Contrast and Stand in Contrast To

Contrast and Stand in Contrast To Contrast and Stand in Contrast To Contrast and Stand in Contrast To By Maeve Maddox The other morning I read an article about a man who has built a wonderfully detailed scale model of the Sultana, the steamboat that was the object of the greatest maritime disaster in US history. Note: On April 27, 1865, three of the Sultana’s four boilers exploded, killing nearly 2,000 people. Horrible as it was, the event received very little coverage because it occurred while the national press was occupied with the assassination of Lincoln (April 14) and the search for his assassin. (Booth was captured and killed on April 26.) Here’s the odd usage that caught my attention: His [the model-maker’s] attention to the details falls in contrast to the relatively little coverage that newspapers gave the Sultana’s explosion when it happened 150 years ago. It was the first time I’d encountered the phrase â€Å"to fall in contrast to.† The idiom â€Å"to stand in contrast to† is quite common. It means, â€Å"is strikingly different from.† For example: Struggling world economy stands in contrast to U.S. Detroit tent city stands in stark contrast to resurgent downtown The expression â€Å"stands in contrast to† is well represented on the Google Ngram Viewer, but â€Å"falls in contrast† makes no showing at all. I looked online to see if anyone else was using the strange construction â€Å"falls in contrast to.† Sure enough, I found examples: Clare’s ball dress is a classic example of non-habitual clothing; as she is not used to wearing it, it falls in contrast to her ordinary self through clothing. - 2007 book on fashion. The cheerful, hand-clapping sing-along falls in contrast to the more aggressive new singles from the band- Music review. This [humility of the matriarch] falls in contrast to the typical image of the patriarch, whose tool for survival is to consistently appear aggressive and dominating. - Review of True Blood. I found more examples in a variety of contexts that included fine dining, public transportation, golf equipment, and religious doctrine. Writers who wish to convey the information that one thing is extremely different from another can do it without using a noun phrase at all. They can use contrast as a verb: The commissioner’s latest observation that New York needs to hire at least 1,000 more cops contrasts with his earlier statements that 35,000 were enough. Orange contrasts with blue and harmonizes with red. Note: The word contrast is pronounced differently according whether it is used as a noun or as a verb. The noun is pronounced with the accent on the first syllable: /KON-trast/. The verb is pronounced with the accent on the second syllable: /kon-TRAST/. Some of the sentences above can be improved by replacing the â€Å"falls in contrast to† with â€Å"stands in contrast to† or by using contrast as a verb: Clare’s ball dress is a classic example of non-habitual clothing; as she is not used to wearing it, it contrasts with her ordinary self through clothing. - 2007 book on fashion. The cheerful, hand-clapping sing-along stands in contrast to the more aggressive new singles from the band- Music review. This [humility of the matriarch] contrasts with the typical image of the patriarch, whose tool for survival is to consistently appear aggressive and dominating. 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:45 Synonyms for â€Å"Food†"Have" vs "Having" in Certain ExpressionsWriting a Thank You Note

Trademarked Words

Trademarked Words Trademarked Words Trademarked Words By Maeve Maddox In a recent post, Dont Do Due Diligence, I used the word Realtor as if it were a generic word for real estate agent: Not so very long ago, the only people I heard talk about â€Å"due diligence† were realtors. I should have caught myself on that. Realtor–with a capital–is the legally recognized trademark of the National Association of Realtors. The correct use of the word is to refer to members of the Association and not to real estate agents in general. As tends to happen with clever commercial coinages, Realtor is being pulled toward generic use because it strikes speakers as an apt and concise substitute for the longer term, real estate agent. I have a feeling that general usage will eventually claim Realtor as it has so many similar inventions, but as a professional writer, I can be expected to observe the conventions. Apologies for my lapse, therefore, are due the NAR. Here is a list of other trademarked words that many English speakers use generically. Each term is followed by a suggested alternative and the name of the trademarks owner. The list is by no means exhaustive. AstroTurf (artificial turf) Monsanto Band-Aid (adhesive bandage) Johnson Johnson Bubble Wrap (inflated cushioning for packaging) Sealed Air ChapStick (lip balm) Wyeth Consumer Healthcare Clorox (bleach) Clorox Company Coke (soft drink) Coca-Cola Company Crayola (crayon) Binney Smith Company Crescent Wrench (adjustable wrench) Crescent Tool Company Crock-Pot (slow cooker) Sunbeam Products Cuisinart (food processor) Conair Dumpster (front loader waste container) Dempster Brothers, Inc. Fiberglas (glass wool) Owens Corning Formica (wood or plastic laminate) Formica Corporation/Fletcher Building Freon (refrigerant) Dupont Frisbee (flying disk) Wham-O Google (Web search engine) Google Inc. Jacuzzi (hot tub/whirlpool bath) Jacuzzi Jeep (compact sport utility vehicle) Chrysler Kitty Litter (litter box filler) Ralston Purina Kleenex (facial tissue) Kimberly-Clark Memory Stick (flash memory storage device) Sony Ping Pong (table tennis) Parker Brothers Popsicle (flavored ice treat) Good Humor-Breyers Post-it (sticky note) 3M Q-Tips (cotton swabs) Unilever Scotch tape (clear adhesive tape) 3M Sharpie (permanent marker) Newell Rubbermaid Styrofoam (extruded polystyrene foam) Dow Chemical Company Super Glue (Cyanoacrylate adhesive) Super Glue Corporation Tarmack (asphalt road surface) Tarmac Taser (stun gun) Taser International Teflon (non-stick coating) Dupont The purpose in trademarking a name is to prevent it from being used to describe a similar product made by another manufacturer. If a permanent marker is a Sharpie, call it that; otherwise, call it a permanent marker. And when you use any of these terms, be sure to capitalize them and use hyphens or camel case as appropriate. Note: Camel case is the practice of writing compound words or phrases in a combination of capital and lowercase letters. For example: AstroTurf, ChapStick, iPhone, PowerPoint. Related post: Factoid and Tabloid 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:100 Idioms About Numbers50 Diminutive Suffixes (and a Cute Little Prefix)What Is the Meaning of "Hack?"