Of Human Blondage by Rob Kyff on Creators.com

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Of Human Blondage

Q: I would enjoy it if you wrote about the correct use of "blonde" and "blond." — John Currie, Farmington, Conn.

A: First, it's important to point out that "blond/e" is no Anglo-flaxenism. It's derived from French, and its two different endings (split ends?) reflect the French practice of using "e" as a feminine tag and the "e"-less spelling as a masculine tag. The English spellings we use today reflect these gender distinctions.

As an adjective, "blonde" can be used for either gender ("blonde woman," "blonde man"), but it's most often used for women. As a noun, "blonde" is almost always used for women, unless you're referring to Brad Pitt or Robert Redford.

Seeking to retain my status as the fair-haired boy of the feminist set, I hasten to point out that referring to a woman as a "blonde" is sexist because it defines women by their outward appearance. And, yes, this means you have to rinse out all those nifty subcategories too: "bottle blonde," "platinum blonde," "strawberry blonde" and "dirty blonde."

As an adjective, "blond" can be used for either gender ("blond woman," "blond man"), but as a noun, it's used more often for males ("he's a blond"), and it's always used for inanimate objects with an amber hue ("blond wood," "blond beer").

To summarize:

"Blonde" is the adjective for a woman (and, less often, a man), and the (sexist!) noun for a woman.

"Blond" is the adjective for a man, a woman or an inanimate object and the noun for a man, though some women wonder whether there's a difference between a man and an inanimate object.

If these two terms confuse you, just remember that towheads are better than one.

Q: I was having a discussion with a business associate over the use of "acronym." "FBI" are initials, correct? "Scuba" is an acronym.

Please help us settle our argument. — Tuyen Pham, San Bernadino, Calif.

A: FYI, you're right. Technically, words formed by initials that are pronounced as letters, such as "FBI," "USA" and "CIA," are "initialisms." The term "acronym" should be reserved only for a word formed by initials that are pronounced as words, such as "scuba," "radar" and "UNESCO."

But because so few people are even familiar with the esoteric term "initialism," it's hard to fault anyone for using the more common word "acronym" for all words formed by initials.

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.