A Dictionary of Cont..

kick out of just watching that kid), it is slang.
So also is its meaning of stimulation in an
alcoholic drink (That home brew stuff had an
awful kick in it), or, as a verb, to be around
(He’s been kicking around here for six months
now, don’t seem to want to go any place else),
or in the compound, to kick in, contribute (Her
lawyer kicked in with the necessary five hundred
,-
bucks). Kick off. start (The drive kicked off with
a big rally in the square), and kickback, ‘io pay
part of one’s wages, fee, or receipts back
surreptitiously (Longshoremen were finding it
tougher than ever to get jobs, even through kickbacks
of pay, bottles of liquor and cigars), are
slang terms on the way to becoming accepted
spoken English.
kill. The use of kill to mean to cancel a word, or
a paragraph, or item (Publisher Forsberg decided
to kill the editorial page) is standard in
American usage. So also to let an automobile
engine go dead (He killed the engine right on
the tracks).
kill or cure is a cliche, sustained solely by inertia
and alliteration..
kill the fatted calf. To kill the fatted calf in festal
preparation, or the goose that lays the golden
eggs in greedy folly, or two birds with one stone
in thrift or efficiency is to be guilty of using
very tedious phrases.
kin. Though kin is standard in the meaning of
one’s relatives collectively, kinsfolk, family relation
or kinship (You’ll find our kin all through
Kentucky. They’re kin to us through the Pruitts
around Olympian Springs), it is archaic as
a designation of a group of persons descended
from a common ancestor (We’re all Adam’s
kin) or a single kinsman (He’s no kin of mine).
The word is more widely used in the South,
where the older feeling for family relationships
is still retained, than in the North. See ldth
and kin.
kind of. The use of singulars and plurals in expressions
involving kind of is complicated only
in the sense that there are several constructions
all of which are equally acceptable.
Kind of is singular. Traditionally, it is qualified
by a singular, such as this and not these,
and is followed by a singular verb. The noun
following kind of may be either singular or
plural. We may say this kind of man is dangerous
or this kind of men is dangerous. Both constructions
are formally correct but the second,
with a plural noun before a singular verb, is
not heard in the United States. We may also
say these kind of men are dangerous. This use
of a plural qualifier and a plural verb with the
singular kind of is formally irregular, but it has
a long history in literary English. It is used
today by educated people and must therefore
be recognized as standard English.
Kinds of is a plural and is used only in speaking
of more than one kind. It is qualified by a
plural, such as these and not this, and is followed
by a plural verb. The noun following
kinds of may be either singular or plural. We
may say these kinds of iree are easy to grow or
263 kind
these kinds of trees are easy to grow. In the
United States a plural noun is generally preferred
after kinds of, but both forms are standard,
literary English.
In every case, a following pronoun is singular
if the verb is singular and plural if the verb is
plural, as in this kind of tree is nice if you like
it and these kind of trees are nice if you like
them.
What has just been said covers everything
that anyone needs to know about the use of
singulars and plurals with kind of. But unfortunately,
a great deal of confusion has grown
up in recent years over the form these kind of
trees. Before anyone changes his speech habits
in regard to this, he should understand just what
it is that is under attack.
About fifty years ago some eminent grammarians
commented on the fact that kind was
used in a way not possible for a word such as
group. They said that, although grammatically
incorrect, this irregular construction was acceptable
spoken English, and gave as examples
of it: these kind of men have their uses &rd
what kind of trees nre those? If a word like
group was being used in these sentences we
would say: this group of men has its uses and
what group of trees is that? The grammarians
were recommending as technically correct this
kind of men has its uses and what kind of trees
is that? They had no objection in the world to
a plural noun after kind of. They themselves,
in another context, speak of a kind of compasses.
All that can be said about this singular construction
with a plural noun is that it is not used
in the United States today. We do not use kind
in exactly the same way that we use group. The
recommended construction is so alien to our
speech habits that American handbooks which
condemn these kind of trees are do not mention
the alternative this kind of trees is. They sometimes
say that the only acceptable form is trees
of this kind are. This is absurd. And it becomes
even more absurd when applied to what kind
of trees are those? Sometimes they suggest, or
at least students conclude, that one should always
say these kinds of trees. This is worse yet.
Kinds should never be used unless more than
one kind is meant.
To sum up, if only one kind is meant, kind
may be used with a singular noun to suggest
the type, as in this kind of tree, or with a plural
noun to suggest the group, as in these kind of
trees or this kind of trees. These kind of trees
is idiomatic and literary English. This kind of
trees is historically justifiable but seldom heard
in the United States today.
The phrase kind of a, as in this kind of a
man, is condemned by many grammarians. But
it can be heard frequently in the speech of the
best-educated people and is found in the works
of some of our best writers, including William
James.
Kind of is sometimes used to qualify an adjective
or a verb, as in it is kind of silly and