Chapter L

~lady~: The use of this word as “a mere distinction of sex is a sheer vulgarism.” Never say “A man and his _lady_,” but “a man and his _wife_,” or preferably, by name, “Mr. and Mrs. John Smith.” Where woman, as indicative of sex, is intended, say _woman_--not _lady_ or _female_. A female is equally female, whether person or beast. In the United States “woman” is preferable; in England “lady” is used chiefly when the term is not preceded by a qualifying adjective. The word _woman_ best expresses the relation of the female sex to the human race. Some ill-informed persons use _lady_ for _woman_ under the mistaken idea that _woman_ is a derogatory term; such use is downright vulgarity. As one never hears _salesgentleman_ but salesman, therefore _saleslady_ should be avoided; say, rather, _saleswoman_.

~lambaste~ is slang and as such should not be used as a substitute for “flog,” “whip,” or “beat.”

~lassitudinous~ is not a desirable substitute for “languid” or “weary.”

~last~, ~latter~: The first of these words is not properly used of only two, since it is a superlative; the second, not properly of more than two, since it is a comparative. Notwithstanding the fact that the use of _last_ for _latter_ and of _latter_ for _last_ has had wide sanction, the present tendency is toward strict construction.

~last two~. Compare FIRST and TWO FIRST.

~lay~, ~lie~: In discriminating the uses of these words the STANDARD DICTIONARY says: _Lay_, _vt._, “to put down,” “to cause to lie down,” is a causal derivative of _lie_, _vi._, “to rest.” The principal parts of the two verbs are:

_Present._ _Imperfect._ _Past Participle._

lay, _vt._ laid laid
lie, _vi._ lay lain

The identity of the present tense of _lay_, _vt._, with the imperfect tense of _lie_, _vi._, has led to the frequent confounding of the two in their literary usage. _Lay_ (in the present tense) being transitive, is always followed by an object; _lie_, being intransitive, never has an object. _Lay_, in “I _lay_ upon thee no other burden,” is the present tense of _lay_, _vt._, having as its object _burden_; in “I _lay_ under the sycamore-tree in the cool shade,” _lay_ is the imperfect tense of _lie_, _vi._, having no object; _laid_, in “I _laid_ the book on the table,” is the imperfect tense of _lay_, _vt._, having as its object _book_. The presence or absence of an object, and the character of the verb as transitive or intransitive, may be decided by asking the question “_Lay_ [or _laid_] _what?_” The past participles of the two verbs (_laid_ and _lain_) are also frequently confounded. _Laid_ in tense-combinations is to be followed by a object always; _lain_, never; as, “He has _laid_ (not _lain_) the book on the table”; “He has _lain_ (not _laid_) long in the grave.”

The statement in present time, “The soldier _lays_ aside his knapsack and _lies_ down,” becomes as a statement of a past act; as, “The soldier _laid_ aside his knapsack and _lay_ down”; “The hen has _laid_ an egg”; “The egg has _lain_ (too long) in the nest.”

In poetic phraseology especially, the transitive _lay_ (in all its tenses) is used reflexively as an equivalent of _lie_, _lay_, etc., as in the following examples:

_Intransitive._ _Transitive._

_Pres._ I _lie_ down = I _lay_ me down.
_Imp._ I _lay down_ = I _laid_ me (myself) down.
_Fut._ I will _lie_ down = I will _lay_ me (myself)
down.
_Plup._ I had _lain_ down = I had _laid_ me (myself)
down.

~learn~, ~teach~: Once _learn_ was good English for teach, and signified both the imparting as well as the acquiring of knowledge. An example of this use may be found in Shakespeare (_Romeo and Juliet_) and the Book of Common Prayer, but general modern usage restricts _learn_ to the acquiring and _teach_ to the imparting of knowledge.

~least~: Grammatical writers have reason on their side in objecting to the use of a superlative for a comparative. “Of two evils choose the _less_,” is better than “choose the _least_.” A careful speaker will observe this form. See MORE and MOST.

~leather~ as a colloquialism for “thrash” should not be used by persons accustomed to refined diction.

~lease~ and ~hire~ are loosely used interchangeably. An agent says he has property to _hire_ (= _for_ hire) while the tenant says he _leases_ it. Strictly, the former leases and the latter hires.

