Bryson's Dictionary of Troublesome Words - Bill Bryson [81]
widow, when combined with “the late,” is always redundant, as here: “Mrs. Sadat, the widow of the late Egyptian President . . .” (Guardian). Make it either “wife of the late Egyptian President” or “widow of the Egyptian President.”
will, would. “The plan would be phased in over 10 years and will involve extra national insurance contributions” (Times). The problem here is an inconsistency between what grammarians call the protasis (the condition) and the apodosis (the consequence). The sentence has begun in the subjunctive (would) and switched abruptly to the indicative (will). The same error occurs here: “The rector, Chad Varah, has promised that work on the church will start in the New Year and would be completed within about three years” (Evening Standard). In both sentences it should be either will both times or would both times.
This is not simply a matter of grammatical orderliness. It is a question of clarity—of telling the difference between what may happen and what will happen. If you write, “The plan will cost $400 million,” you are expressing a certainty. The plan either has been adopted or is certain to be adopted. If you write, “The plan would cost $400 million,” the statement is clearly suppositional. It is saying only that if the plan were adopted, it would cost $400 million.
For additional problems with will, see SHALL, WILL.
Wilshire Boulevard for the street in Los Angeles. Not Wilt-.
wistaria, wisteria. The plant was named for an anatomist named Caspar Wistar, and some authorities therefore insist on the spelling wistaria. However, almost no dictionary supports this position, and the formal genus spelling of the plant is Wisteria. Finally, but not least, Wistar sometimes spelled his name Wister.
withhold, withheld. Note -hh-.
wondrous. Not -erous.
Woolloomooloo for the euphonious district of Sydney, Australia. Note the single l at the end.
World Bank. Officially it is the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, but this title is rarely used, even on first reference.
World Court. Officially it is the International Court of Justice, and that title should generally be used on first reference or soon thereafter. See also INTERNATIONAL COURTS.
worsted fabric. Not -stead.
would like. “I would have liked to have seen it” is a common construction and may be excused in conversation, but in writing it should be “I would like to have seen it” or “I would have liked to see it.”
wound, scar. The two are not as interchangeable as writers sometimes casually make them. A scar is what remains after a wound heals. Thus it is always wrong, or at least stretching matters, to talk about a scar healing, including in figurative senses.
wunderkind, not wonder-, for a prodigy.
Y
year. A common error concerning the word year is seen here: “The car that crossed the Channel, survived hippiedom, and outlasted a million careful owners has reached its fiftieth year” (Sunday Times). The article, about the Citroën Deux Chevaux, was written on the occasion of the car’s fiftieth anniversary; it had therefore reached its fifty-first year. As a moment’s thought will confirm, you are always one year ahead of your age in the sense of what year you are in: a newborn infant is in her first year; after her birthday, she will be in her second year, and so on. The sentence should have said either that the car had completed its fiftieth year or that it had reached its fifty-first.
years’ time. “In 1865 an influential book by Stanley Jevons argued . . . that Britain would run out of coal in a few years’ time” (Economist).