"O mother, will the G.o.d above Forgive my faults like thee?"
276. Be careful to sound distinctly the _r_ in such words as _farther_, _martyr_, _charter_, _murder_, &c. Never say, _fah-ther_, _mah-tyr_, _chah-ter_ and _muh-der_. On the other hand, avoid _trilling_ the _r_, as _mur-er-der_, _r"r"robber_. It is altogether too tragical for common life.
277. "The Duke of Wellington was an _Irishman_, but knew nothing of the _Irish_ language:" beware of saying _Ierishman_ for _Irishman_, or _Ierish_ for _Irish_; a very common mistake, which the "Know-Nothings" are quick to detect.
278. "He did it _unbeknown_ to us:" say, _unknown_, &c.
279. "He lives in _affluence_, as he is in _affluent_ circ.u.mstances:"
beware of placing the accent in _affluence_ and _affluent_ on the syllable _flu_ instead of on _af_, a very common error.
280. "If I say, "They retreated _back_," I use a word that is _superfluous_, as _back_ is implied in the syllable _re_ in _retreated_:"
never place the accent on _flu_ in _superfluous_, but always on _per_.
281. "In reading Paley"s "Evidences of Christianity," I unexpectedly _lit on_ the pa.s.sage I wanted:" say, _met with_ the pa.s.sage, &c.
282. A gentleman having selected a book from the library shelves of the Mechanics" Inst.i.tute, went to the librarian to have the volume registered under his name, and said, "_I have taken the life of Julius Caesar_." "I shall then," responded the librarian, "charge the work to Mr. Brutus!" Be careful how you "take the lives" of distinguished men.
283. "He has a _bayonet_ to his gun:" never say _baggonet_. This error is a peculiarity of the Wiltshire dialect, in England. In an old Wiltshire song the following stanza occurs:
"A hornet zet in a holler tree, A proper spiteful twoad was he; And merrily zung while he did zet,-- His sting as sharp as a _baggonet_."
284. "Aunt Deborah is down with the _rheumatiz_:" say, _rheumatism_; this is one among the _isms_, though a very unpopular one.
285. "It is _obligatory_ upon every honest man to go to the polls to-day:"
accent _lig_, and not _ga_.
286. "On the _contrary_:" accent _con_, not _tra_. The old song takes up with a bad p.r.o.nunciation, for the sake of a good rhyme:
"Mistress Mary, Quite _contrary_, How does your garden grow?"
287. "That is altogether _above my bend_:" say, _out of my power_.
288. "He has _absquatulated_, and taken the specie with him:" _absconded_ is a more cla.s.sical word.
289. "It"s _eenamost_ time we had started:" say, _almost_.
290. "_I haven"t ary one_:" say, _I have neither_, or, _I haven"t either_.
291. "That man is in a _bad box_:" say, _bad predicament_, or bad _situation_.
292. It may be doubted whether to say of a man "that _he barked up the wrong tree_," is a complimentary or elegant metaphor.
293. "I will retain two-thirds, and give you the _balance_:" say, _remainder_.
294. "I _calculate_ to go by steam:" say, "I _expect_."
295. Avoid using the phrase "_I cave in_," for "_I give up_." It savors of slang.
296. Do not say, "_chicken fixings_," for "_trifles_," or "_extras_,"
connected with dress.
297. "He is a _cute_ man:" this is an inelegant abbreviation of _acute_, and employed to mean _smart_. It may, however, be properly applied to Yankees!
298. "He _d.i.c.kered_ with him an hour:" say, "he _bargained_." This is a word somewhat peculiar to New-York.
299. "_Do don"t_" is a vulgar usage of the Southern States, especially Georgia, for "_do not_."
300. "He is _done gone_:" say, _ruined_.
301. "We had a _dreadful_ fine time:" say, _very_, or _exceedingly_.
302. "It rains, and I want an umbrella _the worst kind_:" say, "_I am greatly in want_," &c. An umbrella _of the worst kind_ would not be likely to answer the best of purposes on a rainy day!
303. "The whole concern _fizzled out_:" say, _proved a failure_.
304. "As soon as I mentioned it to him, he _flared up_:" say, he _became excited_, or _grew violent_.
305. "The choir sang _Old Hundred_:" p.r.o.nounce _Hundred_ as written, and not _Hunderd_.
306. "The message was sent by his _aid-de-camp_:" p.r.o.nounce as if written _ade-de-kawng_, avoiding, however, as much as possible a tw.a.n.g on the last syllable.
307. "My _beard_ is long:" don"t say _baird_.
308. "The blacksmith blows the _bellows_:" p.r.o.nounce as written, and not _bellus_.
309. "Let me help you to some _catsup_:" avoid saying _ketchup_.
310. "It is new _China ware_:" do not say, _chaney ware_; this latter article exists only in the traditions of old women.
311. "The _combatants_ parted in good humor:" accent the first syllable--never the second.
312. "We poled the raft up the _creek_:" p.r.o.nounce as if written _krik_.
313. "Then spake the _warrior_ bold:" p.r.o.nounce in two syllables, as _war-yur_, not _war-ri-or_.
314. In using the word _venison_, sound the _i_: _venzun_ is a common, though not elegant p.r.o.nunciation.
315. _Tapestry_ is divided _tap-es-try_ and not _ta-pes-try_.
316. "He is only a _subaltern_:" accent the first syllable of _subaltern_.
317. "The barge is at the _quay_:" p.r.o.nounce _quay_, _kay_.
318. "The path over the meadow was _queachy_:" this word, meaning _soft_ or _boggy_, is now obsolete, and cannot be used with propriety.
319. "He talks _pulpitically_:" this word, which some who copy Chesterfield persist in using, has never by any good authority been admitted into the language.
320. To _peff_, meaning to _cough faintly_ (like a sheep), is hardly a useable word.