When Spell-Check Can\'t Help

Our latest roundup of homophone problems includes a number of very familiar entries. Sharp-eyed readers catch them; we should, too. Put these at the top of your better-check-twice list.

---

If he never succeeds in diminishing her appeal, it's both because Ms. Blanchett maintains a vice grip on the character's humanity and because it becomes inexorably clear that, while losing her money helped push Jasmine over the edge, it was also the dirty, easy money, what it promised and delivered, that drove her nuts to begin with.

In American English, we use “vise” as the spelling for the tool; a “vice” is a bad habit. (This was fixed in time for print.)

---

The company is discrete about the identities of its clients, but it does say they include American venture capitalists, Arab oil sheiks, Ukrainian oligarchs and Chinese scions - along with celebrities that include a former Italian movie star and an American reality TV actress.

“Discrete” means separate or distinct. To mean “careful about what one says,” we wanted “discreet.”

---

“I think it would be useful for us to examine some state and local laws to see if it - if they are designed in such a way that they may encourage the kinds of altercations and confrontations and tragedies that we saw in the Florida case, rather than diffuse potential altercations,” the president said.

This is a surprisingly common error, considering that the words are not used very often. Make it “defuse” - what you would do to a bomb - not “diffuse,” which means “dispersed, spread out.”

---

“I believe Woody, at heart, would have been happiest to have been born as the classic opera diva,” she said. “He lives for dramatic flare, gossip, intrigue, crippling heartache and turmoil - just as long as it's happening to someone else.”

Another common lapse. Make it “flair,” not “flare.”

---

At Oxford, she drank beer, rode crew and went through a black leather phase - “She scared me, she was so cool,” Ms. Elkin said - which turned almost comical on a trip to Israel.

“Rowed crew,” of course.

---

Spared the indignation of being pulled back to the dugout, Lillibridge went to the plate with Nunez on third base and laced a single to left.

Not a homophone, but a different mix-up of similar words. He was spared the “indignity” (“indignation” is what he might have felt if he had been subject to such an “indignity”).

 
In a Word

This week's grab bag of grammar, style and other missteps, compiled with help from colleagues and readers.

---

They have no outside criteria that tells them what their talents are for or when they are sufficient.

“Criteria” is plural. Make it “criteria that tell them…”

---

A new generation of campers who are tired of finding their sleeping bags laying on sharp rocks has taken to tents that, instead of being staked to the forest floor, hover over it, suspended from trees.

Aarrghh. Lying, not laying.

---

This subway map shows the Second Avenue subway line and the extension of the No. 7 line, neither of which are open yet.

As a pronoun, “neither” is singular. So make it “neither of which is open yet,” or simply “which are not open yet.”

---

But when it was suggested that neither are well liked, he was quick to take exception.

Same problem. Make it “neither is well liked…” (or, better, “neither was well liked,” for sequence of tenses).

---

At N.F.L. training camps across the nation this week, it's as if a bunch of touch football games have broken out.

Make it “had broken out” for this contrary-to-fact construction.

---

These concerns were voiced by Justice Milton A. Tingling of State Supreme Court in March, when he struck down the soda ban a day before it was scheduled to go into effect, calling the restrictions “arbitrary and capricious” and an overreach of the Board of Health's power.

Let's resist this faddish use of “overreach” as a noun.

---

The sentencing phase will begin on Wednesday, with more than 20 witnesses scheduled to appear for both the prosecution and the defense.

Awkward phrasing; the witnesses will not be appearing for both sides.

---

The opposition is irate. They are now calling on Mr. Cuomo to veto the bill.

For consistency, make it either “The opposition is irate” and “is calling,” or “The opponents are irate” and “are calling.”

---

But across the Atlantic - nein, non, no.

It isn't our style to italicize foreign words.

---

Instead of vainly trying to fortify our land borders, we should be working with Canada and Mexico to keep the things we should really worry about - terrorists, weapons of mass destruction, cocaine - out of North America all together.

The word meaning “completely” is “altogether,” not “all together.”

---

The last time Erica Greenberg Ring, a mother of three in Davie, Fla., went shopping with her daughter, Madison, she knew exactly where the 11-year-old would end up: in the shoe department, cradling a pair high heels.

Proofreading should catch mistakes like this missing “of,” which was fixed the next morning online.

---

The caravan halted at a Dunkin' Donuts in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, at 2:30 a.m. Out of donuts.

