Stuart's Daily Word Spot: Between or among

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Between or among

Between: preposition - reciprocal action or relation involving two or more as individuals, reciprocally, on the part of; motion or communication from each of two or more bodies, places, etc., to the other or others, to and from; confinement or restriction to two or more parties; in the interval separating two points of time, events, etc.; intermediate to, partaking of the nature of two qualities; in or through the space, line, or route separating two points, objects, etc. or bounded by; in the space bounded by two points etc., dividing, separating, connecting, uniting. Adverb - in or into an intermediate position or course, intermediately in amount, order, occupying intermediate space, intervening; in the interval or at intervals. to go to and fro as a mediator;

Among: preposition - in the assemblage of, surrounded by and grouped with; surrounded by the separate members, components, or particles of, amid; in company with; in the number or class of, in comparison with; in the general practice or views of; divided between, shared by.

Both words have possibly more meanings than most people appreciate. However, the confusion in usage arises only in certain circumstances: i.e. which should be used when referring to two objects and which belongs with three or more things. But this is to over simply the matter. The distinction doesn’t rely on whether you’re referring to two things or to three or more; it’s whether you’re referring to one thing and another, or to a collective or undefined number.

‘The gossip spread among the journalists faster than wildfire.’ But, you could also write, ‘The gossip spread between the journalists like wildfire.’

‘A five bar gate rested between the gateposts.’ Means something entirely different from, ‘A farm gate rested among the fence posts.’ In the former, we have a gate in situ with the posts at either side to support it. But in the latter, we have a gate as a separate item awaiting use along with some fence posts.

There is also a question of the mood conveyed by the two words: ‘The lovers walked among the bushes.’ indicates a meandering stroll. But, ‘The lovers walked between the bushes.’ is suggestive of a more formal promenade with bushes at either side of them.

One other aspect that needs a few words is the use of ‘between’ when used to measure something in relation to the objects the measured item lies between. So, the ‘distance between the posts’ does not include the width of the posts themselves but merely the space intervening. When something falls between two or more other things, those other things are not part of that something, but the defining boundaries of the space into which the something falls.

Zemanta could find no suitable illustration for this one, so here's one of my own, taken on the Wolds, near Bridlington.

Stuart's Daily Word Spot: Amount or number

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Amount or number

Amount: noun - total to which anything amounts, total quantity or number; quantity or sum viewed as the total reached; 

Number: noun - precise sum or aggregate of; abstract entity representing a quantity, used to express how many things are being referred to, or how much there is of something; an arithmetical value corresponding to a particular quantity of something; word, symbol or figure representing an arithmetical unit, a numeral; total, value expressed in figures, a statistic; arithmetical value; person or thing having a place in a series; any of a collection of songs or poems; a song, tune; girl or young woman; full count of a collection of persons or things.

Where Amount usually refers to a mass, number generally refers to a quantity.

‘An enormous amount of publicity surrounded the death of John F Kennedy.’

‘The number of stories relating the death of Elvis Presley could be counted in thousands.’

‘The pretty girl was a cute number, dressed in a stylish number, as she listened and danced to the latest number played by the rock band.’ 

Stuart's Daily Word Spot: Gabion

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Gabion: noun - cylinder of wicker or metal bands, filled with earth or stones for use in engineering or fortification.

‘After Antonio had avenged himself on Roberto, he stuffed the body into the gabion, packed it round with mud and rocks, and heaved it into the wall they were making to defend the hill fort.’

Stuart's Daily Word Spot: Bête noire

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Bête noire: noun phrase – French; literally means ‘black beast’; bane of a person’s life; someone or something insufferable, an object causing aversion.

‘Rather appropriately, the hound in ‘The Hound of the Baskervilles’ could be described as the ‘bête noire’ of the piece.’

‘Along with many authors of renown, Hemingway found his bête noire was excessive drinking.’

1 June 1946 – TV licences were first introduced into the UK. For those who don’t know, the British Broadcasting Corporation isn’t allowed to use advertising to raise revenue (long may it remain so) and has to rely on the income accrued by issuing a licence for viewers and listeners to its services. This has long been a bone of contention for those who believe in the supremacy of the free market. But, for those of us who prefer not to have our entertainment, education and information constantly interrupted by banal pleas for our money, the licence system allows the BBC to provide a broadcasting service second to none, which remains respected the World over.

Stuart's Daily Word Spot: Amend or emend

 'Little Driffield Pond'

Amend or emend: ‘To amend is to change; to emend is to correct’ is sometimes considered the difference between these two words, but the reality is that, in some cases, they are interchangeable.

Amend: verb – to correct, reform or convert;  to free something from fault; to correct errors in the text of a document etc.; repair or make good something broken or damaged, restore; heal or cure a sick person or a disease; make better, improve; reform yourself; abandon faults and evil ways.

Emend: verb – to alter a text to remove errors and corruptions; to make free from faults, correct, rectify.

Generally speaking, ‘amend’ is the catchall word and ‘emend’ is used in reference to the correction of a manuscript or spoken statement.

‘Failure to amend you bad habits will result in disaster for you and those who count themselves your friends.’

‘Andrew took pains to be accurate as he used his journalistic skills to emend the statement due to be released by the head of the Party.’

Stuart's Daily Word Spot: Alright or all right

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Alright is considered as substandard.

The correct term is ‘all right.’: adverbial, adjectival, & noun phrase - as desired; duly; satisfactorily; certainly, indeed; In good condition; safe and sound; satisfactory, acceptable; An interjection of acquiescence, assent, or acknowledgement; a noun phrase, as in ‘a bit of all right’ - someone or something very pleasing. Although ‘alright’ is often considered wrong, analogous forms such as ‘already’, ‘although’, etc. have long been accepted. Just one more example of the irregular nature of the English language.

‘Tell you, what, Jimmy; that J-Lo’s a bit of all right.’

‘All right, all right! Let’s have a little calm here, please; it’s only a small fire, not a conflagration about to consume you all.’

Stuart’s Daily Word Spot: A while or Awhile

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A while: noun phrase – ‘The bathing beauties in their bikinis had to wait for a while until they heard the results of the contest from the judges.’

Awhile: adverb – ‘After the celebrations, the politicians who’d lost the election remained awhile, hoping the press pack would have dispersed before they emerged.’