Adjectives

“Unchartered territory”

Adjectives, Common English Blunders, Devolution toward Simpler, Euphemisms

I heard a Fox television sports commentator say this last evening during Super Bowl XLII.

Problem:
This phrase does not contain the correct adjective for the euphemism.

Explanation:
“Unchartered territory” would refer to territory that has not been chartered.

The definition of the adjective “chartered” is related to an arrangement of leased, exclusive, temporary transportation for a group of travelers.

Given that one charters transportation, not territory, “unchartered territory” makes no sense.

In contrast, given that one can map — or chart — territory, the correct adjective for the euphemism is “uncharted”. That is, “uncharted territory” is the euphemism that was mangled by the sports commentator.

For fun, I searched Google — with the quotation marks included in the search box — for “unchartered territory” and “uncharted territory” and got about 59,600 and 734,000 matches, respectively. That tells me that Web authors have written the euphemism correctly by a ratio of 12.3:1, which is good, but not excellent.

I believe that the spoken use of “unchartered” instead of “uncharted” in the euphemism is consistent with my “Devolution toward Simpler” hypothesis. It is simpler to pronounce the “ered” sound than to pronounce the “ed” sound.

Solution:
“Uncharted territory”

“Entertaining Room”

Adjectives, Devolution toward Simpler

I heard this on an HGTV television program last night.

Problem:
The HGTV program host used an ambiguous modifier.

Explanation:
An “entertaining room” could be a room for entertaining or a room that is entertaining.

Based on the context, I know that the program host meant the former, not the latter.

In contrast, an “entertainment room” can only be a room for entertainment.

I believe that the choice of “entertaining” instead of “entertainment” supports my “Devolution toward Simpler” hypothesis. It’s slightly simpler to say “entertaining” than it is to say “entertainment”. Each of these words has four syllables, but the “ing” sound is simpler to say than is the “ent” sound because the g can be swallowed whereas the t must be enunciated for clarity. Also, there is an intervening “m” in “entertainment” that does not occur in “entertaining”.

Once again, here is my unorthodox but fairly reliable method to determine which of “entertaining room” or “entertainment room” is the correct form: search Google separately for each of “entertaining room” and “entertainment room” with the quotation marks included in each search; the one with the dominant number of hits or matches is very likely the correct form.

For example, I just searched Google for “entertaining room” and got about 18,500 matches; I searched for “entertainment room” and got about 1,040,000 matches. The 56:1 dominance of “entertainment room” over “entertaining room” is a very good indicator that the former is the correct form.

Solution:
“Entertainment Room”

“Anytime” vs. “Any Time”

Adjectives, Adverbs, Common English Blunders, Versus

I saw “anytime” used where “any time” was required in a technical document.

Problem:
“Anytime” and “any time” are not synonyms.

Explanation:
“Anytime” is an adjective. “Any time” is an adverbial phrase.

It’s an anytime event to have Bill Clinton visit our donut shop. is an example of the proper use of “anytime”. The adjective “anytime” tells the reader/listener the what type of event it is to have Bill Clinton visit the writer/speaker’s donut shop.

Getting stuck in the longest line happens any time that I try to pick the shortest line at the grocery store. is an example of the proper use of “any time”. The adverbial phrase “any time” tells the reader/listener when the writer/speaker gets stuck in the longest line.

Solution:
Use “anytime” when you are modifying a noun; use “any time” when you are modifying a verb.