Homer Simpson might spell it that way, but in generic uses our dictionary prefers “doughnuts.”

---

“Would you rather fight an octopus with a tiger's head or a tiger with octopus arms?” Mr. Blue asked one nonplused contestant. Silence. Not an easy question to answer.

Bravo to all for not only spelling this troublesome word correctly but using it the proper way (as the stylebook notes, it does not mean “fazed, or unfazed;” it means “bewildered to the point of speechlessness”).

---

[Caption] Pope Francis spoke freely with reporters, answering questions on scandals and women in the church, on the flight back from Brazil.

The natural place for the prepositional phrase “on the flight back …” would be after “spoke freely with reporters.”

---

She grew, over time, to be an avid reader, but the power of her father's books were lost on her, as terror, she believes, is a hard emotion for her to access.

“Was,” not “were.”

When Spell-Check Can’t Help

Our latest roundup of homophone problems includes a number of very familiar entries. Sharp-eyed readers catch them; we should, too. Put these at the top of your better-check-twice list.

---

If he never succeeds in diminishing her appeal, it’s both because Ms. Blanchett maintains a vice grip on the character’s humanity and because it becomes inexorably clear that, while losing her money helped push Jasmine over the edge, it was also the dirty, easy money, what it promised and delivered, that drove her nuts to begin with.

In American English, we use “vise” as the spelling for the tool; a “vice” is a bad habit. (This was fixed in time for print.)

---

The company is discrete about the identities of its clients, but it does say they include American venture capitalists, Arab oil sheiks, Ukrainian oligarchs and Chinese scions â€" along with celebrities that include a former Italian movie star and an American reality TV actress.

“Discrete” means separate or distinct. To mean “careful about what one says,” we wanted “discreet.”

---

“I think it would be useful for us to examine some state and local laws to see if it â€" if they are designed in such a way that they may encourage the kinds of altercations and confrontations and tragedies that we saw in the Florida case, rather than diffuse potential altercations,” the president said.

This is a surprisingly common error, considering that the words are not used very often. Make it “defuse” â€" what you would do to a bomb â€" not “diffuse,” which means “dispersed, spread out.”

---

“I believe Woody, at heart, would have been happiest to have been born as the classic opera diva,” she said. “He lives for dramatic flare, gossip, intrigue, crippling heartache and turmoil â€" just as long as it’s happening to someone else.”

Another common lapse. Make it “flair,” not “flare.”

---

At Oxford, she drank beer, rode crew and went through a black leather phase â€" “She scared me, she was so cool,” Ms. Elkin said â€" which turned almost comical on a trip to Israel.

“Rowed crew,” of course.

---

Spared the indignation of being pulled back to the dugout, Lillibridge went to the plate with Nunez on third base and laced a single to left.

Not a homophone, but a different mix-up of similar words. He was spared the “indignity” (“indignation” is what he might have felt if he had been subject to such an “indignity”).

 
In a Word

This week’s grab bag of grammar, style and other missteps, compiled with help from colleagues and readers.

---

They have no outside criteria that tells them what their talents are for or when they are sufficient.

“Criteria” is plural. Make it “criteria that tell them…”

---

A new generation of campers who are tired of finding their sleeping bags laying on sharp rocks has taken to tents that, instead of being staked to the forest floor, hover over it, suspended from trees.

Aarrghh. Lying, not laying.

---

This subway map shows the Second Avenue subway line and the extension of the No. 7 line, neither of which are open yet.

As a pronoun, “neither” is singular. So make it “neither of which is open yet,” or simply “which are not open yet.”

---

But when it was suggested that neither are well liked, he was quick to take exception.

Same problem. Make it “neither is well liked…” (or, better, “neither was well liked,” for sequence of tenses).

---

At N.F.L. training camps across the nation this week, it’s as if a bunch of touch football games have broken out.

Make it “had broken out” for this contrary-to-fact construction.

---

These concerns were voiced by Justice Milton A. Tingling of State Supreme Court in March, when he struck down the soda ban a day before it was scheduled to go into effect, calling the restrictions “arbitrary and capricious” and an overreach of the Board of Health’s power.

Let’s resist this faddish use of “overreach” as a noun.

---

The sentencing phase will begin on Wednesday, with more than 20 witnesses scheduled to appear for both the prosecution and the defense.

Awkward phrasing; the witnesses will not be appearing for both sides.

