The Elements Of Style - ChokseKU: Home

54] THE ELEMENTS OF STYLE
He cannot eat nor sleep. He cannot eat or sleep.
He can neither eat nor
sleep.
He cannot eat nor can
he sleep.
Noun used as verb. Many nouns have lately been
pressed into service as verbs. Not all are bad, but all are
suspect.
Be prepared for kisses Be prepared for kisses
when you gift your girl- when you give your girl
friend with this merry friend this merry scent,
scent.
The candidate hosted The candidate gave
a dinner for fifty of her a dinner for fifty of her
w o r k e r s . w o r k e r s .
The meeting was Mr. Oglethorp was chair
chaired by Mr. Oglethorp. of the meeting.
She headquarters in She has headquarters in
N e w a r k . N e w a r k .
The theater troupe The theatre troupe
debuted last fall. made its debut last fall.
Ojfputting. Ongoing. Newfound adjectives, to be
avoided because they are inexact and clumsy. Ongoing is a
mix of "continuing" and "active" and is usually superfluous.
He devoted all his spare He devoted all his spare
time to the ongoing pro- time to the program for aid
gram for aid to the elderly. to the elderly.
Offputting might mean "objectionable," "disconcerting,"
"distasteful." Select instead a word whose meaning is clear.
As a simple test, transform the participles to verbs. It is pos
sible to upset something. But to offput? To ongo?
One. In the sense of "a person," not to be followed by
his or her.