A usage quiz that races from room to room
“Roominate” on the choices posed by this usage quiz as it races from the classroom to the the emergency room:
A. Though the lecture took (a while, awhile), the students clearly (benefited, benefitted) from it. Their teacher held a (master’s, masters) degree in English, and, when it came to grammar, she expected students to (tow, toe) the line. She often praised (perspicuous, perspicacious) students for their (perspicuous, perspicacious) prose.
B. The dictator, despite the (hue, hew) and cry of the people, decided to (hue, hew) to the party line and suspend the writ of (habeus, habeas) corpus.
C. In (regard, regards) to your recent estimate, your figures ( jibe, gibe) with ours. As a reward, we’re sending you a year’s supply of (crawfish, crayfish).
D. The emergency room nurses, realizing the patient was in (eminent, imminent) peril, tried to (stanch, staunch) his bleeding, and doctors had to (hurtle, hurdle) through the hallways to help.
Answers:
A. 1. a while. The noun phrase “a while” is rendered as two words. The adverb “awhile,” meaning “for a while,” is one word, e.g., “He rested on the bench awhile.” 2. “Benefited” is the more common form in the U.S., while “benefitted” prevails in Great Britain. 3. master’s degree; likewise, “bachelor’s degree.” 4. toe the line, meaning “to conform to the rules,” (unless the teacher was having them learn grammar by hauling rope). 5. perspicacious, meaning “acutely discerning, sharp.” 6. perspicuous, meaning “clear, lucid.”
B. 7. hue, meaning “clamor, uproar.” 8. hew, meaning “to adhere to.” 9. habeas corpus. This often misspelled Latin phrase, which literally means “you shall have the body,” refers to an arrested person’s right to be brought before a court.
C. 10. in regard to, meaning “in reference to.” “Regards” means “friendly feelings, affections,” e.g., “best regards.” 11. jibe, meaning “to agree,” also, “to shift a sail from one side of the vessel to another.” “Gibe” means “to taunt.” 12. crawfish. Traditionally, “crayfish” has been the standard American term for these freshwater crustaceans, and “crawfish” was regarded as a dialectical variant. But the recent popularity of Cajun cuisine has elevated “crawfish” to the preferred term.
D. 13. imminent, meaning “certain and very near, impending.” “Eminent” means “distinguished, renowned.” 14. stanch, meaning “to restrain the flow of something.” “Staunch” is an adjective meaning “trustworthy, loyal.” 15. hurtle, meaning “to speed, often recklessly,” (but “hurdle” could be used if the doctors had to leap over gurneys on their way).
Rob Kyff is a teacher at Kingswood Oxford School in West Hartford. Write to him in care of The Courant, Features Department, 285 Broad St., Hartford, CT 06115, or by e-mail at WordGuy@aol.com.