---

The opposition is irate. They are now calling on Mr. Cuomo to veto the bill.

For consistency, make it either “The opposition is irate” and “is calling,” or “The opponents are irate” and “are calling.”

---

But across the Atlantic â€" nein, non, no.

It isn’t our style to italicize foreign words.

---

Instead of vainly trying to fortify our land borders, we should be working with Canada and Mexico to keep the things we should really worry about â€" terrorists, weapons of mass destruction, cocaine â€" out of North America all together.

The word meaning “completely” is “altogether,” not “all together.”

---

The last time Erica Greenberg Ring, a mother of three in Davie, Fla., went shopping with her daughter, Madison, she knew exactly where the 11-year-old would end up: in the shoe department, cradling a pair high heels.

Proofreading should catch mistakes like this missing “of,” which was fixed the next morning online.

---

The caravan halted at a Dunkin’ Donuts in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, at 2:30 a.m. Out of donuts.

Homer Simpson might spell it that way, but in generic uses our dictionary prefers “doughnuts.”

---

“Would you rather fight an octopus with a tiger’s head or a tiger with octopus arms?” Mr. Blue asked one nonplused contestant. Silence. Not an easy question to answer.

Bravo to all for not only spelling this troublesome word correctly but using it the proper way (as the stylebook notes, it does not mean “fazed, or unfazed;” it means “bewildered to the point of speechlessness”).

---

[Caption] Pope Francis spoke freely with reporters, answering questions on scandals and women in the church, on the flight back from Brazil.

The natural place for the prepositional phrase “on the flight back …” would be after “spoke freely with reporters.”

---

She grew, over time, to be an avid reader, but the power of her father’s books were lost on her, as terror, she believes, is a hard emotion for her to access.

“Was,” not “were.”

Parallel Problems

[PLEASE NOTE: After Deadline will be on vacation for two weeks and will return on Tuesday, Aug. 27.]

In The Times's stylebook entry, it seems simple:

In an either/or construction, the terms that follow the two words should be parallel in form and purpose: The chef bakes either pies or cakes daily (not either bakes pies or cakes). The same principle applies to neither/nor and both/and.

But as my colleague Ken Paul points out, we stumble often over these constructions. Here are a few recent problems, including three from one day:

---

Ms. Popova, who died at 91 on July 8 in Moscow, was inspired both by patriotism and a desire for revenge.

The problem frequently crops up in cases like this, with a prepositional phrase. In this instance, “both” is followed by a full prepositional phrase (preposition plus noun): “by patriotism.” But after “and,” we have just the noun, with no preposition. So the two elements are not parallel. Restore the balance one of two ways: put the preposition before “both” (“by both patriotism and a desire for revenge”) or repeat the preposition (“both by patriotism and by a desire for revenge”).

---

Even before he landed at Newark Liberty International Airport last year, veteran human rights advocates predicted a tug of war over Mr. Chen and his superhero élan, both among elected officials and the tangle of Chinese exile groups that often vie for attention and scarce financing.

The same problem, and the same possible solutions. Put the preposition “among” before “both” (“among both elected officials and the tangle of Chinese exile groups”) or use it with both parts of the construction (“both among elected officials and among the tangle”).

---

For the Obama administration, the problem is not simply its relationship with the Egyptian military but also with Israel, whose security interests are weighing particularly heavily on administration officials as they try to nurture a new round of peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.

This is a variation on the more common “not only/but also” construction. Like “both/and” and “either/or,” it should introduce two parallel elements. We needed to repeat “its relationship” before “with Israel,” or move the conjunction: “its relationship not simply with the Egyptian military but also with Israel.”

---

When Mr. Tsarnaev did not show up at either Mr. Mess's funeral or memorial service, the friend became uneasy.

Here, the two elements in the either/or construction are not parallel because one includes the possessive and one doesn't. Make it “at either Mr. Mess's funeral or his memorial service.”

---

William Weinreb, an assistant United States attorney, told Judge Bowler that he expected the trial to last three to four months and for 80 to 100 witnesses to be called.

This is a more subtle parallelism issue. The use of “for” after “expected” in the second element is unnecessary and seems somewhat colloquial; in any case, it throws the construction out of balance to say “expected the trial to last …” but then say “[expected] FOR 80 to 100 witnesses to be called.”

 
In a Word

This week's grab bag of grammar, style and other missteps, compiled with help from colleagues and readers.

