{"id":2027,"date":"2015-10-13T14:01:57","date_gmt":"2015-10-13T20:01:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/?p=2027"},"modified":"2020-11-25T11:14:20","modified_gmt":"2020-11-25T17:14:20","slug":"slipshod-extension-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/definitions\/slipshod-extension-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Slipshod Extension"},"content":{"rendered":"

Henry W. Fowler\u2019s Dictionary of Modern English Usage<\/em>, published in 1926, is still the greatest of all English grammar guides. The first edition or the lightly revised second edition (1965) is highly recommended.<\/p>\n

Sprinkled among Fowler\u2019s entries are topics that typify the author\u2019s innovative approach to the study of grammar. His titles for these entries are often sly, with a soup\u00e7on of snark. Some examples: Sturdy Indefensibles, Presumptuous Word-Formation, Unequal Yokefellows, Pairs and Snares, Slipshod Extension.<\/p>\n

That last topic is today\u2019s focus, because slipshod extension may be more widespread nowadays than it was ninety years ago. The phrase refers to the maddening tendency of careless or ignorant speakers and writers to debase a word by overextending it beyond its proper meaning.<\/p>\n

Calling a spider an insect is slipshod extension of the word insect<\/em>: a spider is an arachnid. Calling a whale a fish is slipshod extension of the word fish<\/em>: a whale is a marine mammal.<\/p>\n

Here are a few of the countless other words that are susceptible to this lamentable practice:<\/p>\n

Alibi \u00a0<\/strong>Be careful when you use alibi<\/em>, originally a Latin word meaning \u201csomewhere else.\u201d When you say, \u201cI have an alibi,\u201d it means that you can prove you were elsewhere when the crime occurred. Fowler said of alibi<\/em>: \u201cThat it should have come to be used as a pretentious synonym for excuse<\/em> is a striking example of the harm that can be done by SLIPSHOD EXTENSION.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dilemma<\/strong>\u00a0 The di <\/em>in dilemma<\/em> (like dichotomy <\/em>or dioxide<\/em>) indicates two<\/em>: if you have a dilemma, it means you\u2019re facing two tough choices. Do not use dilemma<\/em> when all you mean is predicament<\/em>. Fowler: \u201cThe word is a term of logic, meaning an argument that forces an opponent to choose between two alternatives both unfavourable to him: he is \u2026 on the horns of a dilemma, either of which will impale him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Literally\u00a0 <\/strong>As all nitpickers know well and grow weary of saying, literally<\/em> should be used only with the bare facts\u2014no exaggerations, no analogies. Yet statements like They literally threw him under the bus<\/em> show no sign of abating. What could be more slipshod than applying literally<\/em> to an incident that literally never happened? Fowler: \u201cSuch false coin makes honest traffic in words impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Two revised editions of A Dictionary of Modern English Usage<\/em> have been published in the last twenty years, but those in charge of editing these later versions have overruled many of Fowler\u2019s traditionalist views and insights. In the process they have stifled one of the most distinctive and delightful voices in the field of linguistics.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Henry W. Fowler\u2019s Dictionary of Modern English Usage, published in 1926, is still the greatest of all English grammar guides. The first edition or the lightly revised second edition (1965) is highly recommended. Sprinkled among Fowler\u2019s entries are topics that typify the author\u2019s innovative approach to the study of grammar. His titles for these entries […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2027","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-definitions","category-effective-writing"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2027"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2027"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2027\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2027"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2027"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2027"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}