A Dictionary of Cont..

not used immediately before a noun even in the
United States. We do not say a better baby,
meaning a healthier one.
well earned rest deserves one.
well nigh which, as a synonym for almost, Partridge
lists as an elegancy or vogue word in
Enrrland. is. in the United States, rustic or comic.
Welsh Ra6bii; Welsh Rarebit. The proper name
for the melted cheese dish is Welsh Rabbit.
Rarebit is a corruption, due to highbrow folketymologizing.
Any chef is, of course, free to
call any concoction by any name he chooses. But
he is not free, among the informed, to overawe
others with his own ignorance.
wend one’s way, an archaism revived by Scott,
is affected.
went. See go.
wept. See weep.
were. See be.
west; western. The comparative form is more
western. The superlative form is westernmost.
wet. The past tense is wet or wetred. The participle
is also wet or wetted. In the United States
wet is the preferred form for the past tense and
the participle, as in he wet his lips, he had wet
the grass, and wetted is seldom used except when
speaking of something other than water, as in
the particles were wetted by the oil. In Great
Britain wetted is the preferred form in all contexts
and wet is seldom heard.
wet to the skin is hackneyed.
wharf. The usual plural is wharves, but wharfs
is also acceptable and has been standard English
for several centuries.
what is primarily an interrogative pronoun or adjective,
as in what do yen mean? and what kittens?
It is also used as a compound relative,
equivalent to that which, as in he did what he
could and he spent what money he had.
The interrogative what differs from the interrogative
which in two ways. (1) Which asks
about members of a limited group, as in which
do you want? and which books did you take?,
where the questions mean “which of the ones we
are talking about.” What, like who, is unlimited
in range. What do you want? and what books
did you take? ask about anything possible. (2)
The interrogative which is used in speaking of
persons as well as things. What on the other
hand supplements wlro, which is used only as a
pronoun and only in speaking of persons. As an
adjective what may be used in speaking of
human beings, as in what child is this? As a
pronoun it may ask about a human characteristic,
function, or o&e, as in what is he?, but
not about the person himself. The interrogative
what may be used in exclamations, as in what
strange men!, what nonsense! When used in an
exclamation before a singular concrete noun,
what always precedes the article a, as in what a
Zalef
What may also be used as a compound word
equivalent to the demonstrative pronoun that
followed by the relative which, as in I heard
what he said. It does not represent a preceding
word in the sentence, but can be thought of as
551 what
a relative that carries its own antecedent, or as
a substitute for that which. At one time what
could be used as a simple relative and represent
a preceding word, as in I had a horse what
wouldn’t go, but this is no longer standard.
The that contained in the compound relative
what always represents or is explained by a following
group of words, as in she was still what is
called young. In order to refer to what has already
been said we use the word which, as in he
is a well-known man, which I am not, and, what
is more, I am poor. In current English what is
usually preferred to the two words that which
when the that is defined by the following clause,
as in believe what he tells you. What cannot be
used when the contained that represents something
not defined by the following clause, as in
it was that which brozrght me here.
The interrogative what may also be used in a
subordinate clause, as in Z know what he said.
In a sentence of this kind the difference between
the interrogative what and the compound relative
lies in the intention of the speaker. If what
is meant is “I know the answer to the question:
what did he say?” the word is an interrogative.
If, as in the sentence using the word heard, the
meaning is “I heard the words which he said,”
we have the compound relative. Very often the
distinction is meaningless.
What should not be used in referring to a
person. Otherwise, the word is being properly
used whenever it carries an implied question or
can be replaced by that which or those which.
What can be replaced by that which and is therefore
standard English in an easier yoke than
what you put on me and Padua affords nothing
but what is kind. It cannot be replaced by that
which, and is therefore not standard, in I laughed
heartier then than what I do now. What is also
not standard in there’s no one but what says. . . ,
because here it refers to a person. When it does
not refer to a person, a technically improper
what after but, as in not but what you’re right
and who knows but what it’s all true, is acceptable
English in the United States. But it is condemned
by some grammarians and avoided in
formal writing.
The adjective what may qualify either a singular
or a plural noun, as in to what green altar?
and what men or gods are these? The pronoun
may be followed by either a singular or a plural
verb, as in what appears to be the important
points and what appear to be the important
points. When the words represented by what are
unknown, as in a true question, it is usually
treated as a singular, as in what is going on?
Whatever means “anything, no matter what.”
It should not be used as an interrogative, as in
whatever have you done? But otherwise, it may
be used as a pronoun, as in eat whatever you
like, or as an adjective, as in for whatever reason.
The adjective is often placed after a noun qualified
by any, for additional emphasis, as in if for
any reason whatever. The word whatsoever is
now archaic in Great Britain, but is still natural
English in the United States, especially when