---

The infection happens when meat containing the germ is eaten, grows in the gut, and then is introduced into the urethra.

The germ, not the meat, is what grows in the gut etc.

---

But this much is known: If Patrick were being born in August 2013, his odds of surviving would be better than 95 percent.

This seems unnecessarily awkward; just “were born” would do.

---

At night, Mr. Van Cura said, “it is difficult to see barges that are low in the water in the dark.”

Given what he said, “at night” is redundant.

---

Said Kenneth R. Feinberg, the head of the John F. Kennedy library: “As the sole surviving member of President Kennedy's family, she is the guardian of the flame. It is an awesome responsibility, and she does it extremely well.”

We should avoid this backward-speaking journalistic mannerism.

---

The space has been reborn with a new name (a homage to the Lyonnaise chef Paul Bocuse) and an airy, bistro-style interior by Adam Tihany, who designed such celebrated Manhattan restaurants as Daniel and Per Se.

Lyonnais, not Lyonnaise, is the masculine.

---

But with a steady stream of drop-ins including Ronald O. Perelman, Ronald S. Lauder, Russell Simmons and Steven Spielberg; a speaker series that features a variety of notables as varied as Hillary Rodham Clinton and Glenn Beck; cantorial music on a par with Carnegie Hall; and other summer fare like this weekend's kosher gospel concert, the pews are generally packed.

A varied variety is redundant.

---

It is hardly unusual for a politician to have an outsized ego, but Mr. Christie lacks the masking subtlety possessed by many in his business.

The stylebook prefers “outsize.”

---

Every player knows that betting on their team equates to a lifetime suspension.

“Every player” is singular; make it “betting on his team.”

---

Though the election on Wednesday will be decided by 150 rabbis, mayors and people handpicked by politicians, the campaign has captivated the public like never before, thanks to Rabbi Stav's agenda, his high-profile media blitz and professional consultants.

Make it “captivated … as never before.”

---

But the announcement on Sunday of the merger of two industry giants, Omnicom and Publicis, to create the largest ad company in the world, signals that advertising is now firmly in the business of Big Data: collecting and selling the personal information of millions of consumers.

Grammatically this comma is unnecessary, but the real problem may be that the sentence is too complicated and needed to be streamlined.

---

But the marshaled might of law enforcement - which people briefed on the matter said were 17 officials, including representatives from the Securities and Exchange Commission and the F.B.I., and postal inspectors as well as federal prosecutors - signaled that the government was no longer interested in just monetary settlements.

“Which,” referring to the noun “might,” is singular, so the verb should be “was,” not “were.” Or say “included” or “consisted of.” Or, better still, simplify the sentence.

---

The move will give Mr. Smith significant scale and a connection with Bloomberg's lucrative terminal business, which produces revenue that allows the company to invest aggressively in media properties.

This use of “scale” as a synonym for “wide scope” or “large size” has a faddish tone.

---

But the choice also is roiling Washington because it is reviving longstanding and sensitive questions about the insularity of the Obama White House and the dearth of women in its top economic policy positions.

The adverb is smoothest between the verb parts: “is also roiling.”

---

Mr. Paul's assumption seems to be that with fatigue from two wars over the last decade and skepticism toward a growing security state, Republican voters will be open to a foreign policy approach that is profoundly different than the interventionist policies of Mr. Bush.

Make it different from, not different than.

---

Producers who had seen a 2012 engagement of “First Date” at the 5th Avenue Theater in Seattle, decided in February to open the show on Broadway in August, hiring as the leads Krysta Rodriguez, from “The Addams Family” and “Smash,” and, in his Broadway debut, Zachary Levi, from television's “Chuck” and Disney's “Tangled.”

Seven commas amounted to a cry for help from this overstuffed sentence. And in any case, the first one was unnecessary.

---

The injury occurred during the first act of the play, which stars Mr. Lane as a 1930s-era burlesque performer, as the actor stepped off of the production's turntable, which revolves to allow the “Nance” sets to change from the burlesque house to the apartment of Mr. Lane's character.

Avoid double prepositions; make it “off the production's turntable.”

---

One way to educate yourself is to Google the name of your airline and “Contract of Carriage.”

Generally avoid this verb use. There are other search engines, and it's easy enough to refer to online searching without naming a specific one.

