Last week I gave a few examples of words and distinctions made clear in a pamphlet from 1922 titled S.O.S.: Slips of Speech. Here are a few more excerpts. Statements in parentheses are mine.
Divide Up
As divide means to “separate into pieces,” “cut asunder,” “apportion,” or “distribute in shares,”, up is redundant and absurd.
Each/Every
Each as an adjective is defined “being one of two or more distinct individuals or things having a similar relation and forming an aggregate; every.” It is used when the same thing is to be said of individuals or things considered distributively or one by one. To emphasize individuality it is often followed by one; as “Each sailor received a reward, for each one had earned it.”
As a pronoun each denotes every one of any number or aggregation considered individually yet holding a position peculiarly its own; as “Each of the officers in an army”
Each is distributive when only two individuals are considered, and is synonymous with both, as every is synonymous with all. (He goes on to quote from the vision of St. John the Divine, which we shall skip.)…
Every must be followed by one or its equivalent; as “every one knows that”; “every man knows it” but each does not require one after it. One may say of persons “Each is found to excel at some particular walk in life.” (He closes with an inspiring example.) “Each did much to purify the spiritual self-respect of mankind.” (Funny, dictionaries don’t choose examples like these anymore.)
Each Other/One Another
The distinction between each other and one another lies in the fact that each other should always be applied to two only, whereas one another should be used where more than two are concerned. For example, “The two friends congratulated each other,” that is, each one congratulated the other. “This commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another,” that is, all should love one another. (Another example that modern pamphleteers would be likely to overlook)
Eminent/Prominent
Eminent differs from prominent in meaning. The first characterizes one who ranks high in his profession or office; the second, one who stands out from others. Prominent men are not all eminent, but eminent men may be prominent.
Explicit/Implicit
These words are not synonymous, but are sometimes used as if they were. That is explicit which expresses all that is meant, leaving nothing to implication or suggestion. …
Implicit signifies that which is not plainly expressed but implied and can be inferred from something else. (For example, when a wife staggers in the door, collapses onto the couch and says, “I had a terrible day!”, she is often making an implicit request that her husband help with dinner, either by offering to prepare it or by taking her out. When the hapless husband replies, “Oh. That’s interesting. What’s for dinner?” he is in trouble. His statement is understandable, however, because the wife did not make an explicit request.)
Fall Down
The author rightly points out that it is impossible to fall up (unless one is in zero-gravity conditions), so it is redundant to write “fall down.”
Farther/Further
The first means “more distant” or “more advanced”; the second, “additional.” The distinction is between extension of space and expansion of thought. (For example, one could write, “When you reach the farther shore, you will have travelled three miles” but you would write “Upon further consideration, we have decided to approve your request.”)
More examples from this fascinating little handbook will appear in future posts.