Bryson's Dictionary of Troublesome Words - Bill Bryson [62]
premier, premiere. The first, chiefly British, is a government official of top rank, especially a Prime Minister. The second is a debut.
premises is always plural when referring to property. There is no such thing as a business premise.
prepositions. Anyone who believes that it is wrong to end a sentence with a preposition—and there are still some who do—is about a century out of touch. The “rule” was enshrined by one Robert Lowth, an eighteenth-century Anglican Bishop of London and gentleman grammarian. In his wildly idiosyncratic but curiously influential Short Introduction to English Grammar, Lowth urged his readers not to end sentences with prepositions if they could decently avoid it. Too many people took him much too literally, and for a century and a half the notion held sway. Today, happily, it is universally dismissed as a pointless affectation. Indeed, in many sentences the preposition could scarcely come anywhere but at the end: “This bed hasn’t been slept in”; “What is the world coming to?”; “I don’t know what you are talking about.”
prescribe, proscribe. Prescribe means to set down as a rule or guide. Proscribe means to denounce or prohibit. If you get bronchitis, your doctor may prescribe antibiotics and proscribe smoking.
present, presently. Like current and currently, these two often appear needlessly in sentences, as here: “A new factory, which is presently under construction in Manchester, will add to capacity” (Times). The sentence says as much without presently as with it.
pressurize. “Esso accused him of trying to pressurize the Prime Minister into bailing out his petrochemical plant” (Times). Gases, liquids, and foods can be pressurized (i.e., compacted into containers under pressure). People are pressed or pressured.
presumptive, presumptuous. The first is sometimes used when the second is intended. Presumptuous means impudent and inclined to take liberties, or to act in a manner that is excessively bold and forthright. Presumptive means giving grounds to presume and is primarily a technical term. The wrong use is seen here: “She considered the question with the equanimity of someone who has long been immune to presumptive prying” (Sunday Telegraph).
pretension but pretentious.
prevaricate, procrastinate. Occasionally confused. Prevaricate means to speak or act evasively, to stray from the truth. Procrastinate means to put off doing.
prevent often appears incorrectly in sentences such as this: “They tried to prevent him leaving.” It should be either “They tried to prevent his leaving” or “They tried to prevent him from leaving.” See GERUNDS, 2.
preventive, preventative. “One way to ease their difficulties, they decided, was to practice preventative medicine” (Economist). Preventative is not incorrect, but preventive is shorter.
principal, principle. Principle means fundamental and is usually applied to fundamental beliefs or truths (“It’s not the money, it’s the principle”) or to fundamental understandings (“They have signed an agreement in principle”). It is always a noun. Principal can be a noun meaning chief or of first importance (“He is the school’s principal”) or an adjective with the same meaning (“The principal reason for my going . . .”).
pristine does not simply mean sparkling or tidy, but pure and unchanged from an original condition. You might speak of a pristine brook or a Raphael painting in pristine condition, but to describe a tidied closet or freshly laundered shirt as pristine is nearly always to use the word too loosely.
Procter & Gamble for the household products company. Often misspelled Proctor.
prodigal does not mean wandering or given to running away, a sense sometimes wrongly inferred from the biblical story of the Prodigal Son. It means recklessly wasteful or extravagant.
prone, prostrate, recumbent, supine.