---

Want a Yogurt With That Vente Latte? Starbucks and Danone to Join Forces

“Venti” is the word Starbucks uses. We had it right in print but some online headlines got it wrong.

---

Foreign, 7/24:

Royal Couple Make First Appearance With Infant Son

Jocularly, William blamed the long wait on the baby having arrived past his due date, which palace officials had said months ago was in mid-July.

An awkward sentence. The stylebook cautions against the expression “blame on.” And “the baby having arrived” is a fused participle; careful usage calls for “the baby's having arrived,” or some other phrasing altogether.

---

Foreign, 7/23:

Duchess of Cambridge Gives Birth to a Boy

The baby, a boy who weighed in at 8 pounds, 6 ounces, will not be king for some time: he has to wait in the long line behind his great-grandmother Queen Elizabeth; his grandfather Prince Charles; and his father, Prince William.

No commas between the two terms, according to the stylebook.

Parallel Problems

[PLEASE NOTE: After Deadline will be on vacation for two weeks and will return on Tuesday, Aug. 27.]

In The Times’s stylebook entry, it seems simple:

In an either/or construction, the terms that follow the two words should be parallel in form and purpose: The chef bakes either pies or cakes daily (not either bakes pies or cakes). The same principle applies to neither/nor and both/and.

But as my colleague Ken Paul points out, we stumble often over these constructions. Here are a few recent problems, including three from one day:

---

Ms. Popova, who died at 91 on July 8 in Moscow, was inspired both by patriotism and a desire for revenge.

The problem frequently crops up in cases like this, with a prepositional phrase. In this instance, “both” is followed by a full prepositional phrase (preposition plus noun): “by patriotism.” But after “and,” we have just the noun, with no preposition. So the two elements are not parallel. Restore the balance one of two ways: put the preposition before “both” (“by both patriotism and a desire for revenge”) or repeat the preposition (“both by patriotism and by a desire for revenge”).

---

Even before he landed at Newark Liberty International Airport last year, veteran human rights advocates predicted a tug of war over Mr. Chen and his superhero élan, both among elected officials and the tangle of Chinese exile groups that often vie for attention and scarce financing.

The same problem, and the same possible solutions. Put the preposition “among” before “both” (“among both elected officials and the tangle of Chinese exile groups”) or use it with both parts of the construction (“both among elected officials and among the tangle”).

---

For the Obama administration, the problem is not simply its relationship with the Egyptian military but also with Israel, whose security interests are weighing particularly heavily on administration officials as they try to nurture a new round of peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.

This is a variation on the more common “not only/but also” construction. Like “both/and” and “either/or,” it should introduce two parallel elements. We needed to repeat “its relationship” before “with Israel,” or move the conjunction: “its relationship not simply with the Egyptian military but also with Israel.”

---

When Mr. Tsarnaev did not show up at either Mr. Mess’s funeral or memorial service, the friend became uneasy.

Here, the two elements in the either/or construction are not parallel because one includes the possessive and one doesn’t. Make it “at either Mr. Mess’s funeral or his memorial service.”

---

William Weinreb, an assistant United States attorney, told Judge Bowler that he expected the trial to last three to four months and for 80 to 100 witnesses to be called.

This is a more subtle parallelism issue. The use of “for” after “expected” in the second element is unnecessary and seems somewhat colloquial; in any case, it throws the construction out of balance to say “expected the trial to last …” but then say “[expected] FOR 80 to 100 witnesses to be called.”

 
In a Word

This week’s grab bag of grammar, style and other missteps, compiled with help from colleagues and readers.

---

The infection happens when meat containing the germ is eaten, grows in the gut, and then is introduced into the urethra.

The germ, not the meat, is what grows in the gut etc.

---

But this much is known: If Patrick were being born in August 2013, his odds of surviving would be better than 95 percent.

This seems unnecessarily awkward; just “were born” would do.

---

At night, Mr. Van Cura said, “it is difficult to see barges that are low in the water in the dark.”

Given what he said, “at night” is redundant.

---

Said Kenneth R. Feinberg, the head of the John F. Kennedy library: “As the sole surviving member of President Kennedy’s family, she is the guardian of the flame. It is an awesome responsibility, and she does it extremely well.”

We should avoid this backward-speaking journalistic mannerism.

---

The space has been reborn with a new name (a homage to the Lyonnaise chef Paul Bocuse) and an airy, bistro-style interior by Adam Tihany, who designed such celebrated Manhattan restaurants as Daniel and Per Se.

