A Dictionary of Cont..

usiness manager is responsible to the trustees
for all the financial affairs of the university);
involving accountability or responsibility (He
held a responsible position). Only American
usage permits responsible in the much looser
sense of the cause of, chargeable with being the
author of, the cause or occasion of something
-followed by for (Heavy rains were responsible
for the deplorable condition of the country
roads).
rest. This verb may be followed by an adjective
describing what rests, as in you must rest
content. Jt. may also be followed by an adverb
describing the resting, as in rest quietly. There
is often no difference in meaning between the
two constructions.
rest (in the sense of remainder). See balance.
rest upon one’s laurels. Whoever first thought
of a triumphant victor taking off his laurel
wreath and making a mattress of it had a happy
figure of speech to describe those who, having
once accomplished something notable, have
since given up all exertion and live solely on
their reputations. But the expression is now
worn out.
restive; restless, Restive means impatient of
control, restraint, or delay, refractory, refusing
to go forward, as a horse (He became restive
under the harsh discipline of the lieutenant).
Yet the word impatient connotes restlessness,
and perhaps one can only say that restiveness
is restlessness traceable to certain causes, such
as restraint. Restless is a general term meaning
characterized by or showing inability to remain
at rest. A sick man might be restless with fever.
He would be restive at the restrictions imposed
on him by his physician, particularly as he
grew well and found the restrictions increasingly
annoying.
restrain. See check, constrain.
restrictive clauses. A defining clause that is essential
to the meaning of a statement, such as Z
told you about in the man Z told you about is
here now, is called a restrictive clause. Clauses
of this kind must not be separated from the
noun they qualify by a comma or any other
form of punctuation. (For the use of that or
which in a defining clause, see that; which.)
resume; continue. Continue is the more inclusive
term. It means either to go on with a course of
action (We will continue with our experiments
until we find a solution) or to go on after a
suspension or interruption (Zf you have had
enough rest, we will continue with the lesson).
Resume may be substituted for the second of
these two senses of continue (After a brief stop,
he resumed his ride). Indeed, because it is
specific, it is usually preferable to continue in
this sense.
resume; r&urn& Resume is a verb, meaning to
take up or go on with again after an interruption
(The debate was resumed as soon as
the guards had ejected the heckler).
RCsumC is taken from a French noun formed
on the past participle of rbumer. It means a
summary, a summing up, that which has been
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taken up again (In his notebooks he wrote
r&urn& of the various arguments).
retaliation; reprisal. Both of these words mean
the return of like for like, the repayment of
injury in kind, “an eye for an eye and a tooth
for a tooth,” so that the injury done back
tallies exactly with that done.
Reprisal is the more ferocious term. It
describes the infliction of similar or severer
injury on the enemy in warfare, in retaliation
for some injury, as by the punishment or execution
of hostages or prisoners (Zn reprisal for
the murder of a German soldier, the Germans
wiped out one whole French town). Retaliation
has milder connotations and is used in other
circumstances (In retaliation for inconsiderate
treatment by certain English people when he
was a boy, he was, as an editor, consistently
anti-British and his infiuence was tremendous).
reticent; secretive; taciturn; laconic. One is reticent
who is disposed to be silent, who has an
inclination to keep his own counsel, is reserved,
not inclined to speak freely (Like most tightfisted
men, he was exceedingly reticent about
his will). It may describe habitual behavior or
special behavior on a particular occasion (That
evening he was surprisingly reticent about his
war experiences).
Secretive means extremely reticent, having a
disposition to secrecy. It is a stronger word than
reticent and carries a slightly pejorative connotation.
Reticence is often admirable; secrecy
suggests furtiveness and implies there is something
improper to be hidden (These secretive
natures delight in trifling stratagems).
Taciturn describes one who is habitually
inclined to silence, reserved in speech, reticent
in an uncheerful manner (The rural New
Englander is reputed to be taciturn). Laconic,
unlike taciturn, is a rather laudatory term. It
means using few words, expressing much in a
few words, being concise (His political opponents
considered Coolidge taciturn; his friends
praised him for being laconic). Laconic and
taciturn are often point-of-view words, the
choice often revealing more about the writer
or speaker than about the one written or spoken
about.
retire is now a little over-elegant and slightly
affected when used to mean to go to bed. To
retire is, strictly, to withdraw. And one retires
from something or to something. The continuance
of its use in America may have been due
to prudery, for when legs were referred to as
“limbs” the word bed was unmentionable.
Charles Dickens on his first American visit
had considerable trouble with two Misses
Smith who were singing in an operetta of his,
The Village Coquettes. They objected to the
“immodesty” of certain lines and definitely
refused to sing one quatrain:
A winter‘s night has its delight,
Well-warmed to bed they go:
A winter’s day we’re blithe and gay,
Snipe-shooting in the snow.