial side of life and chooses its subjects from everyday follies, accidents, or humors.

Lyric poetry expresses the deepest emotions of sentiment of the poet. The lyric, as the word suggests, was originally designed to be sung to the music of the lyre.

Lyric poetry includes five classes, as follows:

Song may be either sacred or secular.

The Ode is the loftiest form of lyric, and expresses great range and depth of feeling. This range of emotion often varies the metre. Examples: Tennyson’s Ode on the Death of the Duke of Wellington; Lowell’s Commemoration Ode.

The Elegy laments the fleeting condition of human affairs. Examples: Gray’s Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard; Milton’s Lycidas; Tennyson’s In Memoriam.

The Sonnet is a short poem of fourteen iambic pentameter lines, and had originally a prescribed arrangement of rhyming lines. The great English sonnet writers are Shakespeare, Milton, Wordsworth, and Mrs. Browning.

Many lyrics have none of the special aims already mentioned. These may be called Simple lyrics. Example: Burns’s To a Daisy.

Didactic verse is not the highest type of poetry.

Its aim is not to give pleasure, but to instruct.

Example: Pope’s Essay on Man.

Poetics

Poetry differs from prose in three particulars: in its purpose, in its style, and in its form.
The chief object of poetry is to give pleasure. Of all literature it is the most spontaneous because addressed particularly to the feelings.
It has its own diction and imagery, conforming to the order, gradations and subtleties of its thought. Like other forms of genius, too, it is permitted certain liberties and variations of language or expressions in order to avoid monotony and maintain the life and music of the verse. These are more strictly rhetorical, however, and next in importance to the poetic content is poetic form.
By poetic form we mean the mould and measure whereby, in English, poetry gets itself into the expression adapted to produce its designed effect.

Metre.—All impassioned language, as in eloquence for instance, tends to fall into a more or less regular rhythmic swing. In poetry, which is both impassioned and imaginative, this rhythm is timed to definite lengths and called metre, which is the Greek word for measure.

The unit of poetic measure is the foot. A foot is a combination of syllables, two or three distinguished, after the Greek, as long and short, but more truly accented and unaccented, because our syllabic values, unlike the Greek, are more accentual than quantitative. A variety of poetic feet are employed in English, whose names and values are derived from Greek prosody.

Poetic Feet.—For brevity of description a notation is used to designate the foot: the sign (—) for a long, and (◡) for a short syllable. The kinds of feet in most common English use, here marked by their signs and illustrated by a word, are: Iambic or Iambus, a short and a long (◡ —, e. g. forbid); Trochaic or Trochee, a long and a short (— ◡, e. g. lightly); Spondaic or Spondee, two longs (— —, e. g. all day); Anapestic, two shorts and a long (◡ ◡ —, e. g. arabesque); and Dactylic, a long and two shorts (— ◡ ◡, e. g. silently).

Other feet, such as Tribrach, three shorts (◡ ◡ ◡, e. g. rapidly); Amphibrach, short long short (◡ — ◡, e. g. tremendous), and Amphimacer, long short long (— ◡ —, e. g. undismayed), are used less frequently, and only as blends with other measures.

Verse.—The first combination of poetic feet results in the verse or line, somewhat analogous to the clause in a prose sentence. The word verse means by derivation a turning; perhaps because where it reaches a certain designed length the writer turns back and begins a new line. The kinds of verse employed are named by Greek names according to the number of feet they contain; and along with this, if the measure is fully described, is named the kind of foot.

The same notation as given above is kept up through the line, the feet being separated by an upright line. Thus, taking the Iambic foot as unit, we note: Monometer, one-measure, or one foot long (◡ —); Dimeter, two-measure (◡ — | ◡ —); Trimeter, three-measure (◡ — | ◡ — | ◡ —); Tetrameter, four-measure (◡ — | ◡ — | ◡ — | ◡ —); Pentameter, five-measure (◡ — | ◡ — | ◡ — | ◡ — | ◡ —); and Hexameter, six-measure, (◡ — | ◡ — | ◡ — | ◡ — | ◡ — | ◡ —). English names are sometimes used, as 8 and 7, or fourteeners.

A few poetic lines may here be given, with their notation, by way of illustration:

I wan dered lone ly as a cloud

(Iambic tetrameter)

Heard the lapping of the water

(Trochaic tetrameter)

This is the forest pri meval; the murmuring pines and the hemlocks

(Dactylic hexameter)

Oh, young Lochinvar is come out of the West

(Anapestic tetrameter)

One more un fortunate

(Dactylic dimeter)

This was the no blest Ro man of them all

(Iambic pentameter)

At some place within a long line, pentameter or hexameter, occurs a natural pause, called the cæsura. The continual varying of the place of the cæsura is one means of breaking up the monotony to which blank verse (Iambic pentameter unrhymed) tends.

Stanzas.—The next step of procedure as the combination of poetic elements goes on from the single verse, is some form of stanza structure.

The simplest approach to the stanza, employed principally in what is called Heroic verse, is the couplet (also called the Heroic couplet), two lines, Iambic pentameter, rhymed, and generally pausing at the end of the second line. They form only partially a stanza, however, because these couplets go on, according to the requirements of the thought, to group themselves in paragraphs after the manner of prose. Pope is the great master of the heroic couplet.

Sometimes, if the lines are long, a poem is made up of couplet stanzas, as in Tennyson’s Locksley Hall.

There are certain standard stanza structures, such as the Elegiac stanza, four lines Iambic pentameter, rhymed either in pairs or alternately, of which Gray’s Elegy (rhymed alternately) is the type; the Ballad stanza, four lines Iambic pentameter and trimeter alternating, with second and fourth lines rhymed together, sometimes also first and third; various hymn stanzas, designated Long Metre (L. M.), Common Metre (C. M.), Short Metre (S. M.), 8 and 7, 6 and 4, etc., which can be studied in any hymn-book; and most elaborate of all, the Sonnet, a fourteen-lined stanza which is also a whole poem, with a rather intricate rhyme scheme.

Generally speaking, however, the liberties and varieties of stanza structure, as to kind of measure, length of line and stanza itself, combination of long and short line, and rhyme scheme, is almost unlimited.

Rhyme.—A new poetic element enters into the stanza: the element of rhyme. The most prominent regulative feature of English lyric verse, perhaps, is the rhyme by which recurring periods are grouped. Technically speaking, there are three kinds of rhyme, only one of which plays an important, or at least essential part, in modern English poetry.

1. Beginning rhyme, or alliteration (e. g. the mother of months), which in Anglo Saxon poetry was the main principle of verse, but is now introduced only furtively and delicately.

2. Middle rhyme, or assonance, wherein only the vowels rhyme (e. g. blarney, charming), which is introduced with even more caution than alliteration.

3. End-rhyme, which is so constant and essential a principle of the stanza that it needs no further definition here.

In the skillful management and disposition of the end-rhymes, to produce its poetic effects without monotony or undue obtrusiveness, there is room for the finest poetic taste and workmanship. On single rhymes (e. g. face, embrace), double rhymes (e. g. rally, sally), and triple rhymes (e. g. pentameter, sham metre), which explain themselves, there is no occasion to enlarge.

The arrangement of lines in a stanza is indicated, in brief notation, by letters of the alphabet. Thus a a b b indicates a four-line stanza in which the first and second lines rhyme, and the third and fourth; ab ab, a stanza in which the rhymes alternate; a b b a, a stanza like that of Tennyson’s In Memoriam, in which this arrangement is reversed.

In this way, with the use of the other notation mentioned, a complete description of poetic construction, from foot to stanza, may be made in very short space.

How Rhythm is Applied.—Lyric poetry, of which the type is the song; was originally designed to be associated with music. It is in this class of poetry, especially, that the stanza form and the rhyme system prevail; but besides the song and the ballad, which most suggest musical accompaniment, there are the ode, the elegy, the sonnet, the didactic poem, and many others, with which music, except in the natural melody of the verse, has little to do.

In epic poetry, the vehicle of great national deeds and ideals, and the enshrining of deep religious and moral truths, the verse employed is generally blank verse (i. e. unrhymed verse), in paragraphs instead of stanzas, and generally Iambic pentameter. For less sublime or universal purposes, however, this epic class has been enlarged to include narrative and romantic poetry, often rhymed, as in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales and Scott’s The Lady of the Lake; and sometimes in stanzas, as in Spencer’s Fairy Queene.

Dramatic poetry, designed for representation on the stage, and written in blank verse of a less severe and rigid artistic kind than in the epic, is modeled more after the natural rhythm of impassioned speech. The range and tone of such dramatic verse is very generous and elastic; from the free and colloquial, as in Browning’s dramatic monologues, up to the so-called closet drama, designed to be read rather than played, wherein the artistic demands are as subtle and exacting as in the epic, and the sentiment generally more intense.

While, therefore, the ancient classification remains fundamental and true, the modern art of printing and the discontinuance of the custom of reading aloud, have operated to enlarge the scope of poetry within these elemental lines till every requirement of impassioned and imaginative utterance is freely open to it, in vital and enduring forms.

Words and Phrases from the Modern Foreign Languages.

Including proverbs, maxims, quotations, mottoes, idioms, allusions, references, and numerous terms used in law, literature, cookery, the drama, social life, and everyday affairs.

Key to Pronunciation

ä, as in farm, father; ȧ, as in ask, fast; a, as in at, fat; ā, as in day, fate; â, as in care, fare; e, as in met, set; ē, as in me, see; ẽ, as in her, ermine; i, as in pin, ill; ī, as in pine, ice; o, as in not, got; ō, as in note, old; ô, as in for, fought; oo, as in cook, look; ōō, as in moon, spoon; u, as in cup, duck; ū, as in use, amuse; û, as in fur, urge; th, as in the, though; y, as in yet, you; ow, as in cow, now; ng, as in sing, ring; ch, as in church, choose.

Foreign Sounds

ö cannot be exactly represented in English. The English sound of u in burn is perhaps the nearest equivalent to ö. ü cannot be exactly represented in English. The English sound of u in luke and duke resembles the original sound of ü. N represents the nasal tone (as in French) of the preceding vowel, as in encore (äN-kôr´). K represents ch, as in German ich, ach. zh, sound of s in pleasure. j and g before i or e in Spanish, strongly aspirated h.
Phrases not designated are from the French; those from other languages are distinguished thus: (Ger.)—German; (It.)—Italian; and (Sp.)—Spanish.