Lyonnais, not Lyonnaise, is the masculine.

---

But with a steady stream of drop-ins including Ronald O. Perelman, Ronald S. Lauder, Russell Simmons and Steven Spielberg; a speaker series that features a variety of notables as varied as Hillary Rodham Clinton and Glenn Beck; cantorial music on a par with Carnegie Hall; and other summer fare like this weekend’s kosher gospel concert, the pews are generally packed.

A varied variety is redundant.

---

It is hardly unusual for a politician to have an outsized ego, but Mr. Christie lacks the masking subtlety possessed by many in his business.

The stylebook prefers “outsize.”

---

Every player knows that betting on their team equates to a lifetime suspension.

“Every player” is singular; make it “betting on his team.”

---

Though the election on Wednesday will be decided by 150 rabbis, mayors and people handpicked by politicians, the campaign has captivated the public like never before, thanks to Rabbi Stav’s agenda, his high-profile media blitz and professional consultants.

Make it “captivated … as never before.”

---

But the announcement on Sunday of the merger of two industry giants, Omnicom and Publicis, to create the largest ad company in the world, signals that advertising is now firmly in the business of Big Data: collecting and selling the personal information of millions of consumers.

Grammatically this comma is unnecessary, but the real problem may be that the sentence is too complicated and needed to be streamlined.

---

But the marshaled might of law enforcement â€" which people briefed on the matter said were 17 officials, including representatives from the Securities and Exchange Commission and the F.B.I., and postal inspectors as well as federal prosecutors â€" signaled that the government was no longer interested in just monetary settlements.

“Which,” referring to the noun “might,” is singular, so the verb should be “was,” not “were.” Or say “included” or “consisted of.” Or, better still, simplify the sentence.

---

The move will give Mr. Smith significant scale and a connection with Bloomberg’s lucrative terminal business, which produces revenue that allows the company to invest aggressively in media properties.

This use of “scale” as a synonym for “wide scope” or “large size” has a faddish tone.

---

But the choice also is roiling Washington because it is reviving longstanding and sensitive questions about the insularity of the Obama White House and the dearth of women in its top economic policy positions.

The adverb is smoothest between the verb parts: “is also roiling.”

---

Mr. Paul’s assumption seems to be that with fatigue from two wars over the last decade and skepticism toward a growing security state, Republican voters will be open to a foreign policy approach that is profoundly different than the interventionist policies of Mr. Bush.

Make it different from, not different than.

---

Producers who had seen a 2012 engagement of “First Date” at the 5th Avenue Theater in Seattle, decided in February to open the show on Broadway in August, hiring as the leads Krysta Rodriguez, from “The Addams Family” and “Smash,” and, in his Broadway debut, Zachary Levi, from television’s “Chuck” and Disney’s “Tangled.”

Seven commas amounted to a cry for help from this overstuffed sentence. And in any case, the first one was unnecessary.

---

The injury occurred during the first act of the play, which stars Mr. Lane as a 1930s-era burlesque performer, as the actor stepped off of the production’s turntable, which revolves to allow the “Nance” sets to change from the burlesque house to the apartment of Mr. Lane’s character.

Avoid double prepositions; make it “off the production’s turntable.”

---

One way to educate yourself is to Google the name of your airline and “Contract of Carriage.”

Generally avoid this verb use. There are other search engines, and it’s easy enough to refer to online searching without naming a specific one.

---

Want a Yogurt With That Vente Latte? Starbucks and Danone to Join Forces

“Venti” is the word Starbucks uses. We had it right in print but some online headlines got it wrong.

---

Foreign, 7/24:

Royal Couple Make First Appearance With Infant Son

Jocularly, William blamed the long wait on the baby having arrived past his due date, which palace officials had said months ago was in mid-July.

An awkward sentence. The stylebook cautions against the expression “blame on.” And “the baby having arrived” is a fused participle; careful usage calls for “the baby’s having arrived,” or some other phrasing altogether.

---

Foreign, 7/23:

Duchess of Cambridge Gives Birth to a Boy

The baby, a boy who weighed in at 8 pounds, 6 ounces, will not be king for some time: he has to wait in the long line behind his great-grandmother Queen Elizabeth; his grandfather Prince Charles; and his father, Prince William.

No commas between the two terms, according to the stylebook.

The Stranger in the Lead

When in doubt, start with an anecdote.

