These aren’t the usual homophone missteps â€" bare for bear, or palate for palette. But in each case we seemed to have mixed up two vaguely similar words. Working too fast? Dictionary shelf too far away?
Whatever the causes, this makes our writing and editing look ramshackle at best.
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Mr. Thompson responded in his statement that the trust had been told “in writing and orally†about the severance payments, including the one to his deputy, Mark Byford, whose job was eliminated, and about the savings that would incur.
“Incur†is a transitive verb (it takes a direct object). It means “acquire†and usually refers to something undesirable â€" incurring a debt, for example. I assume in this case we meant “accrue,†meaning to accumulate.
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The book offers numerous reminders of how Mr. Crystal has spent his career capably serving multiple contingencies: young and old, celebrity pals and the mensch on the street.
We must have meant “constituenciesâ€; hard to figure how we missed this one.
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Now Ms. Upton delivered a bravado performance, clearing up confusion about discounted cash flow and how to price bonds, tossing out Christmas candy as rewards.
Based on the context, it seems that we meant “bravura,†meaning brilliantly skillful. “Bravado†is a noun, not an adjective, and describes an often false show of courage.
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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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The Cohen family said that after Ms. Cohen’s death, Mr. Perelman crashed a family bar mitzvah and spent most of the celebration assessing Robert Cohen’s capacity, who at the time was in a wheelchair.
The possessive “Robert Cohen’s†â€" which functions as an adjective, not a noun â€" cannot serve as the antecedent of the pronoun “who.†Rephrase.
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But scientists say there is still much that is unknown about the unusual compounds, sometimes referred to as “flammable ice,†and that the commercial production of gas from them is still far-off.
We needed “that†after “say,†to be parallel with the later “that.†Also, no hyphen for this use of “far off.â€
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But it has, so far, been ignored in New York State, one of only two states â€" the other is North Carolina â€" that sets the age of adult criminal responsibility at 16.
Recorded announcement. The subject of “sets†is “that,†which is plural because it refers to the plural “two states.†Make it “only two states … that set the age …â€
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Flowers were again to the fore at Burberry Prorsum, where the English rose â€" its petals showering the finale â€" were in the mind of the designer.
The English rose was in the mind of the designer, not were.
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If some players were more presentable in tailored separates “it was cliché,†he added, noting that though many other players employ stylists, he chooses pieces on his own because, akin to being a point guard, he likes control. …
Mr. Westbrook was born in Los Angeles to Russell Westbrook Sr. and Shannon Westbrook, the oldest of two (his brother, Raynard, 22, is a running back for the University of Central Oklahoma). …
Growing up, his mother used to buy his clothes for him and she was always “following and knowing what the trends were.â€
Several problems here. First, “akin†is an adjective; it can’t be used this way. Second, make it “older of two.†And the third example is a dangler; he, not his mother, was growing up.
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The city sold nearly half as many permits in 2012 as it did in 2010 â€" a drop to 7,265 from 12,774.
This does not say what we meant. The 2012 figure is well over half of the larger figure, not “nearly half.†We presumably meant that the number declined by almost half, but that seems overstated, since the 2012 figure is about 57 percent of the 2010 total.
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Her extended family, she said, most of whom live in and around New York City, is planning a 60th anniversary commemoration of Firefighter Sullivan’s death next year at his old Engine 319 firehouse, a two-story building wedged between one- and two-family houses on 67th Road in Middle Village, Queens.
Avoid treating “family†as plural and singular in the same sentence. Make it: “Members of her extended family, most of whom live in and around New York City, are planning…†(And insert a hyphen in “60th-anniversary commemoration.â€)
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But true to the concerns of the women who met with Ms. Quinn in July, some allies thought the campaign could have handled the tricky matter of being a woman candidate with more finesse.
Do not use “woman†as a modifier. Make it “a female candidate.â€
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With Mr. Ruto’s appearance before the court in The Hague for his role in the violence that rocked the country after the disputed 2007 election, a process began that could influence not only the future of Kenya but also of the much-criticized tribunal as well.
A parallelism problem. The phrase after “but also†should be grammatically parallel to the phrase after “not only.†Make it “the future not only of Kenya but also of the much-criticized tribunal.†(Also, “as well†is redundant after “also.â€)
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If a 17-year-old was caught smoking a joint in Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado, would federal prosecutors argue that the state wasn’t sufficiently tough on enforcement?
We wanted the subjunctive for this hypothetical condition: were, not was.
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[Op-ed] In Syria, for two-and-a-half years, we’ve given the regime a green light, and the killing has escalated from 5,000 a year to 5,000 a month â€" and, last month, to a poison gas attack that was perhaps the biggest massacre in the war.
The hyphens weren’t necessary here.
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Black voters preferred a white liberal with a black wife, an unapologetically progressive agenda and a son with an epic afro to the black centrist who almost unseated Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg four years ago.
No reason for the slang in a serious news context; what’s more, “epic†seems outdated at this point. And Afro should be uppercase.
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As we observe the five-year anniversary of the financial crisis â€" Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy five years ago this coming weekend â€" the most intriguing hypothetical question about those fateful days is what would have happened had the government bailed out Lehman.
“Five-year anniversary†is redundant; make it “fifth anniversary.â€