~leave~ is used transitively and intransitively, but critics have objected to the latter use on the ground that the verb _to leave_ is not expressive of any occupation--does not, in fact, of itself convey any complete idea. It is true that if you speak you can speak only that which can be spoken, whereas if you _leave_ you may _leave_ home or any one of a thousand things; but as home (business or domestic) may be regarded as the chief of a man’s possessions, it has been fancifully treated as being the one all-important subject to which unqualified leaving applies. One certainly may say with propriety “He has just left”; “We _leave_ to-morrow.” Avoid such locutions as “Leave me alone”; “leave her see it,” as illiterate. Use _let_ instead of leave.

~left, to get~: A slang phrase for “to be left behind; be beaten or outdone.” Avoid such a vulgarism as “Did you ever get left?”

~legacy~. Compare BEQUEST.

~lend~. Compare LOAN.

~lengthen~, ~lengthy~: The verb means to “make or to grow longer.” Its participle _lengthened_ no more means “long” than _heightened_ means “high” or _strengthened_ means “strong.” It is correct to say “He _lengthened_ the discourse, but it was still too short”; but not to say “He quoted a _lengthened_ passage from the sermon.” In the latter illustration _lengthy_ should be used. A sermon is _lengthy_ when “unusually or unduly long” (with a suggestion of tediousness), not when it is simply “long.”

~lengthways~, ~sideways~, ~endways~: Common but none the less undesirable variants of _lengthwise_, _sidewise_, _endwise_.

~less~. Compare FEW.

~lessen~. Compare REDUCE.

~let her rip~: Farmer, in his “Americanisms Old and New,” says, this “most vulgar of vulgarisms” is used to convey the idea of intensity of action. The phrase is coarse and should not be used as a substitute for “go ahead.”

~level, on the~: A vulgar intensive used to emphasize the fact that the thing stated is stated truthfully, or that the person spoken of is, to the speaker’s knowledge, upright and “on the square.” Compare SQUARE.

~levy~, ~levee~: Exercise care in the use of these words. _Levy_ is to impose and collect by force; _levee_, a morning reception.

~liable~, ~likely~: The first of these words which is properly used as expressive of “having a tendency” is improperly used in referring to a contingent event regarded as “very probable.” Thus, though one should not say “It is _liable_ to storm,” but “_likely_ to do so,” one may say, “the building is _liable_ to be blown down by the storm.”

~libel~, ~slander~: These are not synonymous terms. _Libel_ differs from _slander_ in that the latter is spoken whereas the former is written and published.

~lick~: An inelegant term used colloquially as a synonym for “effort”; as, “he put in his best _licks_.” Say, rather, “He put forth his best efforts.”

~lid~: A slang term for cover, hat, etc., used especially in the phrases ~keeping the lid down~, ~sitting on the lid~, political colloquialisms for closing up places of business, as pool-rooms, saloons, etc., or keeping a political situation in control.

~lie~. Compare LAY.

~lightening~, ~lightning~: The spelling of these words is sometimes confused. _Lightening_ is to relieve “of weight”; as, “to _lighten_ a burden”; _lightning_ is a sudden flash of light due to pressure caused by atmospheric electricity. The shorter word designates the flash of light.

~like~, in the adverbial sense of “in the manner of,” as, “He speaks _like_ a philosopher,” is correctly used, but the tendency to treat this word as a conjunction (which it is not) in substitution for _as_ is altogether wrong. Do not say “Do _like_ I do”; say, rather, “Do _as_ I do.” It is also a colloquialism, not sanctioned by good usage, to give the word the signification of _as if_, as “I felt _like_ my final hour had come”; and the use of the word as synonymous for _somewhat_ is a vulgarism. Say “He breathed _somewhat_ heavily”--not “heavy _like_.” When _like_ is followed by an objective case, as “Be brave _like_ him,” the preposition _unto_ must be supplied by ellipsis. For this reason as for the fact that _like_ here has the force of a conjunction, introducing the implied phrase “he is brave,” it is better to say “Be brave _as_ he is.”

~like~, ~love~: Discriminate carefully between these words, which are often erroneously used interchangeably. A woman may _love_ her children and _like_ fruit, but not _like_ her children and _love_ fruit.

~likewise~. Compare ALSO.

~limb~, ~leg~: There exists an affected or prudish use of the word _limb_ instead of _leg_, when the leg is meant, which can not be too severely censured. Such squeamishness is absurd.

