By the Same Token

By the Same Token By the Same Token By the Same Token By Maeve Maddox The word token is used with several meanings. From an Old English verb meaning â€Å"to show,† in the broadest sense a token is â€Å"something that serves to indicate a fact; a sign or a symbol.† The sign could be miraculous or merely evidence of something:    I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. Genesis, 9:13, KJV God granted these holy men [the 100 fed miraculously by Elisha] a gracious token that the famine had lifted The retiring employee received a watch as a token of the company’s appreciation. As a physical object, a token may be a metal or plastic disk that serves to show that money has been paid for transportation or admission (e.g., a bus token). Board games like Monopoly include tokens used in play. The expression â€Å"by the same token† means â€Å"for the same reason† or â€Å"in the same way.† Here are two correct examples of its use: there was little evidence to substantiate the gossip and, by the same token, there was little to disprove it –example, OxfordDictionaries because his mind is flexible it responds quickly †¦ to what is before it, and by the same token it can call up from within a host of appropriate ideas example, Merriam-Webster As is happening to many venerable expressions in this age of limited reading of traditional literature, â€Å"by the same token† is being altered by speakers who aren’t quite sure how to use it: However at the same token, this same conversation could apply to couples who go through that process together In the same token, it cannot disregard basic issues of translation theory. Does my body include the oxygen I am about to inhale and, on the same token, should I include the air I am about to exhale? Not only is the preposition by being incorrectly replaced by at, in or on, the meaning is being lost: I dont dislike dogs (or other animals), but by the same token, I dont want them in my house. Here the meaning seems to be â€Å"on the other hand.† With a documentation date of 1463, â€Å"by the same token† has had a good run in English. Could be that the expression–for some speakers at least–has reached retirement age. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Homograph Examples34 Writing Tips That Will Make You a Better WriterHonorary vs. Honourary

A Historic vs. An Historic

A Historic vs. An Historic A Historic vs. An Historic A Historic vs. An Historic By Maeve Maddox My post A Useful Reminder About ‘An’ prompted an outpouring of emails asking, â€Å"How about an history or an historic?† Some points of English usage stir strong feelings. Placing the indefinite article â€Å"an† in front of the words historical or historic is one of these. Here are some comments prompted by a post I wrote on this topic several years ago: When people use â€Å"an historical† on NPR, it’s because [they’re] snooty. Only a Cockney or an hidiot [would say] â€Å"an historic.† [People who defend â€Å"an historic†] are pseudo-intellectual, American linguistic â€Å"posers.† For certain Americans, it’s all about self-consciously pompous affectation! I  would never ever use â€Å"an† in front of any word with an aspirate H at the beginning. That just isn’t what it’s for, and it sounds pretentious. The simple facts about the use of â€Å"an historical† and â€Å"an historic† are these: 1. Style guides like The Chicago Manual of Style, The AP Stylebook, and The Penguin Writer’s Manual regard the following as correct in modern usage: â€Å"a historical event† â€Å"a historic event.† 2. Many speakers still say and write â€Å"an historical†Ã¢â‚¬â€œand they do so with no intention of sounding affected, pompous, or pretentious. Pronunciation changes from generation to generation, but never in one fell swoop. Pockets of older forms continue to exist even after the majority of speakers have made the switch and authorities have recorded the new rules. The Google Ngram Viewer provides an interesting look at the progress of â€Å"an historic† vs â€Å"a historic.† In 1800, â€Å"a historic† barely shows. It begins its rise in the 1820s. In 1869, â€Å"a historic† is neck and neck with â€Å"an historic.† The two travel along fairly close together until the First World War when â€Å"an historic† pulls ahead and dominates until 1938. After that, â€Å"a historic† becomes the clear winner, although â€Å"an historic† and â€Å"an historical† remain in use. Here are two recent examples of the use of â€Å"an historical† in the context of educated English: Primary sources enable the researcher to get as close as possible to the truth of what actually happened during an historical event or time period.  (Note on the New York University library site.) The Making of Southern Europe: An Historical Overview (title of a recent publication of the London School of Economics) Clearly, modern usage prefers â€Å"a historic† and â€Å"a historical,† as well as a before other â€Å"h words† that readers asked about: â€Å"a hotel,† â€Å"a horrible accident,† and â€Å"a horrific statistic.† The word herb (succulent plant used for seasoning) is pronounced both with and without an aspirated h. â€Å"A herb† is modern British pronunciation, although British author Edith Nesbit (1858-1924) wrote â€Å"an herb† in one of her novels. Many Americans–although by no means all–say â€Å"an erb† and write â€Å"an herb.† Unquestionably, accepted current practice is to use the indefinite article a in front of all but a very few words that begin with the letter h. The most common exceptions are: an heir to the throne an honorable man an honest man an hour or two Speakers who say â€Å"an historic† are not necessarily being â€Å"pretentious or snooty.† It could be that they learned the usage from family members and teachers educated in earlier generations. Follow the style guide of your choice. Save your linguistic wrath for things like, â€Å"Me and my brother graduated from Georgetown.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Spelling category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Creative Writing 1015 Brainstorming Strategies for WritersAppropriate vs. Apropos vs. Apt