Page:A Desk-Book of Errors in English.djvu/171

 families or to things, as, Lincoln was older than Hay; this book is the oldest in the library. Compare.

on is frequently used where in would be preferable. Fitz-Greene Halleck once said to a friend, "Why do people persist in saying on Broadway? Might they not as well say Our Father, who art on Heaven?"

once in a way (or while): A colloquialism for "now and then," better expressed by a single word, as occasionally.

one: Used sometimes as in writing narrative instead of "I," "he," or "a." Bain ("Higher Eng. Grammar") says: "One should be followed by one and not by he (nor for that matter by I or a); as, 'What one sees or feels, one can not be sure that one sees or feels.'" To begin with one and to continue with any one of the substitutes suggested would not only be incorrect but would confuse the reader.

one another. Compare.

one-horse: A slang term for "second rate"; implying "of inferior capacity, quality or resources."

only: This word, whose correct position depends upon the intention of the author, is often misplaced. The examples of the uses of only here given will serve to illustrate correct usage. "Only his father spoke to him"; here only means that of all persons who might have spoken, but one, his father, spoke to him. "His father only spoke to him" implies that his father 155