Bulletin editor craft

By Lloyd Davis of Oceanside, PROBE, G&S JUDGE, BULLETIN EXCH. LIST

To use or not to use

Every day vs. everyday

Everyday (one word) is an adjective and means normal, occurring every day. Other senses should be two words: An everyday event happens every day.

I've got, we've got

More and more often, these and similar phrases seem to be catching on. Not using contractions, they would read, "I have got" and "We have got." Neither sounds quite right, does it? Simply use, "I have" or "We have."

Further vs. farther

These two words are commonly interchanged, but there is a distinction. Farther serves better as a distance word: You go farther down the street. You pursue a subject further. Consider the awkwardness of the following, which appeared in a Society bulletin: We have come far, but we must go even further.

Less vs. fewer

Less means "not as much." Fewer means "not as many." You earn less money by selling fewer products. You use less oil, but eat fewer fries. If they can be counted, use fewer.

Ongoing

Although used extensively, this relatively newfound adjective is to be avoided because it is inexact and clumsy - a mixture of "continuing" and "active."

-wise

There are few nouns in the English language to which "-wise" cannot be added if the spirit moves you: chordwise, harmonywise, quartetwise. The sober will not use this wild additive, except perhaps in clockwise and otherwise.

It's amazing

After 16 years of judging bulletins and advising editors, it's amazing that the two most-common errors still occur time after time.

Unnecessary capitalization is the most common. Editors incorrectly insist on capitalizing words and phrases such as these:

the district	the chapter
the editor	the spring show
the director	the chorus
the music committee	the president

Running a close second is using hyphens instead of dashes in examples like these:

He sang tenor - and did a good job.
Should read: He sang tenor - and did a good job.
He received hugs - lots of hugs.
Should read: He received hugs - lots of hugs.

"Hyphens (-) are not used with a space on either side" is a good rule to remember.

Keep it short

Since I've been writing about our language for 40 years or so, keeping it short has been one of my philosophies: Don't use unnecessary phrases, words or letters.

Two words that come to mind are "preventive" and "argumentive." They can also be spelled "preventative" and "argumentative." The latter is often heard in court from lawyers. Evidently, at least to them, it sounds more legal. Let's keep it short and leave out that unnecessary syllable in both words.

"Myriad" has a multiple definition. It can be used as a noun and also as an adjective. Both of these sentences are correct:

A myriad of subjects were discussed.
Myriad subjects were discussed.

Let's keep it short and use the latter.

Now, let's look at these two: "We will be more than happy to answer your questions" and "We are more than willing to help." If you're happy or willing, let it go at that. In both cases, delete "more than."

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