Page:A Desk-Book of Errors in English.djvu/154

 midst: The has the following: "In our, your, or their midst, in the midst of us, you, or them: a form pronounced analogically irreproachable by Fitzedward Hall, in Modern English, p. 50, but objected to by some authorities." Dr. William Mathews is one of these. In his work on "Words: their Use and Abuse," he asks "Would any one say 'In our middle? ' &hellip; The possessive pronoun can properly be used only to indicate possession or appurtenance."

mighty used as a synonym for very, exceedingly, or extraordinarily is colloquial but borders on the vulgar. "Mighty fine," "A mighty shame," "Mighty doubtful" are phrases to be avoided.

misspell: Do not write this word mispell. Its component parts are mis + spell, and it retains the double s.

mistakable: Although formerly correctly mistakeable this word does not now retain the "e" after the "k"—an evidence of spelling reform along lines of least resistance due probably to phonology.

mistaken: Originally mistake meant "to take amiss, misconceive, or misunderstand," and on this account some persons claim that you are mistaken means "you are misunderstood"; and that when this observation is made it expresses precisely the reverse of the meaning that the speaker desires to convey. According to them to tell a man he is mistaken, 138