A Dictionary of Cont..

ound (The Statue of Liberty beckons the oppressed
from the Old World). A statute, in legal
terms, is an enactment made by a legislature
and expressed in a formal document (. . . When
the statute gleans the refuse of the sword). A
statute is also the document in which such an
enactment is expressed. In international law, a
statute is an instrument annexed to or subsidiary
to an international agreement, as a treaty.
Statuary may be an adjective meaning of,
pertaining to, or suitable for statues (statuary
drapery, this great quarry of statuary marble).
Statuesque means like or suggesting a statue, as
in formal dignity, grace, or beauty (His statuesque
poses were sometimes assumed to conceal
the indignity of his lameness). The adjective
meaning of or pertaining to a statute, prescribed
or authorized by statute (a statutory offense),
or legally punishable, is statutory. Statutuble
also means prescribed, authorized, or permitted
by statute. Of an offense, it means recognized
by statute, legally punishable. But it has the
special meaning, not shared by statutory, of
conformed or conforming to statutes.
stave. The past tense is staved or stove. The participle
is also staved or stove. Staved is the usual
form for the past tense and the participle in
general English, and stove is pretty much confined
to nautical matters. That is, we say the
boat was stove in but a bad cold was staved off.
staves. See staff.
stay. The past tense is stayed or staid. The participle
is also stayed or staid. These are merely
alternate spellings for the same form.
Stay may be followed by an adjective describing
the subject of the verb, as in stay calm. It
may also be followed by an adverb describing
the staying, as in stay quietly. There is often no
ditTerence in meaning between the two forms.
steady improvement, as a term for consistent and
regular improvement, is hackneyed. There’s
nothing wrong with the phrase. It’s really quite
a good way of putting it. It simply is that the
two words have been coupled so long and so
remorselessly that the reader no longer recognizes
them as individual words with meaning.
Overuse has effaced them beyond recognition.
steal. The past tense is stole. The participle is
stolen.
A participle stole, as in had stole, was once
literary English but is no longer considered
standard.
steal; purloin; pilfer; filch; thieve; rob; hold up.
Steal is the general word meaning to take or
take away dishonestly or wrongfully, especially
secretly (Who stole my heart away? The second-hand
yards lose thousands every month
from stealing). It has also the acquired meaning
of moving softly and unobtrusively, as a thief.
Sometimes a connotation of evil-doing lingers
in the word (This stealing away doesn’t look
like innocence to me), but it is often completely
divorced from any such suggestion (Steal away,
steal away to Jesus. . . . Shall fold their tents,
like the Arabs,/ And as silently steal away).
To purloin was originally merely to remove
475 steal
far off, to set to one side. In the York Plays
there is mention of one who having received
good moral precepts pertly purloined them, that
is, disregarded them, set them to one side.
Apparently things taken far off offered a temptation
to theft and the word has come to be
associated with theft. It has a connotation of
subtlety and is now large!y a literary word (The
Purloined Letter. A certain document of the last
importance has been purloined from the royal
apartments).
To pilfer is to steal in small quantities, to
practice petty theft (This pilfering cannot be
taken lightly: it adds up in a year’s time to (I
considerable sum). Dampier said that he found
the Malayans honest, not addicted to robbery,
but only the pilfering, poorer sort. Pilfer carries
a considerable connotation of contempt (The
Bard whom pilfered pastorals renown,/ Who
turns 4 Persian tale for half-a-crown).
To filch is to steal small things in a sly way.
As with steal, the slyness often predominates in
its meaning. Iago’s Who steals my purse, steals
trash . . ./ But he that filches from me my good
name/ Robs me of that which not enriches
him,/ And leaves me poor indeed plainly cannot
intend filch to mean the stealing of a trifle, but,
rather, the ruining of a reputation by sly insinuation.
Thieve is usually intransitive. It means to act
as a thief, to commit theft. It is stronger than
filch or purloin and much stronger than pilfer,
but not as strong as steal or rob. Thievery is
often preceded by petty.
Rob is a strong word. It carries a suggestion
of violence and the theft of things of value.
Robbers are dangerous men (The First National
Bank was robbed today by two masked gunmen.
The police pursued the robbers, exchanging
more than 4 dozen shots, several of which,
they are sure, found their mark). Rob takes as
its object the person or institution from whom
stolen. Steul takes as its object the thing stolen.
Something is stolen; one is robbed of it. In
America the armed robbery of persons is more
and more being called a hold-up and the perpetrators
hold-up men, robbers being restricted
more to those who steal goods. The distinction
is not yet definitely established as standard, however.
See also thief; robber; burglar.
steal a march on. Derived from the military expression
for moving troops, usually under cover
of night, without the enemy’s knowledge, to
steal 4 march on in the figurative sense of
secretly gaining an advantage is worn out with
overuse.
steal someone’s thunder. To say of someone who
-has used someone else’s own methods of accomplishments
in such a way as to deprive the
originator of his due credit or authority that
he has stolen his thunder is to employ a clichC.
The phrase was first uttered by the irascible
critic and playwright John Dennis (1657-1734)
when the “thunder” which he had devised (shaking
a sheet of tin) for his play Appius and
Virginia (1709), which failed, was used a few