Generations of journalists in search of a fresh, engaging way to start a story have done it. Introduce a person by name, often someone unknown to your reader. Recount a brief (or not-so-brief) anecdote. Sprinkle in a few telling details. And then, at last, explain why this stranger is a perfect example of a larger phenomenon - in other words, get to the point.

Occasionally it works brilliantly, especially if the anecdote is truly striking and can be told in just a few words. In other cases, the approach is merely serviceable. And sometimes it seems shopworn and formulaic, a writer's indulgence that comes at the expense of the reader's time and patience.

The more often we rely on the device, the less enticing it seems. One day last week (7/22), we had four front-page stories with soft leads highlighting names that most readers would not recognize; two of them were women struggling with financial challenges. None of the leads were bad. The one from Pakistan seemed particularly striking to me. (And arguably, the Bridgeport story was a profile and the opening was not a classic anecdote.) But the overall effect seems clichéd and lacking in urgency.

Of course, none of the writers knew what their colleagues were writing. But chances are, if you are starting your story with an anecdote, you aren't the only one. And editors who can see the big picture should try to guard against such repetition.

---

Geography Seen as Barrier To Climbing Class Ladder

ATLANTA - Stacey Calvin spends almost as much time commuting to her job - on a bus, two trains and another bus - as she does working part-time at a day care center.

“It's a science you just have to perfect over time,” said Ms. Calvin, 37.

Her nearly four-hour round-trip stems largely from the economic geography of Atlanta, which is one of America's most affluent metropolitan areas yet also one of the most physically divided by income. The low-income neighborhoods here often stretch for miles, with rows of houses and low-slung apartments, interrupted by the occasional strip mall, and lacking much in the way of good-paying jobs.

This geography appears to play a major role in making Atlanta one of the metropolitan areas where it is most difficult for lower-income households to rise into the middle class and beyond, according to a new study that other researchers are calling the most detailed portrait yet of income mobility in the United States.

---

Cries of Betrayal as Detroit Plans to Cut Pensions

DETROIT - Gloria Killebrew, 73, worked for the City of Detroit for 22 years and now spends her days caring for her husband, J. D., who has had three heart attacks and multiple kidney operations, the last of which left him needing dialysis three times a week at the Henry Ford Medical Center in Dearborn, Mich.

Now there is a new worry: Detroit wants to cut the pensions it pays retirees like Ms. Killebrew, who now receives about $1,900 a month.

“It's been life on a roller coaster,” Ms. Killebrew said, explaining that even if she could find a new job at her age, there would be no one to take care of her husband. “You don't sleep well. You think about whether you're going to be able to make it. Right now, you don't really know.”

Detroit's pension shortfall accounts for about $3.5 billion of the $18 billion in debts that led the city to file for bankruptcy last week. How it handles this problem - of not enough money set aside to pay the pensions it has promised its workers - is being closely watched by other cities with fiscal troubles.

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Pakistan Battles Polio, and Its People's Mistrust

KARACHI, Pakistan - Usman, who limps on a leg bowed by the polio he caught as a child, made sure that his first three children were protected from the disease, but he turned away vaccinators when his youngest was born.

He was furious that the Central Intelligence Agency, in its hunt for Osama bin Laden, had staged a fake vaccination campaign, and infuriated by American drone strikes, one of which, he said, had struck the son of a man he knew, blowing off his head. He had come to see the war on polio, the longest, most expensive disease eradication effort in history, as a Western plot.

In January, his 2-year-old son, Musharaf, became the first child worldwide to be crippled by polio this year.

“I know now I made a mistake,” said Usman, 32, who, like many in his Pashtun tribe, uses only one name. “But you Americans have caused pain in my community. Americans pay for the polio campaign, and that's good. But you abused a humanitarian mission for a military purpose.”

Anger like his over American foreign policy has led to a disastrous setback for the global effort against polio. In December, nine vaccinators were shot dead here, and two Taliban commanders banned vaccination in their areas, saying the vaccinations could resume only if drone strikes ended. In January, 10 vaccinators were killed in Nigeria's Muslim-dominated north.

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Change Agent in Education Collects Critics in Connecticut Town

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. - Paul G. Vallas, a leader in the effort to shake up American education, has wrestled with unions in Chicago, taken on hurricane-ravaged schools in New Orleans and confronted a crumbling educational system in Haiti.

