Some people get upset when the “first annual” occurrence of some event is announced, arguing that it doesn’t become annual until it’s been repeated. But “first annual” simply means “the first of what is planned to be an annual series of events”—it’s a fine expression.
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It’s “fire,’so why isn’t it “firey”? If you listen closely, you hear that “fire” has two distinct vowel sounds in it: “fi-er.” Spelling the adjective “fiery” helps to preserve that double sound.
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Brush your teeth, but don’t comb them. Although the spelling “fine toothcomb” is common enough to be listed as a variant in dictionaries, it looks pretty silly to people who prefer the traditional expression used to describe examining a territory or subject minutely: going over it with a “fine-tooth comb“—a comb with fine teeth. Some people prefer “fine-toothed comb.”
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“Finalize” is very popular among bureaucrats, but many people hate it. Avoid it unless you know that everyone in your environment uses it too.
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As time goes on, we are less and less likely to record sound or video onto a physical electromagnetic tape. More and more often, such recordings are made onto computer hard drives or solid-state devices. Yet the word “tape” lives on to label the activity involved. We say we are going to tape an interview, tape a dance recital, or tape a new greeting for our voice mail, even when no tape is involved. The problem is that the word “record” is a little too unspecific to be substituted in all contexts for “tape,” so we fall back on this obsolete but handy word instead.
I’m not sure what can be done about this, but it bothers me. Now it can bother you too.
See also film.
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In this digital age we rarely use actual “film” to make movies or videos. Yet we still refer to movies as “films.” Events where new productions are played via DVDs or other disc-based media are referred to as “film festivals.” Language often lags behind technical changes like this. Modern phones have no dials, but we still “dial” numbers. It’s usually useless to complain about this sort of thing, but to speak of “filming” an event when you are actually making a video of it seems wrong to me; but then if you are using a modern digital camera you are likely to say you are “taping” it, which is technically not right either—though it is widely accepted usage despite the fact that most dictionaries do not recognize it.
See also tape.
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Your fiance is the man you plan to marry; your fiancee (or fiancée) is the woman you plan to marry.
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When referring to an adult female of the human species it sounds weird and may even be considered insulting to use the noun “female” instead of “woman.” “The female pointed the gun at the cop” should be “the woman pointed the gun at the cop.”
In the case of the related adjectives some people argue that since we say—for instance—“male doctor” we should always say “female doctor” rather than “woman doctor.” It may be inconsistent, but the pattern of referring to females as women performers, professionals, etc. is very traditional, dating back at least to the 14th century. People who do this cannot be accused of committing an error.
Technical adjectival uses defining gender like “female genes” are fine (but don’t confuse them with “women’s jeans”).
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Some redundancies are so common that few people notice them, but it’s worthwhile to be aware of them. A good example is “fellow classmate.” “Fellow” and “-mate” perform the same function. It’s better to say simply “classmate.”
The same is true of the equally redundant “fellow shipmate,” “ fellow roommate,” “fellow co-worker,” “fellow comrade,” and “fellow colleague.”
Even worse is “fellow peer.” Your fellows are your peers: same thing. The only people who should speak of fellow peers are members of the British peerage referring to others of their social class.
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A feint—whether in chess, boxing, fencing, or on the battlefield—is a maneuver designed to divert the opponent’s attention from the real center of attack. A feint is a daring move. Do not use this very specialized word in the expression “faint of heart” (or “faint at heart”), which implies timidity.
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