A Dictionary of Cont..

cause of its Biblical origin and the solemnity of
its use in the Scriptures (Revelation, 1 :8), has
more dignity, but it is also used too frequently.
from the cradle to the grave, as a term for all
of life, has become a clicht.
from time immemorial. As a term for that which
has endured from beyond memory or record,
something of great antiquity, from time immemorial
is hackneyed.
front was originally the forehead (The ver)~ head
and front of my offending. How now, daughter?
What makes that frontlet on? Methinks you are
too much o’ late i’ th’ frown). To affront, by the
way, is to strike on the forehead, to slap the
face, and effrontery means being devoid of a
forehead, i.e., having nothing to blush with.
It was a natural extension for front to come
to mean the entire face (Front to front bring
this fiend of Scotland and myself) and then the
foremost part or surface of anything. It is not
desirable, however, to use it, as it is often used,
to mean the beginning. The front of a book, for
example, is the jacket or cover, not the first
chapter.
frontier. In English usage the word frontier means
only that part of a country which borders on
another country (We were stopped at the
frontier and our luggage was searched). This is
the primary meaning of the word in America,
but we have another meaning which is almost
as important, namely that part of a country
which forms the border of its settled regions,
outlying settlements (‘Tis wonderful how soon
a piano gets into a log-hut on the frontier). This
has been extended to include the incompletely
developed regions of a field of knowledge
(New frontiers of the mind. The frontiers of
physics are now the intellectuals’ great hunting
grounds).
froth. See foam.
froze; frozen. See freeze.
frugal. See economical.
frustrate. See flurry.
frustum. The plural is frustums or frusta.
frying-pan into the fire, out of the. One of the
oldest and most widespread of proverbs, based
on the agonized struggles of a fish being cooked
alive, out of the frying-pan into the fire has been
overworked to the point where it must be classed
as a clicht and the thoughtful writer or speaker,
when expressing himself formally, will lint1 some
other way of saying that someone’s efforts to
get out of a bad situation have only precipitated
him into a worse one.
fulcrum. The plural is fulcrums or fulcra.
full; -ful. Almost any container can be used as a
measure of quantity, and this measure can be
expressed in either of two ways. The name of
the container may be followed by the adjective
full, as in a teaspoon full of water, or a new
noun may be formed with the suffix -ful, as in
a teaspoonful of water. In either case, the plural
is formed by adding s to the noun, as two teaspoons
full or two teaspoonfuls.
There is no logical difference between these
two forms. One may drink two glasses full of
191 fungus
milk without dirtying two glasses, just as one may
have another cup of coffee without getting a
second cup. The difference is one of tone or
style. The newer form, with -ful, is generally
preferred for familiar measures, such as teaspoonfuls,
and the older form, with full, for less
familiar ones, such as bins full. The newer form
has a businesslike, matter-of-fact tone. But the
older form is more vivid and it should always
be used in an exaggeration or a metaphor, as in
he bus buckets full of money.
function. To function is to perform a function and
a function is an act proper to a person, thing,
or institution. A functionary is an official who
has a specific duty to perform. When we say
The honors committee could not function if
denied access to the registrar’s records, we are
using the word correctly, because the committee
could not perform its specific duty without these
records. It could act without them. It might file
a protest. It might vote its own dissolution. But
in neither of these acts would it be functioning
as the honors committee. Some, to be on the
safe side, insist the word should be restricted to
machinery or to “an organ that works like a
machine” because these things can do only one
thing and that thing is their function. But this
is sacrificing expression on the altar of precision
and grammatical safety and, fortunately, there
isn’t the faintest hope or fear that the common
speaker will ever comply.
When used, as a noun, of a social gathering,
function refers to some formal meeting or public
ceremony (The Governor’s ball is the most important
function of our social season). It is misusing
the word to apply it to any informal
gathering.
funds are pecuniary resources, money on hand
(His funds were insuficient to meet his creditors’
demands). It is pompous to use the word merely
as a synonym for cash or money.
funeral; funereal. Funeral was originally an adjective.
But it has been used as a substantive so
long that it can now be used as an adjective
only in the attributive position (funeral home,
funeral procession). So much of funerals is
ceremony and business and social that funereal
has been set aside by usage to designate the
dismal, melancholy, and mournful aspects of a
funeral (Though the news was not unexpected,
the company sank into funereal gloom at its
announcement).
If occasion should arise for an adjective
meaning of or pertaining to a funeral, but not
pertaining to the melancholy and mournful
aspects and not to be used attributively, the
word would be either funebrial (or funebrious)
or funerary.
fungous; fungoid; fungal. Fungous means of or
pertaining to, caused by, or of the nature of or
resembling a fungus. Fungal is a little-used
synonym. Fungoid also means resembling, a
fungus or of the nature of a fungus, but it is
largely restricted, as a technical term, to botany
and pathology.
fungus. The plural is funguses or fungi.