Necessities for Necessaries. “Necessities of life are those things without which we cannot live.”

Née. Feminine of né, born. “Mrs. Jones, née Lucy Smith.” She could hardly have been christened before her birth. If you must use the French word say, née Smith.

Negotiate. From the Latin negotium. It means, as all know, to fix the terms for a transaction, to bargain. But when we say, “The driver negotiated a difficult turn of the road,” or “The chauffeur negotiated a hill,” we speak nonsense.

Neither — or for Neither — nor. “Neither a cat or a fish has wool.” Always after neither use nor.

New Beginner for Beginner.

Nice for Good, or Agreeable. “A nice girl.” Nice means fastidious, delicately discriminative, and the like. Pope uses the word admirably of a dandy who was skilled in the nice conduct [management] of a clouded cane.

Noise for Sound. “A noise like a flute”; “a noise of twittering birds,” etc. A noise is a loud or disagreeable sound, or combination or succession of sounds.

None. Usually, and in most cases, singular; as, None has come. But it is not singular because it always means not one, for frequently it does not, as, The bottle was full of milk, but none is left. When it refers to numbers, not quantity, popular usage stubbornly insists that it is plural, and at least one respectable authority says that as a singular it is offensive. One is sorry to be offensive to a good man.

No Use. “He tried to smile, but it was no use.” Say, of no use, or, less colloquially, in vain.

Novel for Romance. In a novel there is at least an apparent attention to considerations of probability; it is a narrative of what might occur. Romance flies with a free wing and owns no allegiance to likelihood. Both are fiction, both works of imagination, but should not be confounded. They are as distinct as beast and bird.

Numerous for Many. Rightly used, numerous relates to numbers, but does not imply a great number. A correct use is seen in the term numerous verse—verse consisting of poetic numbers; that is, rhythmical feet.

O

Obnoxious for Offensive. Obnoxious means exposed to evil. A soldier in battle is obnoxious to danger.

Occasion for Induce, or Cause. “His arrival occasioned a great tumult.” As a verb, the word is needless and unpleasing.

Occasional Poems. These are not, as so many authors and compilers seem to think, poems written at irregular and indefinite intervals, but poems written for occasions, such as anniversaries, festivals, celebrations and the like.

Of Any for Of All. “The greatest poet of any that we have had.”

Offhanded and Offhandedly. Offhand is both adjective and adverb; these are bastard forms.

On the Street. A street comprises the roadway and the buildings at each side. Say, in the street. He lives in Broadway.

One Another for Each Other. See Each Other.

Only. “He only had one.” Say, He had only one, or, better, one only. The other sentence might be taken to mean that only he had one; that, indeed, is what it distinctly says. The correct placing of only in a sentence requires attention and skill.

Opine for Think. The word is not very respectably connected.

Opposite for Contrary. “I hold the opposite opinion.” “The opposite practice.”

Or for Nor. Probably our most nearly universal solecism. “I cannot see the sun or the moon.” This means that I am unable to see one of them, though I may see the other. By using nor, I affirm the invisibility of both, which is what I wanted to do. If a man is not white or black he may nevertheless be a Negro or a Causcasian; but if he is not white nor black he belongs to some other race. See Neither.

Ordinarily for Usually. Clumsy.

Ovation. In ancient Rome an ovation was an inferior triumph accorded to victors in minor wars or unimportant battle. Its character and limitations, like those of the triumph, were strictly defined by law and custom. An enthusiastic demonstration in honor of an American civilian is nothing like that, and should not be called by its name.

Over for About, In, or Concerning. “Don’t cry over spilt milk.” “He rejoiced over his acquittal.”

Over for More than. “A sum of over ten thousand dollars.” “Upward of ten thousand dollars” is equally objectionable.

Over for On. “The policeman struck him over the head.” If the blow was over the head it did not hit him.

Over with. “Let us have it over with.” Omit with. A better expression is, Let us get done with it.

Outside of. Omit the preposition.

Pair for Pairs. If a word has a good plural use each form in its place.