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above the needs of the adverb. In practice the problem can usually be sidestepped. Most adverbs are portable and can be moved to a position from which they can perform their function without interfering with the infinitive. In the example above, for instance, we could say, “He proceeded to climb the ladder slowly” or “Slowly he proceeded to climb the ladder.” But that is not to say that there is any grammatical basis for regarding the infinitive as inviolable. Sometimes, indeed, it is all but impossible not to split the infinitive and preserve any sense. Bernstein cites these constructions, all crying out to be left alone: “to more than double,” “to at least maintain,” “to all but ensure.”

If you wish, you may remain blindly intolerant of the split infinitive, but you should do so with the understanding that you are without the support of a single authority of standing. Even Partridge, normally the most conservative of arbiters, is against you. He says: “Avoid the split infinitive wherever possible; but if it is the clearest and most natural construction, use it boldly. The angels are on our side.”

spoonfuls, not spoonsful or spoons full. Bernstein cites the following: “Now throw in two tablespoons full of chopped parsley and cook ten minutes more. The quail ought to be tender by then.” As he drily adds, “Never mind the quail; how are we ever going to get those tablespoons tender?”

stalactite, stalagmite. Stalactites point downward, stalagmites upward.

stalemate. “Senators back rise in proposed oil tax as stalemate ends” (New York Times headline). Stalemates don’t end. A chess match that reaches stalemate is not awaiting a more decisive outcome; the stalemate is the outcome. Standoff, the word the writer probably had in mind, or deadlock would have been a much better choice here.

Stamford, Stanford. Occasionally confused. Stamford is the name of notable communities in Connecticut and the English county of Lincolnshire. Stanford is the university in Palo Alto, California. The intelligence test is the Stanford-Binet test.

stanch, staunch. “He showed how common soldiers . . . had fought their fears, staunched their wounds, and met their deaths” (Newsweek). Although staunch is given as an acceptable variant by most dictionaries, stanch is still generally the preferred spelling for the verb (meaning to stem the flow of, as with blood). As an adjective, staunch is the only spelling (“a staunch supporter”).

stationary, stationery. The difference in spelling goes back centuries, though etymologically there isn’t any basis for it. Both words come from the Latin stationarius and both originally meant “standing in a fixed position.” Stationers were tradesmen, usually booksellers, who sold their wares from a fixed spot. Today in Britain stationery is still sold by stationers, which makes the misspelling there less excusable, if no less frequent. Stationery applies, incidentally, not just to writing paper and envelopes but to all office materials. Strictly speaking, paper clips and pencils are stationery.

straitlaced is misspelled woefully often, as here: “Dr. Belsky . . . describes himself as quite straight-laced and dutiful as a boy” (New York Times). Strait means confined and restricted, as in straitened circumstances or straitjacket (also frequently misspelled). Apart from the pronunciation, it has nothing in common with straight.

strata, stratum. The first is sometimes used when the second is intended, as it was here: “They dug into another strata and at last found what they were looking for” (Daily Express). A single level is a stratum. Strata signifies more than one.

Stratford-on-Avon, Stratford-upon-Avon. Most gazetteers and other reference sources give Stratford-upon-Avon as the correct name for the Warwickshire town. Some, like The Oxford Dictionary for Writers and Editors, are quite insistent about it. But it is worth noting that the local authority calls itself Stratford-on-Avon District Council. Thus, to be strictly accurate, you would have to accord the town one preposition and the council another.

strived, strove.