expresso
EXPRESSO
ESPRESSO
I’ve read several explanations of the origin of this word: the coffee is made expressly for you upon your order, or the steam is expressed through the
grounds, or (as most people suppose—and certainly wrongly) the coffee is made at express speed. One thing is certain: the word is “espresso,” not
“expresso.”
While you’re at an American espresso stand, you might muse on the fact that both “biscotti” and “panini” are plural forms, but you’re likely to baffle the
barista if you ask in correct Italian for a biscotto or a panino.
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expresses that
EXPRESSES THAT
SAYS THAT
“In her letter Jane expresses that she is getting irritated with me for not writing” should be corrected to “In her letter Jane says that. . . .” You can express
an idea or a thought, but you can’t ever express that. In technical terms, “express” is a transitive verb and requires an object.
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factoid
FACTOID
The “-oid” ending in English is normally added to a word to indicate that an item is not the real thing.
A humanoid is not quite human. Originally “factoid” was an ironic term indicating that the “fact”
being offered was not actually factual. However, CNN and other sources have taken to treating the “-
oid” as if it were a mere diminutive, and using the term to mean “trivial but true fact.” As a result, the
definition of “factoid” is hopelessly confused and it’s probably better to avoid using the term
altogether.
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fair/fare
FAIR/FARE
When you send your daughter off to camp, you hope she’ll fare well. That’s why you bid her a fond
farewell. “Fair” as a verb is a rare word meaning “to smooth a surface to prepare it for being joined to

phase in the new accounting procedures gradually.” Unfortunately, Star Trek has confused matters by
calling its ray pistols phasers. Too bad they aren’t fazers instead.
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fearful/fearsome
FEARFUL/FEARSOME
To be “fearful” is to be afraid. To be “fearsome” is to cause fear in others. Remember that someone
who is fierce is fearsome rather than fearful.
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febuary
FEBUARY
FEBRUARY
Few people pronounce the first R in “February” distinctly, so it is not surprising that it is often omitted in spelling. This poor month is short on days;
don’t further impoverish it by robbing it of one of its letters.
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50’s
50’s
’50s
There’s no requirement for the apostrophe before the “S” in decade names like 50s and 60s, since there are no omitted letters, though it’s also acceptable
to include one. The term may be written “’50s” since “19” is being omitted, but “50s” is fine too. Writers who wish to have their references to decades
clearly understood in the twenty-first century would be well advised not to omit the first two digits.
Note that you may have to turn off “smart quotes” in your word processor to get a leading apostrophe like the one in “’50s” to curl correctly unless you
know how to type the character directly. Or you can just type two and delete the first one.
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