Sir: I read a recipe for a very rich chocolate dessert described as "decadent." Decadent? The definition my dictionary gives for decadent would not tempt me to try it. Has decadent been elevated to a higher standard?
- A.G.K.
Answer: Maybe it has, in a way. We've learned a lot of exaggeration in recent years, and one definition of decadent is "marked by or providing unrestrained gratification; self-indulgent." It follows, then, that people who want to thrill you with descriptions of very rich chocolate will call it decadent.
As for whether the standard is higher or lower, I suppose that depends on how much you like very rich chocolate.
Sir: Have you heard the expression "smart as a whip"? If so, do you know whence it came?
- Fred H.
Sir: What is the origin of "Hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil"? We cannot find it in the library.
- C.R.
Answer: This is awkward. I was sure that I either knew or could easily locate the answer to both those questions. I can't, but surely someone out there can. Any help, please?
Sir: Is "ept" a word? What does "inept" mean? What's ept?
- S.G.
Answer: There is no "ept." "Inept" means not apt. Lexicographers are generally inept about explaining how apt got to be ept. Or even vice versa.
Sir: Recently I have heard two famous persons say things on television like "It is a pleasure for he and I." It grates on my ears. Is it now acceptable to use "he and I" as objects of a preposition?
- H.W.
Answer: Your ears do well to be offended. Neither "he" nor "I," alone or in tandem, should be used as objects.
Those famous persons you heard should have said something like, "It is a pleasure for him and me."
Your letter is doubly disturbing because the error usually is limited to one word, which is bad enough, as in the case of "It is a pleasure for him and I." But if folks have begun doubling up on this shameful conduct, there's no telling what will become of decent language as we know it.
MODEST QUERIES of the Week, put by Max P.:
"A nearby firm is advertising that it is giving away something `absolutely free.' Is there any other way to give away something? And what is the difference in free and absolutely free?"