Veni, vidi, vici. Can you conquer all 10 questions on this usage quiz?
1. The expenses for this project are not (A. estimable B. estimatable).
2. They'll reinforce the foundation as a (A. preventive B. preventative) measure.
3. The diplomats plan to take a different (A. tact B. tack) in the negotiations.
4. A notorious (A. cardsharp B. card shark) wrote a book about how to cheat at poker.
5. The accused man was on (A. tenderhooks B. tenterhooks) as he awaited the jury's decision.
6. Masons made repairs to the facade of the state (A. capitol B. capital).
7. Many batters do not (A. fair B. fare) well against left-handed pitchers.
8. Engineers tried to (A. home B. hone) in on the source of the leak.
9. The new CEO was given free (A. rein B. reign) to restructure the company.
10. In missing item No. 10 on this quiz, Mr. Grammar committed a horrible (A. gaff B. gaffe).
Answers:
1. B. "Estimatable" means "able to be estimated." "Estimable" means "worthy, highly regarded," e.g., "the estimable Dr. Conklin."
2. A. preventive "Preventative," though commonly used, is a needless variant of "preventive."
3. B. "Tact" means "discretion, diplomacy." "Tack" means "a course or heading."
4. A. Traditionally, a cardsharp is someone who cheats at cards, while a card shark is someone who is skilled at cards.
5. B. tenterhooks. Tenterhooks are the hooks that hold stretched cloth to dry on a "tenter" (a frame), so "on tenterhooks" has come to describe a person who is stressed or strained.
6. A. The capitol is the building where a legislature meets, and a capital is the city where the seat of government is located. Mnemonic: the "o" in "capitol" represents the capitol dome.
7. B. "Fare," which means "to experience good or bad fortune or treatment" or "to happen or turn out," is sometimes confused with the adjective/noun "fair."
8. A. The verb "home in" means "to zero in on something," as a homing pigeon does. "Hone" means "to sharpen," and, by extension, "to make more acute or effective," as in "honing your skills."
9. A. The expression "free rein" derives from the act of loosening or dropping the reins to allow a horse to run at will, not to the "reign" of kings or queens.
10. B. A gaffe is a blunder or blatant error, while "gaff" can refer to a handled hook or spear used in fishing, to several different types of metal devices, to an ordeal (especially verbal abuse), or to a hoax.
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 [email protected] or by regular mail to Rob Kyff, Creators Syndicate, 737 3rd Street, Hermosa Beach, CA 90254.
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