A Dictionary of Cont..

wapiti
Do you wish some more potatoes? The fault
here is that the bodily wants (the satisfaction of
which, presumably, is the sole reason for the
potatoes being offered) are so basic and fundamental,
so imperative in their demands, that only
want will do. The various shades of meaning
latent in wish are all inapplicable to the situation.
wapiti. See elk.
-ward; -wards. Originally, -ward was an adjective
ending that meant “having the direction of.”
Words ending in -ward were used to qualify
nouns, as in the homeward journey. The final s
in -wards was a genitive ending which made adverbs
of these adjectives, very much as the ending
-1y is used today to make adverbs from
adjectives. The -s forms were used to qualify
words that were not nouns, as in homewards
bound.
Today the -ward forms are still the only ones
used to qualify a following noun. But either form
may be used in any other construction. Some
grammarians claim that either form may be used
when the word describes direction, as in look
homeward. Angel, but that the form with s is
required when the word describes manner, as in
he does everything backwards. This distinction
is not observed in the United States, where the
forms without s are generally preferred for both
direction and manner.
Words may be freely coined on this pattern,
as stationward, dinnerward, usward.
warden means one charged with the care or
custody of something, a keeper. In the United
States it has been specialized to mean the chief
administrative officer in charge of a prison. (The
warden told them, over the loudspeaker, that
they had one hour in which to surrender and
evacuate the cell block). Though the term is employed,
or was, in one specialized instance in
England in the same sense (Warden is the title
of the man in charge of the Fleet prison), it is
used today in England, in relation to prisons, to
designate what in America is called a guard (A
prison has many advantages over a school. In
prison, for example, the wardens protect you
from attack by your fellow prisoners). The
American warden is the English governor.
Warden may also mean any of various public
officials charged with superintendence, as game
warden, fish warden, fire warden. These are
chiefly American terms, but fire warden was
taken over in England during World War II to
designate those who watched for and attempted
to control incendiary bombings. In England
warden is also used as the name for the heads of
certain colleges (The Warden of All Souls, Dr.
Pember, was that year Vice-chancellor) and
other educational and charitable institutions.
ward heeler is an exclusively American expression
to describe a minor hanger-on of a political
machine who canvasses voters and does party
chores, a man who, like a dog, comes to heel
when his master, the political boss, the Ward
Boss, gives commands (He said that the Census
Bureau is violating the constitutional rights of
the American people when it “sends 168,000
546
political hacks and ward heelers . . . to snoop
into the people’s finances”).
Wardour Street English is an expression used in
England but unknown in America, except to the
learned, for the affected, and often erroneous,
use of archaic words. Ye Olde Radio Repaire
Shoppe would be a good example of Wardour
Street English. Wardour Street was a street in
London famed for its fake antiques.
warm as toast is a hackneyed comparison. In
former days when houses were cold in winter,
toast taken directly from before the fire was,
apparently, strikingly warm, but today one does
not think of it as particularly warm. In England
where - by American standards-the toast is
frigid, the phrase is meaningless.
warm the cockles of one’s heart. To say of something
pleasing that it warms, or rejoices, or delights
the cockles of the heart, is to employ a
cliche.
Cockle is the name of bivalve molluscs of the
genus Cardium. The resemblance in shape between
the shell of the mollusc and the heart has
long been recognized and is, indeed, implicit in
the name of the genus. But the cockles of the
heart implies some special part or parts of the
heart, though just what or why is unknown.
Probably it is no more than an intensive, like in
my heart of hearts.
warn may be followed by an infinitive, as in I
warned him to leave at once, or by a clause, as
in I warn you I am leaving. If the -ing form of a
verb follows warn, it must be introduced by the
preposition against, as in I warned him against
leaving.
warp. See woof.
warrant; warranty; guarantee; guaranty. Warrant
and guarantee are frequently interchangeable to
indicate that something is safe or genuine. To
warrant is to give a pledge or assurance that
something is what it seems or claims to be (I
warrant he’s telling the truth). To guarantee is
to make something sure or certain by binding
oneself to replace it or refund its price if it is
not as represented (The watch is guaranteed for
a year). The word is thrown around recklessly
in advertisements and only ,the most careful
reading can ascertain just what is guaranteed, if
anything. Warrant has the meaning, not shared
by guarantee, of to justify (This does not warrant
such expenditures!).
Warrant and guarantee may also be used as
nouns. In the specialized sense of an authorization
for arrest, warrant alone may be used. The
prevalence of this use, with its unpleasant associations,
tends to make guarantee the common
word for all other uses.
Warranty, a noun only, and guaranty, noun or
verb, are used in specialized senses. Warranty is
chiefly a legal term meaning an engagement,
express or implied, in assurance of some particular
in connection with a contract, as of sale; or a
covenant in a deed to land by which the party
conveying assures the grantee that he will enjoy
the premises free from interference by any person
claiming under a superior title. A warranty