Some word usages

Sun Dauthter Press Style Book

Cliché is a noun, not an adjective. Originally it meant a phrase so often used that it was set up as a permanent metal type-block called a cliché. Something can be clichéd but it cannot be cliché. It can, of course, be a cliché.

Critique is a noun, not a verb. You cannot “critique” something, though you can make a critique of it.

Different: Things differ from things. They do not differ to them or than them. The only correct usage is “different from”.

Key: It is not true to say that “key” is not an adjective. We may say “__ is a key question”. However we may not say that “__ is key”. In other words, key may be used attributively but not predicatively.

Nuance is purely a noun. Things can have nuances but cannot be “nuanced”.

This entry was posted in Sun Daughter Press Style Book. Bookmark the permalink.