A

a bas (ȧ bä´), down.

a bas le traitre (ȧ bä´le tretr´), down with the traitor.

a beau jeu beau retour (ȧ bō zhö´ bō retōōr´), one good turn deserves another.

a bon chat, bon rat (ȧ bôN rȧ´), (to a good cat, a good rat), well matched; set a thief to catch a thief.

a bon marché (ȧ bôN mȧr shā´), cheap.

abonnement (ȧ bôn mäN´), subscription.

a bras ouverts (ȧ brȧzōō ver´), with open arms.

abrégé (ȧ brā zhā´), abridgment.

absence d’esprit (ȧp säNs des prē´), absence of mind.

a causa persa, parole assai (It.), (ä kä´ ōō zä per´sa, pä rô´lāäsä´ē), when the cause is lost, there is enough of words.

accueil (ȧ kö´ē), reception; greeting; welcome.

à charge (ȧ shȧrzh´), at expense.

à cheval (ȧ she vȧl´), on horseback.

à compte (ȧ kôNt´), on account.

à corps perdu (ȧ kôr per dū´), headlong; neck or nothing.

à coup sur (ȧ kōō sür´), with certainty; surely.

à couvert (ȧ kōō ver´), under cover, protected, sheltered.

acqua Tofana (It.), (ä kwä tō fä´nä), a subtle poison.

à demi (ȧ de mi´), by halves.

à dessein (ȧ de sâN), designedly.

à deux mains (ȧ dö mâN´), (for both hands), having a double office or employment.

adieu (ȧ dēö´), (I commit you to God), good-bye.

adieu, la voiture, adieu, la boutique (ȧ dēö´, lȧ vwȧ tür´, ȧ dēö´ lȧ bōō tēk´), (good-bye, carriage; good-bye, shop), all is over.

à discrétion (ȧ dēs krā sēôN´), at discretion, unrestrictedly.

à droite (ȧ drwȧt´), to the right.

affaire d’amour (ȧ fer dȧ mōōr´), a love affair.

affaire d’honneur (ȧ fer dô nör´), an affair of honor, a duel.

affaire du coeur (ȧ fer dü kör´), an affair of the heart, a love affair.

affiche (ȧ fēsh´), a placard; a notice; bulletin.

affreux (ȧ frö´), frightful.

à fin (ȧ fâN), to the end or object.

à fond (ȧ fôN´), to the bottom; thoroughly.

à forfait (ȧ fôr fe´), by contract, by the job.

à gauche (ȧ gōsh´), to the left.

à genoux (ȧ zhe nōō), on one’s knees.

agneau (ä-nyō), lamb.

à grands frais (ȧ gräN fre´), at great expense.

a haute voix (ȧ ōt vwȧ), loudly; openly.

a huis clos (ȧ wē klō´), (with closed doors), secretly; in camera.

aide-toi, et le ciel t´aidera (ed twȧ´, ā le sēel ted rȧ´), help yourself, and Heaven will help you.

air distingué (er dēs tâN gā´), a distinguished appearance.

air noble (er nôbl´), a distinguished, patrician air, manner, or presence.

à la (ä lä), au (ō), aux (ō).—With; according to; after the manner of; as huitres aux champignons, oysters with mushrooms.

If a dish is cooked, or served, or made, with anything as an ingredient or garnish, the dish may be said to be “à la” that substance. So it may be possible to ascertain the meaning of phrases not given below by looking elsewhere in the vocabulary under the word used with the words “à la.”

à l’abandon (ȧ lȧ bäN dôN´), disregarded, uncared for.

à la béarnaise (ä lä bā-är-nāz´).—With a sauce of tarragon vinegar in which shallots have been boiled till it is reduced, then combined with egg yolks and butter, and beaten in a bain-marie, then seasoned with red pepper and lemon juice.

à la béchamel (ä lä bā-shä-mel´).—After the fashion of Béchamel (a French gastronomer); said of a sauce (see Bechamel); also prepared or served with this sauce.

à la belle étoile (ȧ lȧ be lā twȧl´), under the canopy of Heaven; in the open air.

à la Bercy (ȧ lȧ bâr-sē´).—Served with béarnaise sauce, stuffed green pepper and stuffed tomato.

à la bigarade (ȧ lä bē-gā-räd´).—Flavored with (Seville) orange juice or peel.

à la bonne femme (ȧ lȧ bôn fȧm).—Of, or in the style of, the housewife; specifically said of a kind of maigre soup made with fish, bouillon, legumes, and an assortment of vegetables.

à la bonne heure (ȧ lȧ bô nör´), well-timed, in good time; favorably; good.

à la bordelaise (ä lä bôr-de-lāz´).—With Bordeaux wine; said of various preparations containing it; as of a sauce, with garlic, shallots, or onions, chopped mushrooms, and a piece of marrow; also with sauce a la bordelaise.

à la bourguignotte (ā lä boor-gē-nyot).—Generally prepared with the addition of red wine of Burgundy, or of Bordeaux, or of the Midi (i.e., meridional provinces of France). At Bordeaux, or when made elsewhere with Gironde wine, the dish would be à la bordelaise.

à la caledo´nian (ä lä).—Boiled slowly in plain water and then baked with dressing of butter, chopped parsley, and a little lemon juice; said of finnan haddie when so cooked.

à la Camerani (ä lä kä-mā-rä´nē).—After the fashion of Camerani; said of a kind of rich chicken-liver soup.

à la campagne (ȧ lȧ käN päny´), in the country.

à la carte (ȧ lȧ kȧrt´), by the card.

à la Chateaubriand (ä lä shä-tō-brē-äN´).—With maitre d’hotel butter.

à la chevreuil (ä lä she-vrû´y´).—Served with a savory sauce; said of fillets of beef.

à la chipolata (ä lä chē-pō-lä´tä).—Containing an addition of the strongly flavored Italian sausages, or the mince with which they are filled.

à la chiffonade (ä lä shē-fo-näd´).—See chiffonade.

à la cocotte (ä lä kō-kot´).—Baked (as eggs) in a cocotte, with butter and cream, or with cheese, or the like, and served in a cocotte.

à la crapaudine (ä lä krä-pō-dēn´).—Like a crapaudine (the flat piece of iron on which a grate pivot rests;) said of grilled chicken, pigeon, etc., when prepared by boning, removing the legs and wings, and pressing flat.

à la Créole (ä lä krā-ōl).—With tomatoes.

à la Croissy (ä lä krwä-sē´).—Containing carrots in quantity, or at least strongly flavored with them; said specifically of a puree of onions, carrots, turnips, and parsnips stewed in coulis. According to others, containing turnips in quantity, or strongly flavored with them.

à la daube (ä lä dōb).—Stewed in daube; said specifically of dishes cooked with small square pieces of salt pork, the round slices of carrots, glaced onions, and turnips.

à la Dauphiné (ä lä dō-fē-nā´).—With various vegetables, spinach, lettuce, leek, onions, sorrel, beets, etc.; said of a kind of soup.

à la Dauphinoise (ä lä dō-fē-nwäz´).—Generally, sauced over with a thick sauce (or with egg yolk), bread-crumbed, and then fried.

à la dérobée (ȧ lȧ dā rô bā), stealthily.

à la diable (ä lä dē-ä´bl).—Deviled.

à la faveur (ȧ lȧ fȧ vör´), by the favor of.

à la financière (ä lä fē-näN-syâr´).—With extract of truffles (literally, after the style of a financier); said of a variety of espagnole sauce, and of dishes served with it.

à la Flamande (ä lä flä-mäNd´).—Containing cabbage, but more particularly Brussels sprouts, and, usually turnips and carrots cut in big slices.

à la Florentine (ä lä flō-räN-tēn´).—See à l’Italienne.

à la Française (ȧ lȧ fräN sez), in French fashion.

à la Génevoise (ä lä zhā-ne-vwäz´).—Cooked with champagne; said of certain dishes of fish.

à la godiveau (ä lä gō-dē-vō).—With balls made of mincemeat, usually of veal.

à la Grecque (ȧ lȧ grek´), after the Greek fashion.

à la Holstein (ä lä hōl´ stīn).—Fried, and served with a fried egg, sardelles, capers, pickled beets, and pickles, and sometimes scraped horse-radish.

à la jardinière (ä lä zhär-dē-nyâr´).—Made with a typical collection of cooked vegetables, as soups, ragoûts, and removes. See jardinere.

à la julienne (ä lä zhü-lyen´).—With various vegetables sliced in strips, as carrots, turnips, leeks, onions, celery, lettuce, tarragon, sorrel; said especially of a kind of rich stock soup. Also said of potatoes cut in very slender strips and fried crisp floating in hot fat.

à l’Algérienne (ä läl-zhā-rē-en´).—Cooked with slices of raw ham; said of a preparation of fowl.

à la Languedoc (ä lä läNg-dok´).—Cooked with or in olive oil; with olive oil.

à l’Allemande (ä läl-mäNd´).—Having a German provincial peculiarity of preparation, as a garnish of sauerkraut, prunes stewed in wine, quenelles of potatoes, etc.

à la Loren´zo (ä lä).—Made of minced crab meat, put on toast spread with anchovy paste, then all covered with parmesan cheese and bread crumbs, buttered, browned in the oven, and served.

à l’Alsacienne (ä läl-sä-syen´).—With pork and frankfurters; also with onions and pork.

à la lyonnaise (ä lä lē-ō-nāz´).—With flaked or sliced fried onions; as, potatoes à la lyonnaise, or lyonnaise potatoes; sauce à la lyonnaise, or Lyons sauce, that is, espagnole sauce with flaked onions fried in oil.

à la macedoine (ä lä mä-sā-dwän´).—Made with or of a typical collection of green vegetables, mostly in white sauce; also applied to collections of ripe fruit imbedded in jellies, etc.

à la Maintenon (ä lä maN-te-nôN´).—A term variously used to designate a mode of cooking mutton or lamb chops; as, (a) wrapped in caul; (b) garnished with cockscombs and truffles; (c) served with a soubise; (d) served with financière sauce; (e) served with d’Uxelles sauce, etc.

