Month: May 2009

“I want to preface this up front by saying …”

Nouns, Redundancies, Verbs

I heard this yesterday during a conference call.

Problem:
The phrase “up front” introduces a redundancy.

Explanation:
The speaker on the conference call was telling the other call attendees that he wanted to say something before he said something else.

The noun “preface” means a preliminary statement in a book or speech.

So the verb “preface” means to provide a preliminary statement.

And therefore following the verb “preface” with the phrase “up front” introduces a redundancy.

Solution:
“I want to preface this by saying …”

“… as a separate business at arm’s-length from …”

Adjectives, Hyphens

I saw this in a message from a company.

Problem:
The hyphen does not belong in this phrase.

Explanation:
The company in question was announcing that it had agreed to exchange some assets with another company.

The company stated in its announcement that the deal had not been approved by regulators.

So the company was emphasizing to readers that it would have to continue to operate as if the deal had never been made.

“At arm’s length” — with no hyphen — is the phrase that essentially describes a business/legal relationship in which the two parties make sure that they treat one another in the same way that they would treat other competitors.

While it is true that “arm’s length” must be hyphenated to form a compound modifier of a noun — as in “an arm’s-length transaction” — it makes no sense to insert a hyphen in the phrase “at arm’s length from”.

I believe that attorneys were involved in approving the aforementioned company’s announcement and that these attorneys included the hyphen between “arm’s” and “length” because they are very accustomed to using these two words to modify a noun.

Solution:
“… as a separate business at arm’s length from …”

“Hoard” vs. “Horde”

Nouns, Verbs, Versus

I sometimes see these words used interchangeably.

Problem:
The words “hoard” and “horde” are not synonyms.

Explanation:
The word “hoard” — spelled H-O-A-R-D — dates back to before 900 to the Gothic word “huzd”, which literally meant treasure.

When it acts as a noun, the word “hoard” means an accumulation that is carefully guarded for future use.

When it acts as a verb with an object, the word “hoard” means to accumulate for future use in a hidden place.

When it acts as a verb without an object, the word “hoard” means to accumulate food, money, or anything else valuable in a hidden place for future use.

The word “horde” — spelled H-O-R-D-E — dates back to about 1550 but apparently originated before then with the Turkic word “ordu”, which literally means royal camp or residence.

The primary meaning of the word “horde” as a noun is a mass or crowd, and an alternate meaning is a nomadic group.

The word “horde” can also be used as a verb without an object, in which case it means to gather or assemble in a horde.

Solution:
Remember that the word “horde” — spelled H-O-R-D-E — seems to come from the Turkic word “ordu”, which means royal camp or residence, to remember that this word relates to a crowd or mass or group of people and to distinguish it from the word “hoard” — spelled H-O-A-R-D — which comes from a Gothic word for treasure.