A Dictionary of Cont..

sanctum 43i2
certain places, the term sanctity of the home
has little significance. It is true that the right of
search and entry is limited, in theory at least,
by definite laws and the home remains in certain
senses inviolable. But this privilege, certainly
one of the most valuable that we have, is more
safely protected in clear and specific terms.
sanctum; sanctum sanctorum; den. A sanctum is
properly a sacred or holy place. Sanctum sanctorum,
“the holy of holies,” is a term of such
awful reverence that nothing but habitude prevents
its use from being blasphemous. The use
of sanctum for a man’s study reflects the idea
that, as head of the house, he is a god. Sanctum
sanctorum is journalistic jocosity for the editor’s
office. Neither term is now used seriously
and repetition has long since drained the last
molecule of humor out of both. Den, a more
recent term for a room in the house presumably
reserved for the male head and inviolate, reflects
the thought that he is not a god but a beast.
The ordinarv head of the house justifies neither
assumption.- His room is far irom inviolate.
And both names for it are flaccid clichks.
sand; grit. As a figurative expression, sand is used
chiefly in America to convey colloquially the
idea of pluck or firmness of purpose (There
don’t seem to be anybody around here that’s got
the sand to take her away from Mr. Branford),
an idea for which the equivalent British colloquial
term is grit. In older American speech,
still heard in country places, there was a fuller
expression, to have sand in one’s craw, that
meant the same thing (When Z got to camp . , .
there wasn’t much sand in my craw-Huckleberry
Finn). See also guts.
sand; sands. These words mean exactly the same
thing. Sand is grammatically singular and sands
grammatically plural, but both are mass nouns.
Sands does not mean any more of the stuff than
sand does. It is simply a poetic form of the
word. An hour glass contains sand, if it is used
for boiling eggs, and children play in the sand,
but we leave behind us footprints on the snnds
of time.
sang. See sing.
sanguine. See optimistic.
sanitarium; sanatorium. A sanitarium is an establishment
for the treatment of invalids. It is
primarily a hospital but usually has patients
needing special treatment (He spent some time
in a tuberculosis sanitarium at Saranac Lake).
Sanatorium is often used interchangeably with
sanitarium and this synonymity is recognized
by most dictionaries. But those who direct and
inhabit them insist there is a distinction, that a
sanatorium is less of a hospital and more of a
health resort, usually located in pleasant surroundings
and intended more for persons needing
rest and recuperation than for those needing
medical treatment.
The preferred plurals are sanitariums and
sanatoriums, though sanitaria and sanatoria are
permissible.
sank. See sink.
sarcasm. See humor.
sarcastic; sardonic. A remark is surcustic that is
derisive, sneering, bitterly ironic, taunting, gibing
or cutting, and the adjective may be transferred
to a look or a smile that is intended to
convey the meaning of such a remark. Sardonic
is often used as a synonym and the two words
overlap in their meanings. Sardonic is more
often restricted to a laugh or a smile which
does not proceed from true gaiety but is forced,
bitter, or derisive (the sardonic grin of a bloody
rufian). See also humor.
sarcoma. The plural is sarcomas or sarcomata,
not sarcomae.
sarcophagus. The plural is sarcophaguses or sarcophagi.
sat. See sit.
sateen; satin. Satin, originally describing a silk
fabric, now describes a fabric made in a warp
face satin weave, which produces a glossy surface.
It is usually of rayon or silk, but sometimes
cotton or linen. Sateen, a word formed
on satin by association with velveteen, describes
a cotton fabric woven in satin weave and resembling
satin in gloss.
satellite is properly an astronomical term for a
small body which revolves around a planet, held
in its position by the gravitational pull of the
planet and deriving its light by reflection. The
application of the word to an attendant upon a
person of importance is a forced elegancy. Its
application to the countries contiguous to Russia
whose governments are merely puppet governments
carrying out Russian policies is so apt
and has become so established that it must be
accepted as standard.
satire. See humor.
satiric; satirical; satyric. Satiric and satirical
mean of, pertaining to, or of the nature of
satire (He gave the little wealth he had/ To
build a house for fools and mad;/ To show by
one satiric touch/ No nation wanted it so much).
Sutyric is a word used only by the learned
and literary to describe one who is like a satyr,
that is half-man and half-goat and lasciviously
inclined. It is also used to describe a form of
Greek drama having a burlesque character, the
chorus representing satyrs.
satisfied; convinced. He who is satisfied has had
his desires, expectations, needs, or demands fulfilled
and is content. He who is convinced has
been persuaded by argument or proof that something
which has been alleged is true. There is in
the word, or in human nature, a suggestion of a
reluctance to believe overcome.
He who is convinced is satisfied with the
validity and sufficiency of the proof or the
soundness of the argument. But satisfied and
convinced are not synonymous and there are
many contexts in which the implications of
satisfied are ludicrous when convinced is the
proper word. Thus, reading in the newspaper,
of a prominent citizen who had been found
dead, that “Despite the doubts of the police, his
family was satisfied that he had been murdered,”
a wit observed “Well, they may have been; but
convinced would certainly have sounded better.”