A Dictionary of Cont..

differentiated whole. Words of this kind that
have a singular form are usually followed by a
singular verb. Words of this kind that have a
plural form are usually followed by a plural
verb but are treated in other respects as singulars.
See mass nouns.
The difference between these three classes of
words is not always clear. Mass nouns are used
generically more often than not and some generic
singulars are indistinguishable from group
names. For this reason, many grammarians use
the term collective noun to mean all. three
classes. Many others limit the term to what is
called in this dictionary group names.
Some grammarians include as collectives the
name of any whole made up of similar parts,
such as chain, library, forest. This is a philosophical
distinction, not a grammatical one.
Words of this kind have no grammatical peculiarities
and nothing is gained by putting them in
a special class. Some grammarians also list as
collectives any noun that has the same form in
the singular and the plural, such as deer and
grouse. But words of this kind are true singulars
and true plurals. They have no peculiarities beyond
the fact that the plural is formed irregularly.
In this book a word like deer is considered
as two forms, one singular and one plural,, which
happen to be alike.
college. See university.
colloquialisms. Colloquial English does not mean
English that is not standard. It means the iaccepted
spoken idiom, in contrast to a formal, literary
idiom. A grammar published in 1930 lists do
you have swordfish? as a colloquial construction;
the literary form is given as have you swordfish?
Many of the best contemporary writers and
public speakers use colloquial English by preference.
They avoid literary forms that could not
be used in conversation.
It used to be said that colloquial English was
like a good business suit and literary English
like formal dress. The analogy still holds. But
one should remember that times have changed,
that a good business suit is seldom out of place,
and that formal dress, where it is not requiredat
a picnic, for example-may be ridiculous.
collusion; connivance. Collusion is secret agreement
for fraudulent purpose. It is sometimes
confused with collaboration but men act in collaboration
for good ends, in collusion for bad
(The fudge said that the witnesses were in collusion
and dismissed the case).
Connivance implies winking at wrongdoing,
assenting to it guiltily, although without taking
any active part in it. The word derives from a
Latin word meaning to shut the eyes. M:en are
in collusion. They connive at it.
colon. The colon is used almost exclusively for
formal writing. Its main function is to call attention
to what follows. It is used:
1. To introduce ideas in a series after an introductory
phrase, as in these are the main exports:
metals, primarily iron, copper and tin;
grains, primarily wheat; and cotton.
2. To introduce formally any subject, as in
Mr. Brown moved that the following question
be referred to the Committee: What are the
effects of zoning laws on downtown building
activity?
3. To introduce a quotation of a full sentence
or more, as in in his previous book the author
stated: (Quotation follows).
4. Between clauses when the second summarizes
or restates the first, as in in spite of the
politicians, it is the people who will finally decide
the issue: they have always been the deciding
factor ultimately.
5. After the salutation in a formal letter, as
in Dear Sir: (In some European countries an
exclamation point is used after the salutation in
a formal letter, and a c0mm.a in informal
letters.)
6. In formal bibliographies, between author
and title, between place of publication and publisher,
and between volume and page, as in
Keynes, John Maynard: A Treatise on Probability.
London: Macmillan and Co., 1921 and
Foreign Affairs 32:353.
7. To show clock time, as in 4:30 p.m.
8. To show proportions, as in The paint
should be mixed 1:4.
Either a capital letter or a lower-case letter
may be used after a colon. If a full sentence follows
the colon, it generally starts with a capital,
as in The following result was reported: Unanimous
agreement was reached by the Council
after a very short discussion period. But we
write the result: unanimous agreement.
When a colon follows an abbreviation there
is no period before the colon, as in he took the
following courses while studying for his M.A:
history, psychology, anthropology. . . .
A dash should not be used after a colon. In
informal writing the dash can often take the
place of the colon, but the two are no longer
used together.
colored. As a euphemism for Negro, colored sometimes
has an element of condescension. It is not
usually intended to be an offensive word, for it
carries a plain intention of politeness.
In the Union of South Africa colored is the
official description of the man with mixed blood.
No Bantu is there ever called colored; no man
with a dark skin, not a full-blooded Negro, is
there ever called a Negro-as he would be in
the United States. The white South Africans
often use colored as a noun, referring to a Colored.
This is resented by the educated among
those so referred to, though they do not feel so
strongly when the word is used as an adjective.
See African, Creole, mulatto, Negro.
colossal. That is properly colossal which is like a
colossus-of vast size, gigantic, huge, enormous
(He was a man of colossal stature. Wagner’s
colossal dramas).
As a mere intensive, however, (a colossal
liar) with a suggestion of the amusing or absurd
(He was a colossal idiot) the word is not standard,
being a catchword picked up from the
Germans among whom, in the nineteen twenties
and thirties, kolossal superseded almost every
other adjective of admiration and wonder.
colossns. The plural is colossuses or colossi.