à la maître d’hôtel (ä lä mā´tr dō-tel´).—Prepared by a substantial, but homely, modest sort of cooking. Also served with maitre d’hotel butter.

à la Marengo (ä lä mä-ren´gō).—With some garlic and oil.

à la Marseillaise (ä lä mär-sāy-āz´).—With Marsala wine.

à la Ma´ryland (ä lä).—With a sauce of butter and cream, with or without wine. It is like à la Newburgh, but less rich.

à l’Américaine (ȧ lȧ mā rē ken´), after the American fashion.

à la Meyerbeer (ä lä mâ-ûr-bâr´).—Shirred and served with broiled kidney and truffle sauce; said of eggs.

à la Milanaise (ä lä mē-lä-nāz´).—See à l’Italienne.

à la mode (ȧ lȧ môd´), in the fashion; according to the custom or fashion.

à la mode de Caën (ä lä mōd de käN).—A term used to designate tripe prepared with vegetables, leeks, wine, cognac, etc.

à la Napolitaine (ä lä nä-pō-lē-tān´).—See à l’Italienne.

à la neige (ä lä nāzh´).—In some form that suggests snow, as with white-of-egg froth, or in balls of white boiled rice, or the like.

à la New´burgh (ä lä).—With a sauce made of cream, egg yolks, Madeira or sherry wine, and butter shaken in a dish over a slow fire until they thicken. Said also of this sauce.

à l’Anglaise (ȧ läN glez´), after the English fashion.

à la nivernaise (ä lä nē-vâr-nāz´).—Containing a nivernaise; said of a kind of soup à la julienne. See nivernaise.

à la Normande (ä lä nôr-mäNd´).—Generally, with apples in the composition of the dish in some shape or other.

à la Parisienne (ȧ lȧ pȧ-rē-zēen´), after the Parisian fashion.

à la Périgord (ä lä pā-rē-gôr´).—Flavored with, or consisting of, truffles—alluding to the circumstance that these mushrooms grow of excellent size and quality in the province of Perigord.

à la Polonaise (ä lä pō-lō-nāz´).—Having red beets or red cabbage, so as to have their juice, color, and taste, as Polish ragoût, or borsh, which is the type of dishes à la Polonaise.

à la poulette (ä lä poo-let´).—With white velouté sauce.

à la printanière (ä lä praN-tä-nyâr´).—Made with a typical collection of cooked early or spring vegetables; of a somewhat wider application than à la jardinière.

à la Provençale (ä lä prō-väN-säl´).—Generally, prepared with more or less of olive oil, and flavored with garlic.

à la Reine (ä lä rān).—Of, or after the style of, the queen; said specifically of a kind of chicken soup [potage à la reine, (pō-täzh´ ä lä rān)] containing white meat of chicken pounded and rubbed to a powder.

à la Ro’land (ä lä).—Made of minced lobster meat in the same manner as à la Lorenzo dishes of crab meat. See à la Lorenzo.

à la Saint Cloud (ä lä saN´kloo).—With sliced truffles; said of a kind of velouté sauce.

à la serviette (ä lä ser-vyet).—Served in or on a napkin as braised truffles.

à la Soubise (ä lä soo-bēz´).—Generally containing onions in quantity; or, at least, strongly garnished and flavored with them; especially, served with a white onion sauce used with lamb or mutton.

à la Sourdine (ȧ la sōōr dēn´), silently; with bated breath.

à la tartare (ä lä tär-tär´).—With tartare sauce, or a sauce of similar ingredients. Also, said of a steak chopped and garnished with onions, pickles, pickled beets, sardelles, and yolk of egg, to be eaten raw.

à la Tartufe (ȧ lȧ tȧr tüf), like Tartufe, the hypocritical hero of Molière’s comedy, Tartufe, hence hypocritically.

à la turque (ä lä türk).—Shirred and served with chicken livers and mushrooms; said of eggs. Also boiled with rice and saffron; said of chicken.

à l’Aurore (ä lō-rōr´).—With a pink sauce made by coloring velouté sauce with lobster coral or Armenian bole. Also said of sliced hard-boiled eggs put in a dish, covered with velouté, sprinkled with grated egg yolk, and baked.

à la vert pré (ä lä vâr prā).—Colored green with vegetables, as with a puree of spinach.

à la Viennoise (ä lä vyā-nwäz´).—Applied to dishes usually and typically prepared in the Austrian capital, such as the dumplings termed nockerlin, quenelles of potatoes, and others.

à la Villeroi (ä lä vēl-rwä´).—With atelets sauce. Also, said of a poached egg put in a thick white sauce, then covered with egg yolk and bread crumbs, and fried.

à la vinaigrette (ä lä vē-nē-gret´).—With vinaigrette sauce.

al buon vino non bisogna frasca (It.), (äl bwôn vē´ nō nōn bē zô´ nyä fräs´kä), good wine needs no bush.

à l’envi (ȧ läN vē´), with emulation.

à l’espagnole (ä lā-spä-nyōl´).—Made savory with espagnole sauce; specifically, served with a garnish of onions, garlic, green peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes, and minced ham cooked together, and bound with espagnole sauce.

a l’extremite (ȧ lek strā mē tā´), at the point of death; without resource.

al fresco (It.), (äl frās´ko), in the open air.

alguazil (Sp.), (äl gwä zēl´), a Spanish constable.

à l’huile (ä-lwēl).—In olive oil; with olive oil dressing.

Alici (ä-lē´chē).—Anchovies, or a similar small fish preserved in oil according to the Italian fashion.

à l’imperatrice (ä lâN-pā-rē-trēs´).—Said of shirred eggs served with a slice of paté de fois gras upon each egg.

à l’improviste (ȧ lâN prô vēst´); unawares, on a sudden.

à l’Irlandaise (ä lēr-län-dez´).—Containing potatoes in some form, and often cabbage, etc., in mass or as a prevailing garnish.

à l’Italienne (ä lē-tä-lē-en´).—Generally made of, or garnished with, savory macaroni, or paste of that kind, or with ravioli; or made savory with Parma cheese.

all’alba (It.), (äl läl´bä), at daybreak.

alla Siciliana (It.), (äl lä sē chē lē ä´nä), in the Sicilian manner; in shepherd’s dress.

allégresse (á lä gres´), liveliness; geniality.

allemande (ál mäN d´), a kind of German dance.

Allemande sauce (äl-mäNd´).—Veloute sauce, with the addition of essence of mushrooms, cream, and a leason, or binding, of yolk of eggs.

alles hat seine Zeit (Ger.), (ä les hät zīne tsīt´), all in good time.

allez-vous en (ȧ lā vōō zäN´), away with you, be off.

allons (ȧ lôN´), come on.

allons donc (ȧ lôN dôN), nonsense.

allzuviel ist ungesund (Ger.), (äl tsōō fēl´ist oon´ ge-zoont), too much of a good thing.

al occorrenza (It.), (ä lō kō ren´dzä), according to circumstances.

à l’ordinaire (ȧ lôr dē ner´), in the ordinary manner.

alose (ä-lōs´).—Shad.

á l’outrance (á lōō träNs´), to the death.

aloyau (ä-lwä-yō´).—Loin of beef; short rib of beef.

al piu (It.), (äl pyōō´), at most.

alto rilievo (It.), (äl tō rē lye´vō), in high relief.

à main armée (ȧ mâN ȧr mā´), by force of arms.

am Anfang (Ger.), (äm än´fäng), at the beginning.

amar y saber no puede ser (Sp.), (ä mär ē sä vār´nō pooāthā sār´), no one can love and be wise at the same time.

âme de boue (lit., soul of mud), (äm de bōō), a base minded person.

amende honorable (ȧ mäN dô nô rȧbl´), fit reparation; a satisfactory apology.

à merveille (ȧ mer vāy´), marvelously, extraordinarily.

ami du cour (lit., a friend of the court), (ȧ mē dü kōōr), a false friend; one who is not to be depended on.

ami du peuple (ȧ mē dü pöpl´), friend of the people.

à moitié (ȧ mwȧ tēā´), by halves.

Amontillado (ä-mōn-tēl-yä´dō).—A cheaper variety of wine classed as sherry, but in reality a wine from Sicily or other Mediterranean or Atlantic islands, mixed with a little real sherry.

amour propre (ȧ mōōr prôpr´), vanity, self-love.

ananas (ä-nä-nä´).—Pineapple.

anchois (äN-shwä´).—Anchovies.

anchovy (an-chō´vi).—A small fish of the herring family caught in the Mediterranean, and pickled for exportation.

ancienne noblesse (äN sē en nôbles´), (the old nobility), French families ennobled before the revolution of 1792.

ancien régime (äN sēâN rā zhēm), (the former government or administration), the rulers of the ante-revolution period.

andouile (äN-doo´y).—Tripe.

anguilles (än-gē´y).—Eels.

anguilles grillée (än-gē´y grē-yā´).—Spitch-cocked, or grilled, eels.

anisette´.—A cordial or liqueur flavored with anise seeds.

à outrance (ȧ ōō träNs´), to the last extremity.

à pas de géant (ȧ päd zhā äN), with a giant’s stride.

à peindre (ȧ pâNdr´), worth painting.

à perte de vue (ȧ pert de vü´), till out of sight.

à peu près (ȧ pö pre´), nearly.

à pezzi (It.), (ä ped´zē), by the piece.

à piacere (It.), (ä pyä´chā rā), at pleasure.

à pied (ȧ pēā´), on foot.

à plomb (ȧ plôN´), perpendicularly; firmly.

à point (ȧ pwâN´), just in time; exactly right.

appui (ȧ pwē´), point of support; prop.

à prima vista (It.), (ä prē mä vēs´tä), at the first sight.

à prix d’or (ȧ prē dôr´), (at price of gold), very costly; fetching a fancy price.

à propos (ȧ prô pō´), to the point.

à propos de rien (ȧ prô pō de rēâN´), apropos to nothing; not pertinently.

arc-en-ciel (ȧr käN sēel´), rainbow.

à rez de chaussée (ȧ rā d shō sā´), even with the ground.

argent comptant (ȧr zhäN kôN täN´), ready money.

