“CLINTON LOOSES SUPPORT”

Adjectives, Common English Blunders, Verbs

I saw this on Fox News Channel this morning.

Problem:
One cannot “loose” support.

Explanation:
The headline writer wanted to say Hillary Clinton stops having support for her presidential campaign. with just three words.

It’s true that “loose” can be used as a verb as well as an adjective.

“Loose screws” is a common expression containing “loose” as an adjective.

According to Dictionary.com, “loose” was first recorded as a verb around 1225.

When used as a verb, however, “loose” does not mean “stops having”; this definition belongs to the verb “lose” instead, which gives us the solution.

Solution:
“CLINTON LOSES SUPPORT”