Cue up a Queue of Tricky Phrases by Rob Kyff on Creators.com

Recently

And Now for Some Trash Talk With the help of Mim Harrison's delightful book "Words at Work," let's go Dumpster diving and examine some jargon from the world of garbage collection ... er, "waste management." If you still think of a garbage truck in the …Read more. These Boots Were Made For… Two random dispatches from the Word Front... — Talking the Walk "I am a slow walker," Abraham Lincoln once said, "but I never walk back." If only today's politicians would follow honest Abe's example. Every day, it seems …Read more. What's the Scoop on 'Troop'? Q. What's up with the noun "troop"? The definition of this word as I learned it and as defined by Merriam-Webster is "a group of soldiers." Yet, so frequently these days, I hear or read lines such as "three troops were …Read more. A Child's Garden of 'Versus' Q. Last year, we had a foreign exchange student from Germany stay with our family. When he wanted to challenge our boys to a video game, he would say he wanted to "verse" them. I have never heard of that form of "versus" being …Read more.

Cue up a Queue of Tricky Phrases

Verbs followed by prepositions can be tricky. Can you select the correct verb in each phrase?

1. At dawn, the band's fans started to (cue up, queue up) for tickets.

2. The danger of infection (militates against, mitigates against) extensive surgery.

3. The hikers (clambered up, clamored up) the steep trail.

4. The stream was (teaming with, teeming with) fish.

5. The editors (poured over, pored over) the manuscript.

6. The technicians tried to (home in, hone in) on the problem.

7. The new mayor hopes to (reign in, rein in) spending.

8. The suspect added details to (flush out, flesh out) his alibi.

9. The league commissioner will (meet out, mete out) the punishments.

10. Your figures don't (gibe, jibe) with mine.

Answers:

1. "Queue up," which means to form a line, is correct. "Cue up" means to set up a record, tape, CD or DVD so it's ready to be played from a certain spot, as in, "The engineer cued up the tape."

2. "Militates against," which means to exert a strong influence, is correct. "Mitigate" means to lessen, alleviate, as in, "The antibiotics mitigated her infection."

3. "Clambered up," which means to climb with effort or difficulty, is correct. "Clamor" means to raise an uproar, as in, "We clamored for more trail mix."

"Teeming with," which means to abound in, is correct. "Teaming with" means to join, as in, "Microsoft is teaming with Apple."

5. "Pored over," which means to read intently, is correct. "Pour over" means to make a liquid flow downward, as in, "The water poured over the dam."

6. "Home in," which means to head for home, as homing pigeons do, or to zero in on a specific target, is correct. "Hone" means to sharpen, as in, "She honed her skills."

7. "Rein in," which means to check or restrain, as in using reins to slow down horses, is correct. "Reign" means to rule, as in, "The king reigned for 30 years."

8. "Flesh out," which means to elaborate, add detail, is correct. "Flush out" means to bring something into the open for examination, as in, "The interrogators tried to flush out the truth."

9. "Mete out," which means to measure out, is correct.

10. "Jibe with," meaning to be consistent with, is correct. "Gibe" means a caustic remark, or to taunt by making such remarks.

Rob Kyff, a teacher and writer in West Hartford, Conn., invites your language sightings. Send your reports of misuse and abuse, as well as examples of good writing, via e-mail to Wordguy@aol.com or by regular mail to Rob Kyff, Creators Syndicate, 737 3rd Street, Hermosa Beach, CA 90254