à rivederci (It.), (ȧ rē vā dār´chē), adieu until we meet again.

à Rome comme à Rome (ȧ rôm´ kô mȧ rôm´), at Rome do as Rome does.

arrière pensée (ȧ rēer päN sā´), mental reservation; unavowed purpose.

arroz à la Valencia´na (är-rō´ä lä).—Valencia rice, a farinaceous substance in grains like rice.

artichaut (är-tē-shō).—Artichoke.

asperge (ä-spârzh´).—Asparagus.

aspic (äs-pēk´).—A savory jelly made of calves’ feet, etc., or with extract of meat, flavored to suit the fancy, and stiffened with gelatine.

assignat (ȧ sē nya´).—French paper money issued after the revolution at the end of last century.

atelier (ȧt lēā´), a work-shop; studio.

à tort et à travers (ȧ tôr ā ȧ trȧ ver´), at random.

à toute outrance (ȧ tōō tōō träNs´), desperately; tremendously; with a vengeance.

à tout hasard (ȧ tōō ȧ zȧr´), at all hazards; at all events.

à tout prix (ȧ tōō prē´), at any price.

attaché (ȧ tȧsh´), an official belonging to an embassy.

au (ō).—See à la.

au beurre roux (ō bûr roo).—With browned butter.

au bon droit (ō bôN drwȧ´), to the just right.

au bout de son Latin (ō bōōd sôN lȧ tâN´), at the end of his Latin; to the extent of his knowledge.

au chingaras (ō shaN-gä-rä´).—Sandwiched with ham and grilled; said of ox palates.

au contraire (ō kôN trer´), on the contrary.

au courant (ō kōō räN´), fully acquainted with matters.

au désespoir (ō dā zes pwȧr´), in despair.

au fait (ō fe´), expert.

au fond (ō fôN´), to the bottom; in the rear (of the stage).

au four (ō foor).—Baked in the oven, as a stuffed fish.

au fromage (ō frō-mäzh´).—With cheese.

auf Wiedersehen (Ger.), (owf vē´der zā en), till we meet again.

au gras (ō grä).—Containing meat; said of soups so made.

au gratin (ō grä-taN´).—With a crust made by browning in the oven; as spaghetti is often served au gratin.

au jus (ō zhü).—In juice; in broth.

au kirsch (ō kërsh).—With kirschwasser; as an omelet or a punch containing this liqueur is termed au kirsch.

au levant (ō le väN´), to the east; eastward.

aumelette (ōm-let´).—Omelet.

au naturel (ō nä-tū-rel´).—In the natural condition; as, anchovies au naturel—i. e., without oil or seasoning.

au pis aller (ō pē zȧ lā´), at the very worst.

au reste (ō rest´), as for the rest.

au revoir (ō re vwȧr´), till we meet again.

au rhum (ō rüm).—With rum.

auro´ra sauce.—Sauce à l’aurore. See à l’Aurore.

aussitot dit, aussitot fait (ō sē tō dē´, ō sē tō fe´), no sooner said than done.

au supreme (ō sü-prām´).—With supreme sauce.

autant d’hommes, autant d’avis (ō täN dôm´, ō täN dȧ vē´), many men, many minds.

auto da fe (Port.), (a ōō tō dä fā´), an act of faith; the burning of Jews and heretics.

autre droit (ōtre drwä´), another’s right.

autre fois (ōtre fwä´), another time.

autre vie (ōtre vē´), another’s life.

aut vincere aut mori (owt vin´kārā owt mō´rē), victory or death.

au vert pré (ō vâr prā).—With sweet or fresh herbs, especially, when they give a green color to the dish.

au vin blanc (ō vaN bläN´).—With white-wine sauce, as fillets of fish.

aux (ō).—See à la.

aux armes (ō zȧrm´), to arms.

aux cressons (ō kres-sôN´).—With watercresses.

aux rognons (ō rō nyôN´).—With kidneys.

avant-propos (ȧ väN prô pō´), preface; introductory matter.

avec permission (ȧ vek per mē sē ôN´), by consent.

à volonté (ȧ vô lôN tā´), at will; at pleasure.

à vostra salute (It.), (ä vōs trä sä lōō´tā), to your health.

à votre santé (ȧ vôtre säN tā´), to your health.

a vuestra salud (Sp.), (ä vwes trä sä lōōth´), to your health.

B

bal champêtre (bȧl shäN petr´), a country ball.

ballon d’essai (bȧ loN de sā´), a balloon sent up to test the direction of air currents; hence anything said or done to gauge public feeling on any question.

ballotine (bä-lō-tēn´).—A shoulder of lamb boned, stuffed, larded, and braised.

barbue (bär-bū´).—A kind of fish.

bard (bär).—Barbel, a kind of fish.

bardes de lard (bärd de lär).—Fat slices of bacon for covering meat to be braised.

bar le duc (bär le dük).—A kind of jam of white gooseberries.

bas bleu (bä blö´), a blue-stocking; a woman who seeks a reputation for learning.

Bava´rian cream.—A cream jelly thickened with gelatine and set in a mold, and variously flavored and enriched; a Bavaroise; a kind of flummery.

Bava´rian dumplings.—Boiled pudding, consisting of bread fried in fat, bread crumbs soaked in cream or milk, eggs, butter, flour, salt, and spice; or some other similar composition.

Bava´rian sauce.—A modified Dutch sauce of vinegar, eggs, and butter flavored with crayfish butter.

Bavaroise (bä-vä-rwäz´).—Bavarian. See Bavarian cream.

beau-idéal (bō ē dā ȧl´), a model of ideal perfection.

beau monde (bō môNd´), the fashionable world.

beaux esprits (bō zes prē´), men of wit or genius.

beaux yeux (bō zēö´), handsome eyes; attractive looks.

bécasse (bā-käs´).—Woodcock.

Béchamel (bā-shä-mel´), or more properly, Béchamelle.—Velouté white sauce mixed with cream; named after Louis de Béchamel, a French gastronome.

beignet (bā-nyā´).—A fritter.

bel esprit (be les prē´), a wit, a genius.

bel étage (be lā tȧzh´), the second story of a house.

belles-lettres (bel´letr´), refined literature.

benedetto e quel male che vien solo (It.), (bā nā det´tō ā kwāl mä´lā kī vyān sō´lō), blessed is the misfortune that comes alone.

bénédictine (ben-ē-dik´tin).—A cordial resembling chartreuse.

ben-trovato (It.), (bān trō vä´tō), well invented.

bête noire (lit. a black beast,) (bet nwȧr´), a bugbear.

beurre (bûr).—Butter.

beurre fraîs (bûr frā).—Fresh (unsalted) butter.

beurre lié (bûr lē-ā´).—Dutch sauce with less butter than usual.

beurre noir (bûr nwär).—Butter browned without flour.

beurre roux (bûr roo).—Butter browned with flour.

bienséance (bēâN sā äNs´), good manners; decorum.

bienvenue (bēâN ve nü´), welcome.

bijou (bē´zhōō), a jewel; a treasure.

bijouterie (bē zhoo trē), jewelry.

billet doux, or billet d´amour (bē ye dōō´), a love letter.

billets-d´état (bē ye dā tȧ´), a government paper; bank notes.

biscuit (bē-skwē´).—French sponge cake.

bis´cuit à couper (ä koo-pā´).—A form of sponge cake to be sliced and glacéd with flavored sugar or sugar mixed with fruit juice.

bis´cuit à la Génoise (ä lä zhā-nwäz´).—Sponge cake with anise-seed flavor, to be cut and toasted.

bis´cuit à l’Ursuline (ä lür-sü-lēn´).—A sponge cake with rice and apple or apricot jam mixed into the paste, and grilled orange flower.

bisque (bisk or bēsk).—A soup of crayfish, made by cooking them in broth with herbs, sliced roots, and seasoning; other similarly prepared shellfish soups or sauces are also called bisques.

bizarre (be zar), odd; quaint.

blancmanger (bläN-maN-zhā´) or blamange (blä-mänj´).—A jelly made with calves’ feet, or gelatine, and milk of almonds; also, a jelly made of milk and starch, isinglass, or sea moss, with or without added chocolate, grenetine, or the like. This latter dish is more properly called flummery.

blanquette (bläN-ket´).—A mince of white meat, as of chicken, warmed in velouté sauce, and pointed with butter and lemon juice. It often has added to it mushrooms, morels, or truffles.

blasé (blä zā´), surfeited.

blond (blôN).—Concentrated juice or extract of some viand, used to add to certain sauces to give them body; as blond de veau (de vō), a rich broth of veal made by slowly stewing veal with accessories of ham, rabbit, or the like, with standard broth, shallots, cloves, etc.

bœuf de chasse (bûf de shäs).—The sportsman’s round of beef—the biggest joint of the animal.

bombe glacé (bôNb glä-sā´).—A confection consisting of an ice casing frozen in the form of a truncaded cone with cream of some kind, as Bavarian cream, inside.

bon ami (bö na mi´), good friend.

bon bon (bôN bôN´), a sweetmeat; confectionery.

bon diable (bôN dēäbl´), a jolly good fellow.

bon gré, mal gré (bôN´grā mal´grā), with good or bad grace; willing or unwilling.

bonhomie (bô nô mē´), good nature; easy temper; credulity.

bon jour (bôN zhōōr´), good day; good morning.

bon mot (bôN mō´), a witticism.

bonne (bôn), a nurse.

bonne-bouche (bôn bōōsh´), a luscious morsel; a toothsome tit-bit.

bonne et belle (bô nā bel´), good and handsome (said of a woman).

bonne foi (bôn fwȧ´), good faith.

bon soir (bôN swȧr´), good evening.

bon ton (bôN tôN´), high fashion; first-class society.

bon vivant (bôN vē vän´), a good liver; a jolly companion.

bon voyage (bôN vwȧ yȧzh´), a pleasant journey.

