hy is it that for the purposes of English composition one word is not so
good as another? To this question we shall get a general answer if we
examine the effect of certain classes of expressions.
PRESENT USE.-Let us examine first the effect produced by three passages
in the authorized version of the English Bible-a version made by order of
King James in 1611:-
"For these two years hath the famine been in the land, and yet there are five
years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest" (Gen. xlv. 6).
"O ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into shame? how long
will ye love vanity, and seek after leasing?" (Psa. iv. 2).
"Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed
to come unto you, but was let hitherto" (Rom. i. 18).
See also Gen. xxv. 29; Matt. iii 8; Acts viii. 3; 1 Thess. iv. 15.An ordinary reader of our time cannot without assistance fully understand
these passages, because the words "earing," "leasing," and "let" convey to
his mind either no idea at all or a wrong idea. Two hundred and eighty
years ago, when this translation of the Bible was made, these words were
common words with plain meanings; but "earing" and "leasing" have since
dropped out of common use, and "let" has acquired a different meaning;
consequently an ordinary reader of the present time must consult a dictio-
nary before he can be sure what the passages mean. Words and meanings
which have gone out of use are called obsolete. There is not much tempta-
tion to use obsolete words; but the temptation sometimes comes. Therefore
we note, as our first conclusion, that a person who wishes to be understood
must avoid expressions and meanings which are not in present use.
NATIONAL USE.-A boy from southern Pennsylvania was visiting in New
York State. In the midst of some preparations for a fishing excursion he said
to his host, "Shall I take my gums along?" His host burst out laughing and
said, "Of course; did you think of taking them out of your mouth and leav-
ing them at home?"[2] Unconsciously the boy had used a good Englishword
in a sense peculiar to the district in which he lived; his host had understood
the word in its proper sense.
On another occasion a gentleman who had just arrived at a hotel in Ken-
nebunkport, Me., agreed to a proposal to "go down to the beach in the
barge." Going to his room, he prepared for a little excursion on the river
which flowed by the hotel. When he returned, he was greatly surprised to
find his friends about to start for the beach in a large omnibus. Another gen-
tleman once asked a young lady to go "riding" with him. At the appointed
hour he drove to her house in a buggy, and she came down to meet him in
her riding habit.
These incidents show that if we use expressions that are only local, or use
words in local senses, we are liable either to be misunderstood or not to be
understood at all. Obscurity also arises from the use ofwords in senseswhich
are peculiar to a certain class or profession. For example, to a person who is
4 HUBER GRAY BUEHLER