~limit, the~: A vulgarism designating the extreme of any condition or situation: used indiscriminately of persons or conditions.

~limited~: Often erroneously used for _small_, _scant_, _slight_, and other words of like meaning; as, “He had a _limited_ (_slight_) acquaintance with Milton”; “Sold at the _limited_ (_low_ or _reduced_) price of one dollar”; “His pecuniary means were likely to remain quite _limited_”--admissible if suggesting the reverse of unlimited wealth, otherwise _small_ or _narrow_.

~lineament~, ~liniment~: The _lineament_ is the outline or contour of a body or figure, especially the face. _Liniment_ is a medicated liquid, sometimes oily, which is applied to the skin by rubbing as for the relief of pain. Exercise care in spelling these words.

~lip~: A very vulgar substitute for “impudence.”

~lit~ in the sense of _lighted_ is not used by careful speakers. Do not say “Who _lit_ (but ‘who _lighted_’) the gas?”

~lit on~: A common error for “come across,” “met with,” which should be discountenanced. Do not say “I _lit_ on the quotation by accident”; say, rather, “I came across the quotation.” Nor “I _lit_ on him at the fair.” One does not _light_ on people whom one meets.

~little~. Compare FEW.

~loan~, ~lend~: One may raise (put an end to) a _loan_ by paying both principal and interest, and another may _lend_ money to do so. The use of _loan_ as a verb, meaning, “to grant the loan of or lend, as ships, money, linen, provisions, etc.,” dates from the year 1200 and is accepted as good English. Some purists, however, characterize it colloquial.

~lobster~: A slang term used originally to designate a British soldier, probably, in the phrase ~boiled lobster~, from his red coat: now applied indiscriminately to gullible persons, perhaps on account of the reputed gullibility of the British soldier.

~lonely~, ~solitary~: These two words must not be confounded, for their meaning is not exactly the same, although the Latin _solitarius_ is derived from _solus_, alone. _Solitary_ indicates no more than absence of life or society; _lonely_ suggests the idea of being forsaken or isolated. A _solitary_ person is not of necessity _lonely_, even though he take a _solitary walk_ in a _lonely_ place. A man is not _lonely_ if he is good company to himself.

~look~: In the intransitive sense of “seem,” this verb should be followed by an adjective, not an adverb. Thus, “he _looks_ kind (not kindly).” It is otherwise in the sense of “exercising the sense of sight.” Here the adverb is used to the exclusion of the adjective. “He _looks_ kindly (not kind) upon the fallen foe.” Actions are qualified by adverbs, but adjectives qualify what one is or seems to be.

~lot~ or ~lots~: A slipshod colloquialism for “great many”; as, “We sold a _lot_ of tickets”; “He has _lots_ of friends”; to be avoided, as are all other vague, ill-assigned expressions, as tending to indistinctness of thought and debasement of language. Compare HEAP.

~love~. Compare LIKE.

~lovelily~: To the general exclusion of this word, _lovely_ is now made to do duty both as adverb and adjective.

~lovely~: A valuable word in proper use, as applied to that which is adapted and worthy to win affection; but as a colloquialism improperly applied indiscriminately to every form of agreeable feeling or quality. A bonnet is _lovely_, so is a house, a statue, a friend, a poem, a bouquet, a poodle, a visit; and it is even said after an entertainment, “The refreshments were _lovely_!”--all examples of careless diction.

~low-priced~: Often confounded with _cheap_. A thing is _cheap_ when its price is low compared with its intrinsic worth, it is _low-priced_ when but little is paid or asked for it. A _low-priced_ article may be _dear_; a _cheap_ article may not be _low-priced_; as, “One horse was _low-priced_ (he paid only $50 for it), and it was _dear_ at that price; the other cost him $500, but was _cheap_ at that price.”

~lurid~ should not be used for ~brilliant~. _Lurid_ means “giving a ghastly, or dull-red light, as of flames mingled with smoke, or reflecting or made visible by such light.”

~luxuriant~, ~luxurious~: These words are not identical in sense. The former signifies growth, as “hair of _luxuriant_ growth”; the latter implies luxury, as “_luxurious_ ease.”

“But grace abused brings forth the fondest deeds,
As richest soil the most _luxuriant_ weeds.”

“And send the sentinel before your gate
A slice or two from your _luxurious_ meals.”