Bordelaise sauce (bôr-de-läz´).—Espagnole sauce with garlic, aromatic herbs, and Bordeaux wine.

boudoir (bōō dwȧr´), a small private apartment.

bouillabasse (boo-e-yä-bäs´).—A soup made of fish broiled and seasoned with onion, orange peel, saffron, oil, and other seasoning to suit the taste.

bouilli (boo-e-yē´).—Beef stewed, generally in one piece, and served with sauce.

boulettes de hachis (boo-let´ de hä-shē´).—Forcemeat balls.

bouquet garni (gär-nē´).—A tied bunch of parsley, onions, bay leaf, and thyme, used to boil in soup to flavor it.

bourgeoisie (bōōr zhwa zē´), the body of citizens; burgess; the shop-keeping class.

bourguignonnes (boor-gē-nyon´).—Snails baked with a dressing of shallots, garlic, lemon juice, and butter.

braise (brāz), or braisé (brā-zā´).—A piece of braised meat, or a dish prepared by braising; also a preparation mixed and prepared of various ingredients in or with which dishes are braised.

braisé de Boulanger (brā-zā´ de boo-läN-zhā´).—A compound sauce in which meat is smothered when being braised.

bretonne sauce (brā-ton´).—Espagnole sauce characterized by juice of fried onions or purée of onions.

breveté (brev tā´), patented.

Brie cheese, or Brie (brē).—A soft, white cream cheese.

bris´ket, or brisquet (brē-skā´).—The breast; the part of the breast next to the ribs.

broccoli (brok´kō-li).—A kind of cabbage resembling the cauliflower.

brochet (brō shā´).—Pike; luce—a kind of fish.

brocheton (brō-she-tôN´).—Pickerel.

brusquerie (brüs krē), rudeness.

brut (brü).—An effervescent wine.

bückling (bük´ling).—Red herring.

buisson (bwē-sôN´).—A dish disposed in a pyramid, and having a prickly appearance.

bureau de la guerre (bü rō dlȧ ger´), the war office.

bur´goo.—Oatmeal porridge.

Burgun´dian sauce.—Espagnole sauce flavored with shallots and red Burgundy wine.

C

cabaretier (kȧ bȧre tēā´), an innkeeper.

cabillaud (kä-bē-yō´).—A fresh cod.

cachot (ka shō´), a dungeon.

café (kä-fā´).—Coffee.

café au lait (kä-fā´ ō lā).—Coffee with hot milk; coffee to which milk is added during the process of infusion or boiling.

café bavaroise (kä-fā´ bä-vä-rwäz´).—Coffee with whipped cream.

café noir (kä-fā´nwär).—Black coffee; that is, coffee without milk.

café parfait (kä-fā´ pär-fā´).—A form of coffee ice cream.

café turc (türk).—Turkish coffee; that is, coffee prepared by pouring boiling water on very finely ground coffee in the cup.

caille (käey).—Quail.

calipash.—A part of a turtle next to the upper shell containing a dull greenish gelatinous substance, esteemed as a delicacy.

calipee.—A part of a turtle attached to the lower shell. It contains a fatty, gelatinous substance of a light yellowish color, esteemed as a delicacy.

camaraderie (ka ma ra drē), good fellowship.

Camembert cheese (kä-mäN-bâr´).—A rich, sweet, cream cheese, of a yellowish color, made in the neighborhood of Camembert, in Normandy, France.

canaîlle (kȧ nä´ y), the lowest class of people; the rabble.

canard (kȧ nȧr´), a false story.

canard (kä-när´).—A duck.

canellons (kä-ne-lôn´).—Hollow sticks or rolls of baked puff paste.

canelons (kä-ne-lôN´).—Rugosities of ox palate, or preparations of them, covered with farce, rolled, and gratinated.

caneton (kä-ne-tôN)—Young duck; duckling.

cannelon of meat (kä-ne-lôN´).—A baked roll of highly seasoned mincemeat.

cap-à-pié (kȧ pȧ pēā´), from head to foot.

ca´pers.—The pungent, grayish green flower buds of a trailing shrub (Capparis spinosa) of southern Europe.

capilotade of chick´en (kä-pē-lō-täd´).—A kind of ragoût made of remains of fowl or game and some simple brown sauce.

ca´pon.—A castrated cock. It fattens better and is tenderer than the uncastrated ones.

carbonari (It.), (kär bō nä´rē), members of a secret political society in Italy.

car´dinal sauce.—Velouté variously flavored and colored red, as with cochineal.

carême (kȧrem´), fast; Lent.

carnichons (kär-nē-shôN´).—Gherkins.

carré (kä-rā).—Breast.

carrelet (kär-lā´).—A fish, the sole or flounder.

carte blanche (kärt bläNsh´), full power.

carte de visite (kärt de vē zēt´), visiting card.

cassareep´.—A brown, slightly sweet, aromatic thick extract made from the juice of the manioc.

casserole (kas´se-rōl; French pron. käs-rōl´).—Stewpan.

cas´serole of rice.—An ornamental pie case made of paste of prepared rice.

cassis (kä-sēs´).—Black currants; also, a kind of jelly, and a kind of liqueur or cordial, flavored with black currants.

castello che da orecchia si vuol rendere (It.), (käs-tel´lō kā dä ō rä´kyä sē vwôl rān dā´rā), the fortress that parleys soon surrenders.

causerie (kō-zrē´), a familiar talk.

caviare (kä-vē-är´) or caviar (kav´i-är).—Roe of sturgeon, and other large fish, prepared and salted, and used as a relish. They often resemble morning-glory seeds in appearance.

champignons (shäN-pē-nyôN´).—Mushrooms.

Champs Elysées (shäN zā lē zā´), Elysian Fields; a public park in Paris.

cela va sans dire (that goes without saying), (se la vȧ säN dēr´), that is understood.

ce n’est que le premier pas qui coûte (se ne kle pre-mēā pä´kē-kōōt´), it is only the first step that is difficult.

cèpes (sāp), or ceps (sā).—An edible kind of mushroom.

c’est à dire (se tȧ dēr´), that is to say.

c’est une autre chose (se tü nō tre shōz´), that is quite another thing.

chacun à son goût (shȧ koN ȧ sôN gōō´), everyone to his taste.

chacun tire de son côté (shȧ köN tēr´ de sôN kō tā´), every one inclines to his own side or party.

chanson (shäN sôN´), a song.

chansons à boire (shäN sôN zȧ bwȧr´), drinking songs.

chapeau (shȧ pō´), a hat.

chapeau bas (shȧ pō bä´), hats off.

chapeau de bras (shȧ pō de brȧ´), a military cocked hat.

chapelle ardente (shȧ pe lȧr däNt´), the chamber where a dead body lies in state.

chapon (shä-pôN´).—Capon.

chapon au gros sel (shä-pôN ō grō sel).—Plain boiled capon; literally, capon served with a big lump of salt (placed upon it).

chargé d´affaires (shȧr zhā dȧ fer´), one intrusted with state affairs at a foreign court.

charlotte russe (shär-lot´ rüs), or charlotte à la russe (shär-lot´ ä lä rüs).—A dish of custard or whipped cream inclosed in a cup of sponge cake.

chartreuse à la Parisienne (shär-trûz´ ä lä pä-re-syen´).—A showy entrée, consisting chiefly of quenelles of forcemeat, containing ragoût and kebobs; an entrée de force; entrée à surprise.

chasse café (shäs kä-fā´).—A drink of liqueur served after the coffee at dinner.

château (shä tō´), a castle.

châteaux en Espagne (shä tō zäN nes pȧyn´), castles in Spain.

châteaubriand sauce (shä-tō-brē-äN´).—See maitre d’hôtel butter.

chauffeur (shō for´), driver of an automobile.

chaufroid sauce (shō-frwä´).—A white or brown jelly containing some sauce; a sauced jelly, or a gelatinized sauce.

chef (shef), man cook.

chef de bataillon (shef da bȧ tä yôN´), a major.

chef-d’œuvre (shā dö vr´), a masterpiece.

chemin de fer (lit. iron road), (she mâNt fer´), a railway.

chemin faisant (she mâN fe zän´), by the way; in passing.

chère amie (she rȧ mē´), a dear (female) friend, a lover.

cher´vil.—A plant (Anthriscus cerefolium) with finely divided leaves. Two curly varieties are used in soups and salads.

che sara, sara (It.), (ka sä ra sa ra´), what will be will be.

cheval de bataille (lit., a war-horse), (she vȧl de bȧ tä´y) chief dependence or support; one’s strong point.

chic (shēk), stylish, smart.

chiffonade (shē-fō-näd´).—A salad preparation of lettuce, chervil, sorrel, and scallions, with fresh butter, and some bouillon poured over it. When milk or fresh cream is added, it is called potage à la chiffonade; otherwise potage de santé (pō-täzh´ de säN-tā´).

chil´i.—A kind of red pepper or capsicum.

chil´i sauce.—A sauce condiment made with chilis, tomatoes, etc.

Chinese´ stur´geon soup.—A soup of beef and veal, containing pieces of cartilage from the sturgeon’s head boiled tender.

chi tace confessa (It.), (kē tä´chā kōn fes´sä), he who keeps silent admits his guilt.

chive.—A plant allied to the onion, of which the young leaves are used in omelets, etc.

choucroute (shoo-kroot´).—French sauerkraut, or sauerkraut in general.

chou-fleur (shoo-flûr´).—Cauliflower.

choux (shoo).—(a) Cabbages. (b) See choux pâtissières.

choux de Bruxelles (shoo de brü-sel´).—Brussels sprouts.

choux de mer (shoo de mâr).—Sea kale, a kind of cruciferous pottage root.

choux pâtissières (shoo pä-tē-syâr´).—Soufflés in small molds; small cakes of baked batter.

ci git (sē zhē´), here lies. (A common inscription on tombstones.)

civet (sē-vā´).—A ragoût of hare [civet de lièvre (lyā´vr)], deer [civet de chevreuil (she-vrû´y)], or other game, into which wine and onions enter as ingredients.

clare´mont sauce.—Butter sauce flavored by frying onions in it. The onions are removed after frying.

cock´a-lee´kie.—Capon soup, boiled with leeks and prunes—a favorite Scotch dish.

cock´tail of oysters or clams.—A dish containing oysters or clams seasoned with ketchup, pepper, etc., and served in a tumbler or glass.

cocotte (kō-kot´).—A kind of iron casserole with two loop handles and a cover.

cœurs d’artichauts (kûr-där-tē-shō´).—Artichoke heads.

cognac (kō-nyäk´).—A brandy distilled at Cognac, in France; hence, loosely, any French brandy.

