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

440 to say nothing of
tortious (TORE-shus, pertaining to a
tort).
TO SAY NOTHING OF. Discussing
lexicographical tradition, two authors
write:
Inevitably, Webster and Richardson,
to say nothing of Webster and Worcester,
disliked one another.
If the authors intended to say nothing of
Webster and Worcester, why did they say
anything of them?
“To say nothing of” is one of several
peculiarly contradictory expressions and
words. See NOT TO MENTION; Verbal
unmentionables.
See also INEVITABLE.
TOTAL. 1. “A TOTAL OF.” 2. Singular
vs. plural verb.
1. “A TOTAL OF”
In an enumeration such as “two owls
and a hen, four larks and a wren—a total
of eight birds,” a total of is a useful
phrase; it denotes a sum of the items.
The phrase “a total of” frequently
starts sentences like these in the press:
A total of 60 police and protesters
were injured in the scuffles. . . .
A total of 402 Iowans who said
they would definitely or probably
attend the state’s precinct caucuses
. . . were interviewed. . . .
A total of 143 nations . . . joined in
approving two resolutions challenging
the closing of the observer mission.
. . .
What is the need for “a total of” when
only one figure is mentioned? Obviously
someone has counted the injured people,
the Iowans, or the nations and come up
with a total.
The usual purpose is to get around a
journalistic and literary taboo on starting
a sentence with a figure. “143 nations,”
or the like, is never supposed to
be written. When, as a young reporter, I
asked an editor why, he said only, “It
would look strange.” Maybe so at first,
because the rule has precluded initial figures,
at least in texts. Headlines may
start with figures.
Even if we accept the rule, “A total
of” is usually a superfluous beginning.
“Sixty police” is easy to write and read.
“One hundred two Iowans” is not too
hard. “One hundred forty-three nations”
is just a little harder.
An article contained the pair of sentences
below. The latter is particularly
awkward.
A total of 167 delegates will be selected
from the state’s 34 assembly
districts. . . .
A total of 2,081 of the 4,161 delegates
will be needed to win the nomination.
Is the 4,161 not the total? Better: “Of
the 4,161 delegates, 2,081 will be
needed. . . . ”
See also Numbers, 11.
2. Singular vs. plural verb
A subject starting with “the total of”
ordinarily takes a singular verb. “The total
of 1.7 million votes was the highest
ever recorded in the state.” But a subject
starting with “a total of” often takes a
plural verb. “A total of 1.7 million votes
were cast in the state.” The first example
emphasizes the total as a statistic. The
second emphasizes the votes that were
cast.
Some writers fix on total and make
every verb singular, however unidiomatic:
votes “was” cast.
See also Collective nouns, 2.
TO, TOO, and TWO. Pronounced
the same, the three words are confused
by writers from time to time, perhaps