A Dictionary of Cont..

from diagnosis). It is interesting that among
such formations whose irregularity would, he
felt, be too obvious for anyone to make serious
use of them, Fowler lists donate, now a fully
accepted word.
back of; in back of. Both of these phrases are
standard English in the United States. A survey
of American usage made about twenty-five years
ago found that back of was thoroughly established
but that in back of was “disputable.” Since
then, in back of has been accepted in the finest
circles. It appears in foreign-language dictionaries
and vocabulary lists compiled by the most
reputable institutions, and in publications of the
United States Office of Education. (No one any
longer questions the propriety of in front of.)
backward; backwards. Backward is the only form
that can be used to qualify a following noun, as
in u backward glance. Either form may be used
in any other construction, as in move backwards
and move backward. In the United States the
form backward is generally preferred.
Bacon, the essayist, may be called Francis Bacon,
Sir Francis Bacon, Baron Verulam of Verulam,
Lord Verulam, Viscount St. Albans, or Lord
St. Albans. Few men have had as many legitimate
names. It is an error, however, to call him
Lord Bacon.
bacteria is a plural form and traditionally requires
a plural verb.
In general English bacteria is treated as a
plural when it refers to a collection of individuals,
as in these bacteria are dead and all bacteria
are larger than viruses. But when it refers to a
class or a variety, it may also be treated as a
singular, as in this particular bacteria is harmless
and a new bucteria has appeared. In this sense,
a regular plural in s is sometimes heard, as in
not enough is known aboat the bacterias. This is
acceptable. But a double Latin plural, bacteriue,
is not.
The Latin singular bacterium is very rare. It
is not heard in general English and is now too
vague a term to be used in the laboratory. A
technician who had isolated one of these organisms
would call what he had found something
more specific than a bacterium. The word occurs
chiefly when this form of life is being discussed
in connection with a virus.
bad. The comparative form is worse. The superlative
form is worst. At one time bad also had the
forms budder and baddest, but these are no
longer standard.
A few generations ago, the word bud was an
adjective and could only be used to qualify a
noun; the word badly was an adverb and was
the form required to qualify any word that was
not a noun. This means that the form bud was
required in sentences such as I felt bud, he
looked bud, and so on, where it refers to, or
qualifies, the subject of the verb. On the other
hand, the form badly was required in sentences
such as it hurt badly, because here the word
refers to or qualifies the verb, that is, it tells how
it hurt.
51 baggage
But today many people believe that I felt
badly is a “nicer” expression than I felt bud.
This technically incorrect form has now become
acceptable English. We may say Z felt bad or
Z felt badly. Having established itself after the
verb feel, badly has begun to appear after other
linking verbs, such as he looks badly, it smells
badly, where bud is the traditionally correct
form. Badly is not yet as well established after
these other verbs as it is after feel. It sounds
like a grammatical mistake to many people. But
it is acceptable to many others and will probably
be thoroughly established in time.
As badly took over some of the functions of
bud, the form bad began to be used in place of
badly, as in it hnrt bud. This construction, once
standard English, had been obsolete for several
centuries when this revival began. Many people
still object to this use of bad but it has not been
attacked as energetically as the adjective use of
badly and will probably be standard English in
time.
Worse and less are the only comparative
forms in English that do not end in r, and less
now has the duplicate form lesser. The word
worser, as in the worser sort, my worser self,
was formerly as acceptable as lesser now is, but
at present it is out of use and considered unacceptable
by many people. The words worse and
worst are both adverbs as well as adjectives.
Only the form worst can be used before of,
regardless of how many things are being talked
about, as in in the collision between the convertible
and the truck, the convertible got the worst
of it. Worse of is unidiomatic English, and the
fact that only two objects are being compared is
irrelevant.
The use of worst for most, as in what I need
worst is money, is objectionable to most people.
bad blood between tbem. To say of those who
have long nursed grudges against each other,
who have an ingrained dislike and resentment
of each other, that there is bud blood between
them is to employ an anemic cliche.
bade. See bid.
bag and baggage. Baggage has a specialized meaning,
the impedimenta of an army. With bag and
baggage-with the property of the army as a
whole and the properties of the individual soldiers-was
sometimes one of the terms of an
honorable retreat.
The phrase, meaning “with one’s whole belongings,
completely,” probably remained in
popular use because of its alliteration. It is now
a cliche with all of its original meaning lost and
should be avoided in ordinary speech or writing.
baggage; luggage. Baggage used to be the American
word, luggage the English. But in recent
years luggage has come into currency in America
too. Airplanes and trains have luggage racks
and what used to be called the trunk of an automobile
is now often called the luggage compartment.
In almost all combinations, however, it remains
baggage: baggage room, baggage agent,