The Penguin Dictionary of American English Usage and Style : A ...

advocate 9
but the disappearance of it. Or he denied
admitting that $18,619 was missing.)
Admit to is proper when the meaning
is to permit one to enter a group or profession:
“She was admitted to the club”
or “The state admits to the bar only
those who pass the examination.” Admit
to is correct also in the sense of permitting
physical entrance: “The gate admits
to the house.” / “The guards will not admit
to the plant anyone lacking proper
identification.”
2. Handled without care
One of the meanings of admit is to
confess wrongdoing. The word is so
commonly used in that sense that it must
be handled with care when a more neutral
use is intended. Admit (as a transitive
verb) can mean also to concede the
truth of a trivial allegation or to acknowledge
a shortcoming that is quite
innocent: “I admit I’ve been slow to answer
my mail lately, but I’ve been busy.”
The word tempts headline writers by
its brevity and can mislead them and
their readers. A headline read, “Montoya
Admits Forgeries.” It seemed to say
a U.S. senator had confessed crimes, but
the text said something much different:
While acknowledging that a campaign
finance report of his filed in New Mexico
bore false signatures of two campaign
officers, he said he was shocked to
learn of it. A safer headline—perhaps
“Forgeries ‘Shock’ Montoya”—would
have avoided the incriminating juxtaposition.
See also ADMISSION; CONFESS.
ADMITTANCE. See ADMISSION,
2.
ADOPT and ADAPT; ADOPTED
and ADOPTIVE. See ADAPT and
ADOPT.
“ADULT.” See EXOTIC.
Adverbs. See Adjectives and adverbs.
ADVERSE and AVERSE. See Confusing
Pairs.
ADVICE and ADVISE. Advice is the
noun, meaning an opinion on what to
do about a problem. “I’m going to the
lawyer for advice.” Advise is the verb,
meaning to recommend or to give advice.
“The lawyer will advise me.”
All that is common knowledge, is it
not? Maybe not. A sign in a window offers
“TAROT CARD READINGS BY
MISS GLORIA” and “ADVISE ON
ALL PROBLEMS.” (One problem is her
name. A sign on a wall calls her “Mrs.
Gloria.”)
Some authorities object to the use of
advise to mean inform, notify, say, state,
or tell. It is common in business—
“Please advise which model is desired”—and
can suggest business jargon
when used elsewhere.
One who advises is either an adviser
or an advisor. The press customarily insists
on the e spelling. The o spelling is in
line with the adjective advisory, which is
spelled only that way.
ADVOCATE. The verb advocate
means to recommend or promote (a
cause). It is a transitive verb only. That
is, it must transmit its action to an object.
You advocate something.
It was misused in these press quotations:
“Herlihy . . . has been advocating
for the name change. . . .” / “The new organization
. . . is advocating for a oneyear
moratorium. . . .” Omit each “for.”
The man “has been advocating the name
change.” The group “is advocating a
one-year moratorium.”
If “advocating” were changed, say, to
arguing, pleading, pressing, or pushing,
both quoted sentences could accept for.
All four verbs are intransitive (not needing
an object) as well as transitive. One
can also argue an issue, plead a case,
press charges, or push a broom.
A policeman used advocate unidiomatically
in another way: “They advo-