A Dictionary of Cont..

ash 44
ash; ashes. These words mean exactly the same
thing. Ash is grammatically singular and ashes
grammatically plural, but both are mass nouns.
Ashes does not mean any more of the stuff
than ash does.
Some grammarians claim that the form ash
is only used in speaking of ash from tobacco
and in compounds such as bone ash and volcanic
ash, and that other substances, such as
coal and trash, are always said to leave ashes.
This distinction is not observed in the United
States. We sometimes speak of the ash ia a
furnace and sometimes of cigarette ashes.
Only the form ash is used as the first element
in a compound, as in ash tray, ash can.
ask. This word may be followed by an infinitive,
as in I asked him to leave. It may also be
followed by a that clause, but the clause verb
must be a subjunctive or a subjunctive equivalent,
as in I asked that he leave. The infinitive
construction is generally preferred. risk for
followed by an infinitive, as in I asked for him
to leave, is heard frequently but is considered
unacceptable by some people.
When not followed by a verb, ask and ask
for are equally acceptable, as in ask mercy and
ask for mercy. Ask for is generally preferred
in this construction. See inquire.
asparagus. The plural is asparaguses or asparagi.
The plural form is used only in speaking of
the plants. The food is always treatled as a
singular, as in this asparagus is good and how
long did you cook it?
aspect. See phase.
aspiration, See inspiration.
aspire may be followed by an infinitive, as in
he aspires to write poetry. It is also heard with
the -ing form of a verb, as in he aspires to
writing poetry, but this is not standard usage.
assay; essay. Both words originally meant the
same thing, to test or try. Essay got its meaning
of a short literary composition by the
accident of Montaigne’s modestly calling his
meditations essais or “attempts” at. setting
down his thoughts. Bacon took over the word
from Montaigne and the success of his Essays
fixed this meaning on the word in English.
The older meaning still lingers on. James
Russell Lowell speaks of essaying a tusk, but
it is close to an archaism now. Assay is now
confined entirely to the testing of metals.
assembly; assemblage. Assembly applies to a
company of persons gathered together (the
General Assembly of the United Nations). An
assemblage can be of persons or things; when
it is applied to persons it suggests a more
informal group than an assembly (a,4 assemblage
of bird watchers, an assemblage of wires
and switches). It is a less respectful te.rm.
assert. See allege; claim; declare.
asset; assets. Assets is a singular noun with a
plural form. It comes from the French asset,
enough, and was originally a law term meaning
(property) enough (to satisfy certain
claims). Asset is a false form, baseld on the
mistaken assumption that assets is plural. The
Oxford English Dictionary does not recognize
its existence. Fowler regards it with stern disapproval
and adjures his readers to shun it.
Yet it is a common word in our language now
and a useful one. It is an asset to the language.
That it is a false singular is of no importance;
so is pea, a false singular from Pease. To say
of such-and-such a member that he is an asset
to the club or of another that his good nature
is his chief asset is to express oneself concisely
in terms that are certain to be understood.
See also possession.
assignation, when used to designate a tryst,
carries the suggestion that the meeting is illicit.
Houses of prostitution were formerly, especially
in America, called assignation houses or
houses of assignation and this probably fixed
the meaning, though its over-elegance would,
in itself, suggest that there was something inelegant
being hidden behind it. The colloquial
date, which has replaced in common speech
almost every other word for an appointment,
has, when applied to lovers’ meetings, a
suggestion of innocence. This may be due to
its having been introduced by teen agers.
assignment. See appointment.
assist may be followed by the -ing form of a
verb, introduced by the preposition in, as in
he assisted us in screening the applicants. It is
sometimes heard with a to-infinitive, as in he
assisted us to screen the applicants, or with the
simple form of a verb, as in he assisted us
screen the applicants, but these forms are not
standard usage. See help.
assonance. See pun.
as such is often interposed in a sentence with
solemn gravity yet in a way that is meaningless.
Thus in such sentences as The threat, as
such, may be disregarded or The house, as
such, adds nothing to the value of the property,
it is hard to see what as such adds. If the
threat may be disregarded as a threat, it may
be disregarded. If the house does not add value
to the property as a house, could it possibly
add it any other way? In the very rare case
where it might be a shrine or a ruin so
picturesque that people would pay to see it,
it might add to the value of the property. But
such a possibility is highly uncommon and
as such is all too common.
assume. See adopt.
assume; presume. In the sense of infer, suppose,
or take for granted, assume and presume are
closely synonymous and often interchangeable.
The maker of fine discriminations, however,
will use presume when he wishes to express a
strong conviction of likelihood, assume when
merely advancing an hypothesis. (I presume
he is not guilty conveys my belief that he is
probably innocent. You may assume whatever
you choose has an element of scorn in it, since
assume may include any supposition, however
wild. One would never, in scorn, say You may
presume whatever you choose.)
The primary meaning of assume is to feign
(He assumed the guise of a fool). Here