Now he faces what may be his most vexing challenge yet: Fending off a small but spirited crowd of advocates working to unseat him as superintendent of one of Connecticut's lowest-performing and highest-poverty school districts.

 
In a Word

This week's grab bag of grammar, style and other missteps, compiled with help from colleagues and readers.

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Perhaps that's why SeaWorld's most well-known show was called “Believe.”

There's a word for “most well,” and it's “best.” Make this “SeaWorld's best-known show.”

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Neither his wife nor Dr. Caselli perceive these difficulties.

Make it singular: “Neither … perceives these difficulties.”

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If Mr. Xu is held for long, supporters said that his case was likely to attract wider attention as a test of China's beleaguered “rights defense” movement, which he helped build.

This structure seems to suggest that the opening conditional clause applies to “supporters said,” which is not what we meant. Better to set off the attribution: “If Mr. Xu is held for long, supporters said, his case is likely to attract wider attention …”

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The documents showed that in Bucharest, Romania, test takers clearly copied answers from one anothers' papers, including the mistakes.

Make it “one another's papers.”

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Davis's 37 first-half homers trail only Bonds, who had 39 in 2001. The 37 matches first-half totals by Mark McGwire in 1998 and Reggie Jackson in 1969.

Odd to treat the 37 as plural in the first sentence and singular in the second. Make it plural throughout, or rephrase the second sentence, e.g. “The total of 37 matches …”

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As if the package from the publishing house was not enough, there was more available on the Internet.

Use the subjunctive for this contrary-to-fact condition: “As if the package … were not enough.”

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Baseball's investigators, working on the orders of Selig, have been conducting the aggressive inquiry into the clinic, Biogenesis, an effort that has included the buying of documents and the filing of lawsuits against people close to the clinic.

Much simpler just to say, “has included buying documents and filing lawsuits …”

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Staking out new ground in the noisy debate about technology and privacy in law enforcement, the New Jersey Supreme Court on Thursday ordered that the police will now have to get a search warrant before obtaining tracking information from cellphone providers.

“Ordered” doesn't work in this phrasing; make it “ruled that the police will now have to …”

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The maneuvering in markets for oil, wheat, cotton, coffee and more have brought billions in profits to investment banks like Goldman, JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley, while forcing consumers to pay more every time they fill up a gas tank, flick on a light switch, open a beer or buy a cellphone.

“Maneuvering” is singular: it “has” brought billions in profits, not “have.”

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[Subhead] As Diners Are Pampered, Staff Are Overlooked, Former Employees Say

Make it “staff is overlooked” or “workers are overlooked.”

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Mr. de Blasio said he was taken aback by the poor condition of Ms. Wilson's apartment, where a set of mold-covered cabinets lays on the floor of the kitchen, two years after a flood, despite her repeated requests for repairs.

Lies, not lays. This was later changed online.

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The show follows Violet's pilgrimage by Greyhound bus from Spruce Pine, N.C., a small town in the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the Tulsa, Okla., headquarters of a televangelist whom she naïvely believes will heal her.

Who, not whom; it's the subject of “will heal.”

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There have been countless bon mots written over the years about the allure of a town that once a year puts the old, beautiful, often flawed sport of thoroughbred racing front and center.

The plural in French is “bons mots.” Or, of course, we could stick to English.

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Such aggressive behavior in mockingbirds result from perceived threats to their hatchlings, said Glenn Phillips, executive director of New York City Audubon. The incidents should stop any day now as nesting season ends, he said.

“Aggressive behavior” is singular: in mockingbirds, it “results” from perceived threats, not “result.”

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Extremely high levels of radiation in the now roofless upper sections of the No. 3 reactor building destroyed in a hydrogen explosion that rocked the reactor during the early days of the 2011 disaster make it too dangerous for workers to approach.

At a minimum, readers needed some punctuation to guide them through this overstuffed sentence. Better still, streamline it or break it up.

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On Friday, Mr. McCain first broached Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York, with what would be the final deal.

You broach a subject, but do not broach “with” something. Maybe we meant “approached”?

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Under the deal, struck during late night talks mainly between Senators Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York, and John McCain, Republican of Arizona, the Senate allowed a vote on the nomination of Mr. Cordray, but put aside two nominees for the National Labor Relations Board who the president appointed during a Senate recess, Richard Griffin and Sharon Block. But organized labor

Whom, not who; it's the object of “appointed.”