A Dictionary of Cont..

adii 408
radix. The plural is radixes or radices.
raft, as a colloquial term for a great quantity or
a lot, especially of people (There was u raft of
folks crowding into town for the grand operring),
is now rustic and a little archaic.
rail, as short for railroad or railway, is standard
American usage (Ship by rail, I find it more convenient
to go by air than by rail). The objection
of some English authorities to this usage is curious,
since the English themselves are masters of
the art of reducing syllables and often hold up
their tram and lift in triumphant comparison to
the American streetcar and elevator.
railroad; railway. In England railroad is seldom
used. Since the beginning of the twentieth century
railway has been the usual term there. In
the United States railroad is the more common
term, though railway also has its uses. In general,
ruilroud is the term for a line for heavy
traffic (The Pennsylvania Railroad), while railway
describes a rail line with lighter weight
equipment and roadbed (The elevated railways
are being replaced by buses and subways).
As a verb, railroad has certain special American
senses. It may mean to transport by means
of a railroad, though this is now rarely heard,
being replaced almost entirely by ship in relation
to goods and truvel or go in relation to
persons. It may also mean to work on a railroad
(My husband and my two boys railroaded out
in Kunsns City for three years), though this,
too, is now rare. Colloquially, to railroad is to
send or push forward with great or undue speed
(Jacksonions tried to railroad the Indian bill
through Congress while Davy Crockett was off
on a speaking tour). As slang, but slang which
is so old and so widespread that it might well
be accepted as standard, railroad is to imprison
on a false charge in order to be rid of (Many
people believe that Tom Mooney was ruilrouded).
raining cats and dogs. Swift listed the phrase
ruin cuts and dogs as a cliche in 1738 (in his
A complete collection of genteel and ingenious
conversations) but it remains in full use among
those who seek to be original in an unoriginal
way. Whoever first thought of the expression to
describe a torrential downpour, with its suggestion
of snarling and yelping tumult heard in the
gurgle and drumming rush and splatter of the
rain, had something so felicitous in its absurdity,
so consonant in the violence of its own exaggeration
with the violence it described, that he
immediately captured all imaginations. But it is
time to seek a fresher, newer image.
rain or shine, as a term for in any event, under
any circumstance, positively, is hackneyed.
raise. This verb means “cause to rise.” Historically,
it does not mean rise even in speaking of
dough, where we say it is raising and set it to
raise. These are old passive uses of the -ing
form and the infinitive, comparable to supper
is cooking and wait for it to cook. Some people
also say the drawbridge raised, rather than the
drawbridge rose, because they are conscious of
the fact that &is is a passive act, something
that is being done to the drawbridge. This use
of an active form with passive meaning is frequent
in English and is seen in such familiar
sentences as the bout upset, the cup broke, the
color washes well. See passive voice and transitive
verbs.
The same distinction holds between the nouns
raise and rise. A salary increase is called a pay
raise by those who feel that someone is responsible
for the size of their salary. A pay rise carries
the implication that these things happen of
themselves, like a rise in the temperature. Pay
raise is the preferred form in the United States,
where pay rise was unknown before the 1930%.
Pay rise is the preferred form in Great Britain.
(For the difference between raise and rear, see
rear.)
raise one’s sights. One of the commonest metaphors
of college presidents and others in charge
of large funds or large hopes when they seek to
arouse those who beg for them to even wilder
frenzies of solicitation is to say that we must
raise oar sights. The metaphor, drawn from
artillery, would be most unfortunate were it not
that those who analyze metaphors form an inconsiderable
portion of those upon whom the
fund-raiser has his eye. Its nai’ve admission that
the donor is something to be shot down and
the fund-raiser one who carefully adjusts his
weapon is so alien to the general tenor of the
language of solicitation that one assumes it
would be avoided if it were understood.
raison d’btre, a French expression meaning the
reason for being or existence, is an affectation
when employed in English speech or writing for
reason and an error when employed for explanation.
rake-off is an exclusively American slang term to
describe a share or portion, as of a sum involved
or of profits. Often the implication is that it is
a share or amount taken or received illicitly,
as in connection with a public enterprise (Are
you a man of business or a philanthropic distributor
of rake-offs? Some estimate the alderman’s
rake-off at ten percent).
rally has the special meaning in America of a
coming together of persons, as for common
action, political or religious or-in the colleges
-sporting, which the British would call a mass
meeting or a demonstration (When they attended
Montana political rallies, Mrs. Wheeler
knitted with calm absorption. There will be a
football rally for freshmen in the meadow tomorrow
afternoon at five).
ran. See run.
rancor. See malice.
rang. See ring.
rank and file. In the strictest sense a rank of
soldiers is a number drawn up in line abreast.
(When the ranks are broken you have to fight
singly) and the file is the number of men constituting
the depth from front to rear of a
formation in line. Taken together, the two mean
the body of an army, apart from officers or
leaders. Used figuratively for ordinary people,
the expression is a cliche.
rap. Formerly a slang term meaning to censure or
criticize, rap is used so consistently in the head-