former / latter Some people insist that you should use the phrases the former and the
latter only to refer to the first of two things and the second of two things,
respectively: “But Flynn preceded Casey, as did also Jimmy Blake, and the
former was a lulu and the latter was a fake” (Ernest Lawrence Thayer). It is
easy to find violations of this rule in the works of good writers, but since
former and latter are comparatives, many readers feel uneasy when the
words are used in enumerations of more than two things, just as they would
feel uneasy over the similar incorrect use of a comparative in a sentence
such as Her boys are 7, 9, and 13; only the younger was born in California
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fortuitous / fortunate The word fortuitous is unfortunate since people argue about what it can and
cannot mean. In its oldest sense, fortuitous means “happening by accident
or chance.” Thus a fortuitous meeting may have either fortunate or
unfortunate consequences. Many people insist that this is all fortuitous can
mean. But people for decades have used the word in reference to happy
accidents, as in The company’s third-quarter profits were enhanced as the
result of a fortuitous drop in the cost of RAM chips. This use may have
arisen because fortuitous resembles both fortunate and felicitous.
Whatever its origin, the use is well established in the writing of reputable
authors. The additional use of fortuitous to mean “lucky or fortunate” is
more controversial, as in He came to the Giants in June as the result of a
fortuitous trade that sent two players to the Reds. This use dates back at
least to the 1920s, but people still widely regard it as incorrect, and you
may want to avoid it

go Parents reading picture books aloud to their infant children have always
used go to produce nonlinguistic noises, as in The train went “toot” and The
cow goes “moo.” Now their grown-up infants use go to report speech, as in
Then he goes, “You think you’re real smart, don’t you?” For speakers
young enough to get away with it, this usage is useful when telling a story
that has direct quotations, particularly when the user wishes to mimic the
accent or intonation of the original speaker. You should restrict this sense
of go, however, to the “narrative present” used in informal speech and omit
it from more formal contexts
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good / well People use good as an adverb all the time when speaking, as in My car
was just tuned and runs real good now or Burning the sauce stunk the
kitchen up good. In writing, it is perfectly acceptable to use the adjective
good with linking verbs such as be, seem, or appear: Plans for the reunion
are looking good. The soup tastes good. But the use of good as an adverb
with other verbs is not common in writing and will in all likelihood be
frowned on by your readers. Use well instead. Thus you should say The
dress fits well and looks good
Be careful when using good and well after the verb feel. While both of
these adjectives can mean “healthy,” your readers will probably interpret
She feels good to mean “She is in good spirits.” If they see She feels well,
they may assume the reference is to her state of health, not to her mood.
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ascribes the accomplishment to the student rather than to the institution,
which is appropriate in discussions of individual students. When the
institution’s responsibility is emphasized, however, you can still use the
older sense. A sentence such as The university graduated more computer
science majors in 1987 than in the entire previous decade stresses the
university’s accomplishment, say, of its computer science program. On the
other hand, the sentence More computer science majors graduated in 1987
than in the entire previous decade implies that the class of 1987 was in
some way a remarkable group.
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grow Eventually you have to satisfy the customer and grow the business,” the
new chairman of Eastman Kodak said in 1993 at a news conference
announcing his appointment. He was using the verb grow in a relatively
new way—with an object that is not living. Grow has been used since
medieval times as an intransitive verb meaning “to increase in size,
quantity or degree,” as in Our business has been growing steadily for three
years. It has been used with an object since the 18th century, meaning “to
produce or cultivate,” as in We grow beans and corn in our garden. But the
transitive use applied to business and nonliving things is quite new. It came
into full bloom during the 1992 Presidential election, when nearly all the
candidates were concerned with “growing the economy.” Businessleaders
and politicians may be fond of this usage, but should the rest of us? The
Usage Panel thinks not. Eighty percent reject the phrase grow our
business. The panel is more accepting of (but still not enthusiastic about)
the phrase grow our way, perhaps because of way’s established use in
expressions like make our way and find our way. Forty-eight percent of the