The Elements Of Style - ChokseKU: Home

M I S U S E D W O R D S A N D E X P R E S S I O N S [ 5 1
Kind of. Except in familiar style, not to be used as a
substitute for rather or something like. Restrict it to its lit
eral sense: "Amber is a kind of fossil resin"; "I dislike that
land of publicity." The same holds true for sort of.
Lay. A transitive verb. Except in slang ("Let it lay"), do
not misuse it for the intransitive verb lie. The hen, or the
play, lays an egg; the llama lies down. The playwright went
home and lay down.
lie, lay, lain, lying
lay, laid, laid, laying
Leave. Not to be misused for let.
Leave it stand the way it Let it stand the way it is.
is.
Leave go of that rope! Let go of that rope!
Less. Should not be misused for fewer.
They had less workers They had fewer workers
than in the previous cam- than in the previous cam
p a i g n , p a i g n .
Less refers to quantity, fewer to number. "His troubles
are less than mine" means "His troubles are not so great as
mine." "His troubles are fewer than mine" means "His trou
bles are not so numerous as mine."
Like. Not to be used for the conjunction as. Like gov
erns nouns and pronouns; before phrases and clauses the
equivalent word is as.
We spent the evening We spent the evening as
like in the old days. in the old days.
Chloe smells good, like a Chloe smells good, as a
b a b y s h o u l d . b a b y s h o u l d .