coiffeur (kwȧ-för´), a hairdresser.

coiffure (kwȧ für´), a headdress.

coing (kwaN).—Quince. A liqueur, or ratafia, is made flavored with quince; and a jelly of quinces is called coing de tranches (de tränsh).

collared.—This term is loosely used with no apparent definite meaning in the names of various dishes.

col´lared beef.—A thin piece of beef, usually from the flank, rolled into a round form.

col´lops.—Small pieces or slices.

com´fit.—A dry sweetmeat; fruit, seed, or the like, preserved in sugar and dried.

comme il faut (kô mēl fō´), proper, as it should be.

comment vous portez vous? (kô mäN vōō pôr tā vōō´), how are you?

commis voyageur (kô mē vwȧ yȧ zhör´), a commercial traveler.

compagnon de voyage (kôN pȧ nyôN de vwȧ yȧzh´), a traveling companion.

compiègne cake (koN-pyān´).—A kind of cake intended to be drenched with liqueur, sliced, and sandwiched with apricot jam.

com´pote (French pron. kôN-pōt´).—Cooked fruit; fruit preserved with sugar so as to preserve its form. Also, a savory dish of pigeons, quails or larks, mixed with peas or mushrooms.

compte rendu (kôNt räN dü´), an account rendered, a report.

comptoir (kôN twȧr´), a counting-house; a counter.

comte (kôNt), count.

comtesse (kôN tes´), countess.

con amore (It.), (kō nä mō´rā), with affection, very earnestly.

concierge (kôN s erzh´), a door-keeper.

conciergerie (kôN sē er zhrē´), a door-keeper’s lodge; a noted prison in Paris.

concours (kôN kōōr´), competition for, or as for, a prize.

con diligenza (It.), (kōn dē lē dshen´dzä), with diligence.

con dolore (It.), (kōn dō lō´rā), with grief; sadly.

confit (kôN-fē´).—A dry sweetmeat; fruit preserved in sugar and dried; a comfit.

confiture (kôN-fē-tür´).—Preserves.

confrère (kôN frer´), a colleague.

conoscente (It.), (kō nō shen´tā), a connoisseur.

conseil de famille (kôN se´y de fȧ mē´y), a family council or consultation.

conseil d’état (kôN se´y dā tȧ´), a council of state; a privy council.

consommé (kôN-sō-mā´).—Strong broth of meat and vegetables, concentrated till slightly browned; in restaurants applied to thin soups such as would be made by this broth diluted.

cor´dial.—A sweet and aromatic liquor. A liqueur is an alcoholic cordial.

contretemps (kôN tre täN´), an awkward mishap.

cordon sanitaire (kôr dôN sȧ nē ter´), a line of sentries to prevent, as far as possible, the spread of contagion or pestilence. Used also of other precautionary measures.

corps diplomatique (kor dē plô mȧ tēk´), a diplomatic body.

cortège (kor tezh), a procession.

côte (kōt).—A rib.

côtelette (kōt-let´).—A small rib; part of a rib; a piece of meat with the rib attached; a cutlet.

couleur de rose (kōō lör de rōz´), rose color.

coup (kōō), a stroke.

coup de grâce (kōō d gräs´), a finishing-stroke. (Formerly applied to the fatal blow by which the executioner put an end to the torments of a culprit broken on the wheel.)

coup de main (kōō d mâN´), a sudden attack, enterprise, or undertaking.

coup de maître (kōō d metr´), a master-stroke; with consummate skill.

coup de pied (kōō d pēā´), a kick.

coup de plume (kōō d plüm´), a literary attack.

coup de soleil (kōō d sô le´y), a sunstroke.

coup d’essai (kōō de sā´), a first attempt.

coup d’état (kōō dā tȧ´), a stroke of policy; a sudden and decisive blow, usually inflicted by unconstitutional means.

coup de théâtre (kōō dā tā ätr´), a theatrical effect.

coup d’œil (kōō dö´y), a rapid glance.

courage sans peur (kōō rȧzh sän pör) fearless courage.

court bouillon (boo-e-yôN´).—A very rich bouillon made by braising bouillon vegetables in butter, evaporating down, and then boiling in wine. It is added to sauces.

coute qu’il coute (kōōt kēl kōōt´), cost what it may.

crême (krām, or krâm).—A cordial of the relatively thick or visced kind, such as crême de la menth (cream of minth), crême de la moka (cream of mocha coffee), crême de cocoa (cream of cocoa), etc.

crême bachique (krām bâ-shēk´).—A custard jelly with wine and egg-froth.

crême brulée (krām brü-lā´).—Brown sugar, or caramel, with cream.

crême fouettée à la paysanne (foo-et-ta´ ä lä pā-zän´).—Whipped cream.

créole (krā-ōl´).—See à la créole.

crêpes (krāp).—Small fried cakes; a form of French pancake.

cressons (krā-sôN´).—Cresses.

crève-cœur (krev kör´), deep sorrow; grief.

crevette (krā-vet´).—Shrimp.

croquants (krō-käN´).—A piece of crisp pastry or confection which makes a crunching sound between the teeth, as a macaroon or a nougat.

crouton (kroo-tôN´).—Small pieces of bread fried in butter or oil, for use as a garnish to salmis, fricassees, etc., or to serve with soups.

croquembouches (krō-käN-boosh´).—Small mounted pieces of crisp pastry, such as macaroons, nougats, gimblettes, etc.

crum’pet.—A kind of large, thin, light cake or muffin cooked on a griddle.

cuisine (küē-zēn´), a kitchen; cookery.

cuissot (kwē-sō´).—Haunch.

cul-de-sac (kül de sȧk´), the bottom of the bag; a blind alley.

cyg´net.—A young swan.

D

d’accord (dȧ kôr´), agreed; in tune.

dame d’honneur (dȧm dô nör´), a maid of honor.

dantesques (däN-tesk´).—Frozen custards.

dariole (dä-rē-ōl´).—A piece of pastry consisting of a shallow cup of short paste, filled with a rich compound of cream or custard with macaroons, fruit, or the like.

darne (därn).—Slice; cut.

das geht Sie nichts an (Ger.), (däs gāt zē nikts än´), that does not concern you.

de (de).—Of.

de bonne augure (de bô nō-gür´), of good omen.

de bonne grâce (de bôn gräs´), with good will, willingly.

débris (dā brē´), refuse.

début (dā bü´), first appearance.

débutante (dā bü täNt´), a young lady just entering society.

décolleté (dā kôl tā´), open-breasted.

dégagé (dā gȧ zhā), free, easy, without constraint.

de gaieté de cœur (de gā tā d kör´), in sport, sportively.

de haute lutte (de ōt lüt´), by a violent struggle.

dehors (dā ôr´), without; out of; foreign; irrelevant.

déjeuner à la fourchette (dā zhö nā ȧ lȧ fōōr shet´), a cold breakfast.

de mal en pis (de mȧ läN pē´), from bad to worse.

demeure (de mör´), dwelling; residence

demi-jour (de mē zhōōr´), faint light.

demi-tasse (dā-mē-täs´).—A small cup for black coffee.

dénouement (dā nōō mäN´), an unraveling or winding up.

dépêche (dā pesh´), a dispatch; a message.

dernier cri (der nēā krē´), (the latest cry), the latest fashionable fad.

dernier ressort (der nēā re sôr´), the last resource.

désagrément (dā zȧ grād mäN´), something disagreeable or unpleasant.

désorienté (dā zô rēäN tā´), confused.

désossée (dā-sō-sā´).—Boned.

détour (dā tōōr´), a circuitous march.

de trop (de trô´), too much or too many; not wanted.

devoir (de vwȧr´), duty.

diablotins (dē-ab-lō-taN´).—(a) Frozen custards. (b) Neapolitan dragées. (c) Chocolate bonbons in paper.

di buona volonta sta pieno l’inferno (It.), (dē bwô nä vō lōn’tä sta pyā´nō lēN fer’nō), hell is full of good intentions.

Dieu est toujours pour les plus gros bataillons (dēö e tōō zhōōr´ pōōr lā plü grō bȧ tä yöN´), God is always on the side of the largest battalions; the largest army has the best chance.

Dieu et mon droit (dēö ā môN drwä´), God and my right.

Dieu vous garde (dēö vōō gȧrd´), God protect you.

di grado en grado (It.), (dē grä’dō ān grä’dō), step by step; gradually.

dinde (daNd).—Turkey.

dindonneau (daN-dō-nō´).—Young turkey; turkey pout.

Dios me libre de hombre de un libro (Sp.), (dē´ōs mā lē´vrā dā ōm’vrā dā ōōn lē vrō), God deliver me from a man of one book.

di salto (It.), (dē säl’tō), by leaps.

di tutti novello par bello (It.), (dē tōōt tē nō vel’lo pär bel’lō), everything new seems beautiful.

divertissement (dē ver tēs mäN´), amusement; sport.

di zara (dē zä´rä).—A less common name for maraschino.

doctrinaire (dôk trē ner´), a theorist.

dolce far niente (It.), (dōl´chā fär nyen´tā), sweet idleness.

domino (It.), (dō´mē nō), a mask robe.

dorer la pilule (dô rā lȧ pē lül´), to gild the pill.

double entente (dōō bläN täNt´), double meaning; a play on words.

douceur (dōō sor´), a bribe.

doux yeux (dōō zēö´), soft glances.

drap d’argent (drȧ dȧr zhäN´), silver lace.

drap d’or (drȧ dôr´), gold lace.

droit des gens (drwä dā zhäN´), the law of nations; international law.

drôle (drōl), droll; funny.

drôle le corps (drōl le kôr´), a droll fellow; a punster.

durante vita (Sp.), (dōō rȧn´tā vē´tä), during life.

Dutch sauce.—Butter emulged with yolk of egg, or a sauce with this as a basis; Hollandaise sauce.

E

eau de cologne (ō d kô lôn´y), Cologne water.

eau de vie (ō d vē´), the water of life—applied usually to brandy.

ébauche (ā bōsh´), a rough drawing; a sketch.

éclanche (ā kläNsh´).—Shoulder of mutton.

éclat (ā klȧ´), splendor; brilliancy.

école de droit (ā kôl de drwä´), law school.

