ArcaMax

Q: What's the deal with people using "flounder" when they really mean "founder"? Has it become such a common misuse that it's now acceptable? -- Sandra Duncan, San Jose, California

A: I'm not gonna flounder or founder here. The answer to your question is an unwavering and unsinkable "No!"

"Flounder" means "to struggle, to thrash about wildly," like a flounder flip-flopping on the sand. "Founder," which derives from the Latin word meaning "bottom" (as in "foundation"), means "to sink, collapse, fail utterly."

So, if your ship is floundering, batten down the hatches. If your ship is foundering, man the lifeboats.

Although both verbs denote actions involving difficulty or distress, using "flounder" for "founder," or vice versa, always smells fishy.

Q: Why do we say someone is caught "dead to rights"? -- David Anson, via email

A: In this rather odd phrase, "dead" means "absolutely," as in "dead certain." And "rights" refers not to legal rights, but instead to correct standards or conditions, as in the phrase "set something to rights," meaning "make a situation right, orderly."

So someone caught dead to rights has flagrantly violated proper norms or standards.

Q: The phone rings: "Is Becky there?" Response: "No, but I wish she was." Or should it be, "No, but I wish she were"? -- Myron Wheeler, Billings, Montana

A: The correct response in a Becky-less situation such as this is, "I wish she were." To indicate situations contrary to fact, English verbs enter a special mood called the subjunctive, where they take plural forms, even with singular subjects.

Because Becky isn't there, you'd use the subjunctive form "were," even though the singular subject "she" would seem to demand the verb "was" ("she was").

Thus, the Cowardly Lion sings, "If I were king of the forest" (not "was" king), because he isn't king. Likewise, people in ads say, "I wish I were an Oscar Mayer wiener" (not "was" a wiener), because they're not.

Q: I know that "fewer," not "less," should be used with countable nouns. But why do many publications ignore this rule when they write, "Letters must be 200 words or less"? -- Hoa Dang, Antioch, Ohio

A: Every rule has its exceptions. "Less" is preferable to "fewer" when the countable items involve distance ("less than 10 miles"), money ("less than 10 dollars") or time ("less than 10 minutes").

"Less" is also preferred in the idiomatic construction "words or less," as in, "Explain the exceptions to the 'less'/'fewer' rule in 60 words or less."

Just did!

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Rob Kyff, a teacher and writer in West Hartford, Connecticut, invites your language sightings. His book, "Mark My Words," is available for $9.99 on Amazon.com. Send your reports of misuse and abuse, as well as examples of good writing, via email to WordGuy@aol.com or by regular mail to Rob Kyff, Creators Syndicate, 737 3rd Street, Hermosa Beach, CA 90254.

Copyright 2024 Creators Syndicate Inc.