No good, No use

"How does that new machine work?" "It's no good." "Shall I try again?"

"No; it's no use." The answers should have been, "It is of no good, it is of no use."

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O, Oh

While good usage is far from uniform, many excellent authors employ O only in cases of direct address and oh when strong and sudden emotion is to be expressed. O is always written with a capital letter, and should be followed by the name of the person or thing addressed, and the exclamation or interrogation point placed at the end of the sentence; as, "O Death, where is thy sting? O Grave, where is thy victory?" "O the cold and cruel winter!"

Oh in the body of a sentence may begin with a small letter, and is immediately followed by the exclamation point; as, "Oh! how terrible was his fate!" "The sad intelligence was gently given, but oh! the shock was almost unbearable."

Observe, Say

"He observed that the orphan pines while the oppressor feeds." To observe is to notice carefully, to attend closely to what one sees. In the above sentence said or remarked should be used instead of observed.

Of any, Of all

"This is the largest tree of any I have seen." The meaning clearly is, that of all the trees I have seen this is the largest. Hence, of any should be changed to of all.

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Older, Elder

Elder and eldest are terms applied chiefly to persons, generally in speaking of members of the same family, while older and oldest are applied to persons of different families, and also to things.

"His elder brother died yesterday." "His eldest sister has gone to Italy on her wedding trip." "Our oldest neighbor was born in 1825."

"This oak is older than that pine." The foregoing sentences illustrate the best usage as applied to the comparatives older and elder and the superlatives oldest and eldest.

When the direct comparison is made the word older is used, followed by the conjunction than; as, "My father is older than my mother." But when the comparison is assumed the word elder should be employed; as, "My father is the elder of my parents."

Only

Perhaps no other word in the language is so often misplaced as the word only. The only general rule is to place it as near as possible to the word which it modifies. "He only lent me a dollar" means that he did not make me a present of the dollar, but expects me to return it.

"He lent me only a dollar" means that the sum lent was neither greater nor less than one dollar. The former expression is often used when the latter should be.

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"Only the man walked to the post-office to-day." The woman did not walk with him.

"The man only walked to the post-office to-day." He did not ride or drive.

"The man walked only to the post-office to-day." He did not go so far as the store.

"The man walked to the post-once only to-day." Yesterday he rode and the day before he drove. Today is the only day that he walked.

George Eliot, in Middlemarch, says: "I only know two gentlemen who sing at all well," and in another place, "I have only seen her once before." The word only should be placed before two in the first sentence, and before once in the second.

Onto

There is a growing tendency to write the words on and to as one word.

"Although nearly drowned he yet had strength enough to climb onto the rock." The use of upon or on is generally better. When neither of these can be used write on and to as separate words.

Outstart

This word is sometimes used when outset should be employed.

Over and Above

"He earned twenty dollars over and above his expenses." Use more than or above.

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Party, Person

"Is she the party of whom you spoke?" "No; she is the person."

One man may be a party to a contract or agreement. Several men may form a party. When no contract is implied, one man or woman must be spoken of as a person, not as a party.

Patron, Customer

Unless there is a sense of obligation or condescension, use the term customer and not patron. In like manner, use custom instead of patronage.

Per

Per is a Latin preposition and should be used only with Latin nouns.

We should say per annum, but not per year; per diem, and not per day; per capita, and not per head. "He received a thousand dollars a year is shorter and better than "he received a thousand dollars per year."

Perchance, Peradventure

These are poetic and archaic forms that should be avoided in ordinary prose.

Performers

"The entertainment consisted of reading, recitations, and singing, and the performers acquitted themselves well." Readers, reciters, and singers are not

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performers. The term is applied to the stage, and to those who play on musical instruments. Even in the latter application, "he plays well on the piano," is better than "he performs well on the piano."

Period, Point

Do not use period for a point of time. Period implies extended time.