école de médecine (ā kôl de mād sēn´), medical school.

école militaire (ā kôl mē lē ter´), military school.

école polytechnique (ā kôl pô lē tek nēk´), polytechnique school.

écrevisse (ä-kr-vēs´).—Crayfish.

édition de luxe (ā dē sēôN´ de lüks´), a splendid edition of a book, handsomely bound, and usually well illustrated.

égal (ā gȧl´), equal.

égalité (ā gȧ lē tā´), equality.

égarement (ā gär mäN´), bewilderment.

ehrlich währt am längsten (Ger.), (ār´lik vert äm leng´sten), honesty is the best policy.

elle mit Weile (Ger.), (ī le mit vī´le), the more haste, the less speed.

eine Schwalbe macht keinen Sommer (Ger.), (ī ne shwäl´be mäkt kī nen zô´mer), one swallow does not make a summer.

ein gebranntes Kind scheut das Feuer (Ger.), (īn ge brän tes kint´ zhôit däs fôi´er), a burnt child dreads the fire.

el corazon manda las carnes (Sp.), (āl kō rä thōn´ mändä läs kär´nās), the heart bears up the body.

élève (ā lev´), pupil.

élite (ā lēt´), a select body of persons.

éloge (ā lôzh´), a funeral oration.

éloignement (ā lwȧn ye mäN), estrangement.

embonpoint (äN bôN pwaN´), roundness, good condition.

émigré (ā mē grā´), an emigrant.

employé (äN plwȧ yā´), a person employed; a clerk.

empotage (äN-pō-täzh´).—Consommé or gravy broth.

empressement (äN pres mäN´), ardor; zeal; interest.

en ami (äN nȧ mē´), a friend.

en arrière (äN nȧ rē er´), in the rear; behind.

en attendant (äN nȧ täN däN´), in the meantime.

en avant (äN nȧ vâN´), forward.

en badinant (äN bȧ dē näN´), in sport, jestingly.

en bagatelle (äN bȧ gȧ tel´), trifling; contemptuously.

en ballon (äN bä-lôN´).—Boned and stuffed with forcemeat, etc.—said of fowls´ legs so cooked.

en bloc (äN blôk´), in the lump.

en brochette (äN brō-shet´).—On wooden skewers.

en caneton (äN kä-ne-tôN´).—A term used to designate fowls´ legs boned and stuffed with forcemeat, etc.

en casserole (äN kä-s-rōl´).—In a casserole.

en coquille (äN kō-kē´y).—(Served) in shells, as oysters prepared as if to be escalloped and then baked in shells and served.

en cracovie (äN krä-kō-vē´).—With salpicon wrapped in calf’s udder or pig’s caul—said of ox palates.

en cueros, en cueros vivos (Sp.), (ān kōōā´rōs, ān kōōä´rōs vē vōs), naked; without clothing.

ende gut, alles gut (Ger.), (en´de gōōt, ä´les gōōt), all’s well that ends well.

en déshabillé (äN dā zȧ bē yā), in undress; in one’s true colors.

en Dieu est ma fiance (äN dēō´e mȧ fēäNs´), my trust is in God.

en Dieu est tout (äN dēō e tōō´), in God are all things.

en échelon (äN nā sh lôN´), in steps; like stairs.

en effet (äN ne fe´), substantially, really, in effect.

en famille (äN fȧ mē´y), with one’s family at home.

enfant gâté (äN fäN gä tā´), a spoiled child.

enfants perdus (lit., lost children), (äN fäN per dü´), a forlorn hope.

enfant terrible (äN fäN te rēbl´), (a terrible child), one that is apt to do or say something exceedingly ill-timed and embarrassing.

enfant trouvé (äN fäN trōō vā´), a foundling.

enfin (äN fâN´), in short, finally, at last.

en flute (äN flüt´), carrying guns on the upper deck only.

en foule (äN fōōl´), in a crowd.

en grand (äN gräN´), of full size.

en grande tenue (äN gräNd te nü´), in full official, or evening, dress.

en grande toilette (äN gräNd twȧ let´), full-dressed; in full rig.

en haut (äN ō´), on high; above.

en masse (äN mäs´), in a body or mass.

ennui (äN nüē´), weariness.

en passant (äN pä säN´), in passing, by the way.

en plein jour (äN plâN zhōōr), in open day.

en queue (äN ko´), immediately after; in the rear. Used specially of persons waiting in line, as at the door of a theater, at the ticket-office of a railway station, etc.

en rapport (äN rȧ pôr´), in harmony, relation, or agreement.

en règle (äN regl´), regular; regularly; in order.

en revanche (äN re väN sh´), in return; as a compensation for.

en route (äN rōōt), on the way.

ensemble (äN säN bl´), the whole.

en suite (äN süēt´), in company; in a set.

en tasse (äN täs´), in a cup.

entente cordiale (äN täNt kôr dēȧl´), a good understanding, especially between two states.

entourage (äN tōō rȧzh´), surroundings.

en tout (äN tōō´), in all; wholly.

entre deux feux (äN tre dö fö´), between two fires.

entre deux vins (lit., between two wines), (äN tre dö vâN´), half-drunk.

entre nous (äN tre nōō´), between ourselves; in confidence.

entrepot (äN tre pō´), a warehouse or magazine.

entreprenant (äN tre pre näN´), enterprising.

entrepreneur (äN tre pre nör´), a contractor; the chief director of an undertaking.

entre-sol (äN tre sôl´), a half story or mezzanine, especially one next above the ground floor.

en vérité (äN vā rē tā´), in truth; really.

en vigueur (äN vē gör´), in force.

envoyé (äN vwȧ yā´), an envoy or messenger.

escargots (ās-kär-gō´).—Snails.

escarole (es-kä-rōl).—A species of chicory used for salads; also, a variety of lettuce resembling this.

es fehlt mir nichts (Ger.), (es fālt mēr nikts´), nothing is the matter with me.

es freut mich sehr (Ger.), (es frôit mik zār´), I am very glad.

es ist nicht alles Gold, was glänzt (Ger.), (es ist nikt ä les gôlt´ väs glentst´), all is not gold that glitters.

espagnol, (es pȧ nyōl´), Spanish; a Spaniard.

espagnole sauce (es-pȧ-nyōl´).—Brown sauce made by boiling meat and flavoring vegetables and spices in normal broth to a glace, browning with roux, and removing the fat.

esprit de corps (es prē d kôr´), the spirit of honor, loyalty, or enthusiasm in an individual working for the good of a common body, society, or association, as a college class, a military company, fraternal or other association.

esprit des lois (es prē dā lwȧ´), spirit of the laws.

es thut mir sehr leid (Ger.), (es tōōt mēr zār līt´), I am very sorry.

esturgeon (es-tür-zhôN´).—Sturgeon.

Etats-Généraux (ā tȧ zhā nā rō´), the States-General.

Ewigkeit (Ger.), (ā´vik kīt), eternity.

exposé (ek spō zā´), an exposition; a recital.

F

façon de parler (fȧ sôN de pȧr lā´), manner of speaking; phrase; locution.

fade (fȧd), flat; stale; insipid.

fainéant (fe nā äN´), idle.

faire bonne mine (fer bôn mēn´), to put a good face on the matter.

faire l’homme d’importance (fer lôm dâN pôr täNs'), to give one’s self airs.

faire sans dire (fer säN dēr´), to act without ostentation or boasting.

faire son devoir (fer sôN de vwȧr´), to do one’s duty.

faisan (fā-säN´).—Pheasant.

fait accompli (fe tȧ kôN plē´), a thing accomplished; an accomplished fact.

fanchonettes (fäN-shō-net´).—Small cakes like tartlets covered with meringue froth, with jam, currants, etc.

farcie (fär-sē´).—Stuffing of forcemeat.

farine de riz (fä-rēn´ de rē´).—Rice flour.

faubourg (fō bōōr´), an outskirt of a town; a suburb.

fausse tortue (fōs tôr-tû).—Mock turtle.

fauteuil (fō tö´y), an easy chair.

faux pas (fō pä´), a false step; an act of indiscretion.

fécule de pommes de terre (fā-kül´ de pum de târ´).—Potato starch, used especially in making Savoy cakes, and others.

femme couverte (fȧm kōō vert), a married woman.

femme de chambre (fȧm de shäNbr´), a chambermaid.

femme de charge (fȧm de shȧrzh), a housekeeper.

femme galante (fȧm gȧ läNt´), a gay woman; a prostitute.

femme sole (fȧm sōl´), an unmarried woman.

fendre un cheveu en quatre (fäN dröN she vö äN kȧtr´), to split a hair in four; to make subtle distinctions.

fête (fet), a feast; festival; holiday.

fête champêtre (fet shäN petr´), a rural out-of-door feast; a festival in the fields.

fête Dieu (fet dē ō´), the Corpus Christi festival in the Roman Catholic church.

feu de joie (fö d zhwȧ), a bonfire; a firing of guns in token of joy.

feuilletage (fû-ye-täzh´).—Puff paste.

feuilleton (fö y tôN´), a small leaf; a part of a newspaper devoted to light, entertaining matter.

filet (fē-lā´), Eng. fil´let.—(a) The under cut of the loin of beef and venison. (b) Breast of fowl or game when cut out [the inner muscles near the bone being the filet mignons (fē-lā´ mē-nyôN´)]. (c) Any longish strips of meat or vegetables.

filet du dedans (fē-lā´ dü dā-däN´).—The under cut of the loin of beef; a filet.

fille de chambre (fē y de shäN br´), a chambermaid.

fille d’honneur (fē y dô nör´), a maid of honor.

fil´let.—See filet. Fillet is the usual spelling in English culinary books.

fils (fēs), son.

fin de siècle (fâN d sēekl´), the end of the century.

Fin´nan had´die.—Haddock cured in peat smoke, originally coming from Findon (pronounced fin´an) in Scotland; also, haddock smoked in other ways.

flageolets (flä-zhō-lā´).—Beans.

flamms.—Pancakes.

fleur-de-lis (flör de lē´), the flower of the lily.

fleur de terre (flör de ter), even with the surface of the ground.

fleurons (flû-rôN´).—Punched-out ornaments of bread (crusted or fried), or of paste (baked), or of other materials.

