Focusing on Words Newsletter #02

I probably should have been more precise with my discussion about “lose” and the [sic] example of “loose”. Whenever we mean that something has been lost, we should NEVER say, “I loose the hounds” or “I loosened the hounds” OR “The quarter back loosed his grip on the football” when LOST is meant!

The [sic] misuses are when people replace “lose” with “loose”. Again, I should have written, “... we NEVER ‘loose’ anything when ‘to lose’ is meant! They are two different verbs with different meanings and should not be confused. It’s certainly correct to say, “I let the dogs loose so they could run around (for example).” I maintain that it is unacceptable to say, “I loosed the dogs and I don’t know where they are” when “I lost the dogs .... ” is meant. Does this clarify the point?

I do appreciate the comments from readers. If nothing else, they make me aware that I must be more precise and probably should not have sent the letter out when I was so tired. It was after 2:30 a.m. (where I am) when I submitted the letter to the web and I wanted to get it out to see if it would go out properly (over the internet, that is).

For those who wrote, thank you. It means you’re paying attention and that’s better than being ignored. This reminds me of something I read recently about the “conspiracy of silence”. The phrase was coined by Sir Lewis Morris, a minor poet of the Victorian era. He wanted to be Poet Laureate in England but he never gained this honor. He claimed that critics were jealous of him and, as a result, damned his poetry when they bothered to mention it at all. He once complained at length to Oscar Wilde of this treatment, finally saying: “Oscar, there’s a conspiracy of silence against me. What shall I do?” Wilde replied simply: “Join it!”

Someone sent this to me without any additional source references. I thought you might enjoy the play on words.

The Washington Post’s “Style Invitational” asks readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition. Here are some recent winners:

• Foreploy: any misrepresentation about yourself for the purpose of deceiving the opposite sex.
• Tatyr: a lecherous Mr. Potato Head.
• Doltergeist: a spirit that decides to haunt someplace stupid, such as your septic tank.
• Giraffiti: vandalism spray-painted very, very high, such as on an overpass.
• Sarchasm: the gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the recipient who doesn't get it.
• Contratemps: the resentment permanent workers feel toward the fill-in workers.
• Impotience: eager anticipation by men awaiting their Viagra prescription.
• Reintarnation: coming back to life as a hillbilly.
• Inoculatte: to take coffee intravenously when you are running late.
• Hipatitis: terminal coolness.
• Guillozine: a magazine for executioners.
• Suckotash: a dish consisting of corn, lima beans and tofu.