Glossary

G.1: Write the phrase you misused and the rule.

Do not write just “G” or “Glossary.”

raise, rise, arise

“Raise” is a transitive verb meaning “to lift”; “rise” and “arise” are intransitive verbs meaning “to get up.” Nowadays “arise” is used chiefly to mean “to come into being,” and it usually applies to abstract things: questions, problems, doubts.

He raised his hand.

The balloon rose over the treetops.

Unexpected difficulties arose after construction of the bridge had begun.

rascal

A noun, not an adjective.

WRONG: a rascal boy

RIGHT: a rascal

real, really

“Real” is an adjective, “really” an adverb. Avoid using either word as a vague intensifier.

WRONG: The test was real hard.

WEAK: The test was really hard.

RIGHT: The test was hard.

reason is because, reason why

Not idiomatic. Use “the reason that” or “the reason”:

WRONG: The reason I failed is because I was lazy. Laziness is the reason why I failed

RIGHT: The reason I failed is that I was lazy. Laziness is the reason I failed.

reference

The Keables Guide recommends using “reference” only as a noun. Its use as a verb seems to have emerged from academia, where it evolved from a noun meaning “citations of sources” to a verb (“the footnotes reference population statistics”) and spread to popular usage. Although its use is widespread, to many listeners it still sounds like a pretentious way of saying something simple like “refer to,” “cite” or “mention.”

AWKWARD: The candidate referenced his record of public service.

BETTER: The candidate cited his record of public service.

Its defenders say it is shorter than saying “refer to.” Objectors argue that it is like saying “I deference my elders,” “I transferenced another school,” “I preference chocolate ice cream,” or “After sufferancing an injury I enduranced pain.”

regard(s)

Idiomatic usage requires “with [or “in”] regard to” but “as regards.”

relate, relatable

Usually vague. Most misuses of “relate” fall into three categories:

1. A fuzzy version of “feel sympathy for” or “approve of.” It spawned the vague, clumsy, illogical word “relatable.”

VAGUE: Readers can relate to Peter Parker. Peter Parker is relatable.

BETTER: Peter Parker, a nerd who becomes a superhero, appeals to the fantasies of viewers.

If food is edible, you can eat it. If children are lovable, you can love them. If Peter Parker is “relatable,” can you “relate him”? If you think “relate to” has any meaning worth expressing, would it not be more logical to call Peter Parker “relate-to-able”? It would hardly sound any less euphonious than “relatable.”

2. A fuzzy version of “compare.”

VAGUE: Shakespeare relates true love to an unchanging star.

BETTER: Shakespeare compares true love to an unchanging star.

3. A pompous word that means little more than “have something to do with.” Like “play an important role in” and “connect to,” it tells readers, “Do my work for me, because I do not want to think hard enough to say what the relationship is.” There may be no two things in existence that do not relate to each other. Aardvark tails relate to the price of tea in China. So what? Academic writing requires precision.

VAGUE: Released in 1954, Godzilla relates to the Cold War.

BETTER: Released in 1954, Godzilla dramatizes fears of the powers unleashed by nuclear weapons.

role

Avoid the vague and overused metaphor “play an important/major/significant role.”

WEAK: Blood plays an important role in Macbeth.

So what? Commas play an important role in Macbeth too. Define the importance. Taken literally, the sentence is absurd, for it compares a play to a play.