Flor´ence cakes, or Flor´entines.—A kind of cake consisting of a thin shell of puff paste containing a composition of curds, butter, yolks, flour, bitter almonds, and lemon, or a very similar composition.

flum´mery.—A cold, sweet dish chiefly of cereals, often with fruit in it, molded and to be eaten with wine, milk, or sauce.

foie (fwä).—Liver.

flux de bouche (flüks de bōōsh´), inordinate flow of talk; garrulity.

fond (fôN).—The broth or juice from braised flesh or fish, usually served as a sauce.

fondue (fôN-dü´).—A preparation of cheese, eggs, and butter melted together.

fra (It.), (frä), brother; friar.

frais (fre), cost; expense.

fraise (frāz).—Strawberry.

framboise (fräN-bwäz´).—Raspberries.

Fra Modesto non fu mai priore (It.), (frä mō des tō nōn fōō mä ē pryō´rā). Friar Modest never became prior.

franco (It.), (fräng´kō), free from postage.

frangipane (French pron. fräN-zhē-pän´).—A kind of compound pastry cream flavored with almonds, with which pastry is garnished.

frisch begonnen, halb gewonnen (Ger.), (frish be gô´nen, hälp ge vô´nen), well begun is half done.

froides mains, chaude amour (frwäd mâN´ shō dȧ mōōr´), cold hands, warm heart.

fromage (frō-mäzh´).—Cheese.

fromage à la Chantilly (ä lä shäN-tē-yē´).—fromage de Chantilly (de shäN-tē-yē´).—Apricot jam.

frondeur (frôN dör´), a declaimer against the administration.

front à front (frôN tȧ frôN´), face to face.

fru´menty.—A food prepared by boiling wheat in milk to a jelly, usually with the addition of currants, sugar, egg yolk, and spice.

fumet (fü-mā´).—A high-flavored substance, such as extract of game, for flavoring dishes of food; also, less properly, a ragoût of partridge and rabbits braised in wine.

fuyez les dangers de loisir (füē yā lā däN zhād lwȧzēr´), fly from the dangers of leisure.

G

gaieté de cœur (gā tā d kör´), gaiety of heart.

galatine.—Boned fowl, veal, or the like, stuffed with pieces of meat and force, boiled, and served cold, with a garnish of jelly or aspic.

gal’imaufry, or galimafrée (gä-lē-mä-frā´).—A kind of ragoût of various kinds of meat highly flavored.

garage (gȧ rȧzh´), a place where automobiles are stored and kept in order.

garbancas (gär-bän-säs´).—Chick-peas.

garbure (gär-bür´).—A soup of bacon and cabbage or other vegetables sometimes with cheese added.

garçon (gȧr sôN´), a lad; a waiter.

garde à cheval (gȧr dȧ she vȧl´), a mounted guard.

garde du corps (gȧrd dü kôr´), a bodyguard.

garde mobile (gȧrd mô bēl´), a body of troops liable to be called out for general service.

garde royale (gȧrd rwȧ yȧl´), royal guard.

gardez (gȧr dā´), take care; be on your guard.

gardez-bien (gȧr dā bēâN´), take good care; be very careful.

gardez la foi (gȧr dā lȧ fwȧ´), keep the faith.

Gas´cony sauce.—Velouté with capers, truffles, and egg yolk.

gaspacho (gäs-pä´chō).—A bread-and-vegetable salad, made by the Spanish, containing pimentoes, tomatoes, oil, and vinegar, and (in the richer form) fish, crayfish, piquant preserves, etc.

gâteau (gä tō´), cake.

gâteaux (gä-tō´).—Cakes of flour, butter and eggs.

gâteaux de puits d’amour (de pwē dä-mōōr´).—Love-wells.

gaucherie (gōsh rē´), awkwardness.

gauffres (gō´fr).—Waffles.

gehen Sie Ihres weges (Ger.), (gā´en zẽ ẽ res vā´ges), go your way.

gelée (zhe-lā´).—Jelly.

gendarmerie (zhäN dȧr me rē´), the armed police force.

Gene´va sauce.—A coulis of fried onions with meat essence or espagnole, with anchovy butter, and usually port or claret wine. It is used especially with fresh water fish.

génoise sauce (zhā-nwäz´).—Espagnole sauce flavored with fumet and red wine.

génoises (zhā-nwäz´).—Glazed cakes of sugar, eggs, flour and almonds.

gens d’armes (shäN dȧrm´), men-at-arms; military police.

gens de condition (zhäN de kôN dē sēôN´), people of rank.

gens d’église (zhäN dā glēz´), the clergy; clerics.

gens de guerre (zhäN d ger´), military men.

gens de lettres (zhäN d letr´), literary men.

gens de loi (zhäN d lwȧ´), lawyers.

gens de même famille (zhäN d mem fȧ mē´y), people of the same family; birds of a feather.

gens de peu (zhäN d pö´), the lower classes.

gentilhomme (zhäN tē yôm´), a gentleman.

gibelotte (zhē-blot´).—Stewed rabbit; sometimes, stewed chicken or other white meat.

gibier (zhē-byā´).—Game, as hare, deer, etc.

gibier de potence (zhē bēā d pô täNs´), a gallows-bird; one who deserves hanging.

gigot (zhē-gō´).—Leg of mutton.

gimblettes (zhaN-blet´).—Small pastry preparations, such as croquignoles and croquembouches. Small pastry, or patés de petit four; they are used as ingredients of croquembouches.

giovine Italia (It.), (dzhō vē´nā ē tä´lyä), young Italy.

giovine santo, diavolo vecchio (It.), (dzhō vē nā sän´tō dyä´vō lō vek´kyō), a young saint; an old devil.

gitano (Sp.), (hē tä´nō), a girl.

glace (gläs).—A glaze, or broth, reduced by boiling to a gelatinous paste, so that when poured over meats it will give them a shiny appearance.

glacé (glä-sā´).—Covered with glace.

glaced (gläst).—Iced; having a shiny appearance produced by a coating of sugar, gelatine, or glace.

glaize, or glase (glāz).—A glace.

gleich und gleich gesellt sich gern (Ger.), (glīk´ oont glīk´ ge zelt sik gern´), birds of a feather flock together.

gli assenti hanno torti (It.), (lyē äs sen´tē än nō tôr´tē), the absent are in the wrong.

godiveau (gō-dē-vō´).—A kind of mincemeat, usually of veal, made into balls, to garnish the interior of hot patés and vol-au-vents.

gold´en buck.—A Welsh rarebit served with a poached egg on it.

goujon (goo-zhôN).—Gudgeon, a rather coarse fish.

goulash (goo-läsh´).—See gulash.

goutte à goutte (gōō tȧ gōō´), drop by drop.

gouvernante (gōō ver näNt´), governess.

grâce à Dieu (gräs ȧ dēö´), thanks be to God.

grande chère et beau feu (gräNd sher´ ā bō fö´), good fare and a good fire; comfortable quarters.

grande parure (gräNd pȧ rür´), full dress.

grande toilette (gräNd twȧ let´), full dress.

grand merci (gräN mer sē´), many thanks.

gratin (grä-taN´).—The brown crust formed upon a gratinated dish; also, the dish itself.

grat´inate.—To cook, as macaroni, in a savory sauce or broth until the juice is absorbed and a brown crust forms.

gren´adine.—A kind of fricandeau, with a basis of forcemeat.

grenouille (gre-noo´y).—Frog.

grill.—To broil.

grenadin (grā-nä-daN´).—A small fricandeau, or dish made with a basis of forcemeat.

grisette (grē zet´), dressed in gray. (Applied to French shop girls.)

groseille à maquereau (grō-zā´y ä mā-k’rō´).—Gooseberry.

gros rôti (grō rō-tē´).—A large joint of roast meat.

grosse tête et peu de sens (grōs tet´ ā pö d säNs´), a big head and little sense.

Gruyère cheese (grü-yâr´).—A kind of salted cheese in thin cakes.

guava jel´ly (gwä´vä).—An excellent jelly made from the slightly astringent fruit of either of two tropical trees.

guerra al chuchillo (Sp.), (gā´rä äl kōō chē´lō), war to the knife.

guerra cominciata, inferno scatenato (It.), (gwe ra kō mēn chyä´tä, ēn fār´nō skatän´tā), war begun; hell unchained.

guerre à mort (ge rȧ môr´), war to the death.

guerre à outrance (ge rȧ ōō träNs´), war to the uttermost.

gulash (goo-läsh´), or Hunga´rian gulash.—A ragoût of rump steak flavored with paprika.

gum´bo.—A soup thickened with the mucilaginous pods of the okra; also, the okra pods themselves.

H

habitué (ȧ bē tüā´), a frequenter.

hardiesse (ȧr dēes´), boldness.

hareng (ä-räN´).—Herring.

haricot (ä-rē-kō´).—A stew or ragoût of meat. Also, the common string bean.

haricots verts (ä-rē-kō´ vâr).—Green string beans.

haut et bon (ō tā bôN), great and good.

haut gout (ō gōō´), high favor; elegant taste.

hauteur (ō tör´), haughtiness and pride.

haut ton (ō tôN´), highest fashion.

heureusement (ö röz mäN´), happily.

historiette (ēs tô rēet´), a short history; a tale.

Hollandaise sauce (ō-läN-däz´; Eng. pron. hol´lan-dāz´). See Dutch sauce.

homard (ō-mär´).—The European lobster—larger than the American lobster, called homard américaine (ō-mär´dä-mā-rē-kān´).

homme d’affaires (ôm dȧ fer´), a man of affairs.

homme d’état (ôm dā tȧ´), a statesman.

homme de robe (ôm de rôb´), a man in civil office.

homme de lettres (ôm de letr´), a literary man.

homme d’esprit (ôm des prē´), a man of intellect.

honi soit qui mal y pense (ô nē swȧ´ kē mȧl ē päNs´), shame be to him who thinks evil of it. (The motto of the Order of the Garter.)

hors de combat (ôr de kôN bȧ´), disabled; unfit to continue a contest.

hors de la loi (ôr de lȧ lwā), outlawed.

hors de propos (ôr de prô po´), wide of the point; inapplicable.

hors de saison (ôr de se zôN´), out of season; unseasonable.