Picky, picky, picky
I got a very gentle rejection letter today, but it still contained a shock. The editor who responded to my query made a language-usage no-no.
Now, I have no intent of needlessly flaming this editor. I am the vengeful type, but she was very conscientious in her reply, leaving me no reason to get snarky. Still, the usage mistake, by an editor no less, made me cringe.
Before I delve into the mistake, I must make an appeal to those of you who think that pointing out usage mistakes is only something done by petty people who want to show everyone else how smart they are. You may be right, but I think there is more to it than a chance for me to push up my glasses at someone. While I think language is flexible and should be played with and explored, as in the case of hip-hop lyrics or concrete poetry, I also see it as a very fine tool. This tool can offer a lot of precision, especially English with its huge vocabulary. Like any instrument that is not used carefully, language can get blunted. Consider this then a kindly act of linguistic maintenance.
The editor’s mistake centred on the words “compose” and “comprise.” You can say “his poker-hand was composed of three kings and a pair of jacks” or “his poker-hand comprised three kings and a pair of jacks.” You can’t say “his poker-hand was comprised of three kings and a pair of jacks.” “Comprise” means “to embrace” and you can’t “embrace of” something.
Esoteric? Hardly. I think the “I shall/I will” issue is much more of a usage dinosaur, but maybe that should be left for some other time.