The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1922-01-05
And Here Is a Word About the Whomers'

name is legion.
And Here Is Word About the Whomers.
[From r. P. AS Tower1
The employment of whom for who, Is
another abominable vice, and yet very
common: as whom he said was III
whom intended should be sent for
that is whom was i'll, he said
whom should be sent for. intended"
1t is a long, dispiriting fight. The
preceding is taken from The New York
Mirror for April 4, 1888.
B. l. T. ONCE said that persons who read
the bible never were in doubt as to the use OF
who" and whom. Using that as basis one
computes the number of bible readers at about
one-haf of one per cent
NOPE, ART CALENDARS AND Us IS
UNACQUAINTED.
Dear Sir: l don't want to appear arbitrary
or pedantic but did Bill, the demon compositor,
run out of hyphens when he wrote ''maladroit-
"" into that pot of ink you flung into the
column the other day? But no matter. What
really want to ask is: have you received your
quota of art calendars depicting: (a) Decol-
lete Indian maiden in white silk, pink wanl-
pun feather in raven tresses, anonymously
padding Old Town birchbark through path OF
moonlight on kickapOo Slough? OBJ Pensive
Indian maiden, also decoilete in white camise
ana red blanket about to slip off rosy Canca-
sian shoulder. no wampum, feather in braided
r. t.. standing carelessly upright paddle
poised. in Old Town drifting athwart path of
struggling to launca canoe for pursuit? (c)
Immaculate but slightly-tanned Indian maiden
in fringed buckskin, much wampum,. in r. L,
anorously gazing at shafts of moonlight pierre
ing silhouettes of Norway pines; Old Town
teLhered to shore? SCAMOZZ1
SCAMOZZI must not blame the compositor
because "maladroitly" appeared with its by
phen elded. We cannot tell lie did it
with our little Ratchet The Standard die
agrees with Friend Noah in printing it
lad LOT hnSQ
revered volumes scatter merry little hyphens in
the most unexpected places. Frexampie:
"MaIa-dy", "mala- pert, Malay, "malcontent",
"male-diction", "male-factor' "ma-levolent",
.maI-feasance". malicious" "ma-Iign-
'mal-treat', and so onH aid infnitum. And
does one see any Of those words in current
print carrying its hyphen? One does not.
In most instances we swear by the diction-
airy as Wilecat Vitus MarsGen swears by land .
att his galloping dcminoes; but when Noah
says it should be ''male-diction" hurl
malediction" (and perhaps few anathema)
at his bulky form.
Unlike Scamoz' we have no scruples against
being arbitrary pedantic; therefore we>can-
not admit that "langourous' is a proper way
to spell dangerous. The contributions
of Scamoz are as breath of ozone to us, how
ever, and We await the next breath with an
ticipatory delight.
Speaking of the Dictionary
lFrom the st. Louis Start
Admiral Beatty, returning to Europe, says
States Apparently it's no use; our long cam
paign is a failure and advise F. P. A. to
surrender, too. Nobody is side but
Noah Webster and he's dead Hectic" saws
ebster, means:
Habitual; constitutional; pertaining
especially to the slow waste of animal
tissues as in consumption.
1t is from the French "hectique" meaning
'habitual', and that comes directly from the
Greek word for "habitual". 1t has no other
legitimate meaning whatever, but the medical
meaning a habitual fever flush, have caused
people to think "hecticS means "feyerish' |
flushed" exciting.
So we surrender, first because when an
error is once implanted in the British Admir- |
atty it can never be eradicated, and secondly |
because In a prolonged struggle between the |
dictionary and the people the dictionary al |
ways gets licked.
Dictionaries have no stamina: thew never /
carry fight through to the end. When the |
people misuse word, the photographers all |
shout. You're wrong, you're wrong" Then
if the people go misusing it, the dictionary
makers say, Very well, have it your own |
way"
From now on. The Star will confne its |
ehorts TO proving that like" does not mean
"aS if"
the dissertations on grammar and orthograpby
may agree that it is timely to mention thai |
Miss Ermyl Klock joined hands with Mr. Fred
De Paw Tuesday afternoon at l O'Clock in
II
Miss Klock was time for the ceremony
Tick, tick.
Excusable, in the Circumstances
ALBANY Corr, The August
daughter was born Monday morning !
to Mr.. and Mrs. Grover Naftzger This is
their first child.
Business was practically suspended on |
New Years day in Albany.
MR.. FRED HASKIN, writing on the pre-
Christmas mail rush some time ago. gives this
sample of misusing the word hectic:
In this final hectic period, delays and losses
are bound to occur"
HORRORS! We have just discovered
error in our pome printed Ian.
3. Distinctly we remember writing it. "A smile
or two and the printed line appears "A small
or two. The proofreader ought to be kicked
How does one go about kicking oneself?
NINE. MARIA IVOGUN has arrived in
America to join the Chicago Grand Opera :
HEY! Mary, Hadn't You better see that
Maria is disarmed7 T.