Top 5 Usage Errors

This is compiled from previous posts, but it’s important information.

1) Uninterested or Disinterested?

This is an issue I’m seeing a lot in published books, which have presumably passed by editors. Disinterested has become a trendy word in books the last few years. However, it does not mean the same as uninterested.

Uninterested means one is not interested in something; indifferent.

Disinterested means one is impartial and unbiased; lacking a conflict of interest.

You want a judge to be disinterested but not necessarily uninterested. You will rarely, if ever, see disinterested outside of legal contexts.

Trick to Remember

If something is uninteresting, you are uninterested in it. If you are disinterested, you are distancing yourself from the interested parties in a conflict.

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2) Comprise or Compose?

Comprise is used in place of compose all the time now. Writers use it to sound distinguished and educated. The actual effect is the opposite.

Compose means to form something by putting things together. It’s often used in passive voice (… is composed of …).

Comprise means includes; is made up of. It is NEVER used in passive voice (… is comprised of …) because that would be illogical.

Fifty states comprise the United States.

The United States is composed of fifty states.

Bacon, eggs, and juice comprise my breakfast.

My breakfast is composed of bacon, eggs, and juice.

The non-passive use of compose is not as common now.

Trick to Remember

Compose is rarely used wrong, but comprise is misused all the time. So, if you’re writing comprise, replace it with is made up of and see if it still makes sense. You can also just avoid comprise altogether; you can live without it easily enough.

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3) Amused or Bemused?

Note the meanings of these two different words (Merriam-Webster):

amused: pleasantly entertained or diverted

bemused: marked by confusion or bewilderment, lost in thought or reverie

Too many writers are using bemused to mean amused. They are not interchangeable!

Trick to Remember

Bemused is similar to bewildered.

Amused makes you say ah! ooh!

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4) Entitled or Titled?

This poor word (entitled) has been abused so often, I think the dictionaries are caving and allowing it to be synonymous with titled.

Entitled means to have permission; entitle is to give permission

Titled means to have a title; title is to give a title.

Right: The book is titled War and Peace.

Wrong: The book is entitled War and Peace.

Right: You are entitled to a heated work environment.

Wrong: You are titled to a heated work environment. (Nobody makes this error.)

Trick to Remember

Title is only for titles, names of things.

The book has a title, and it has been titled War and Peace.

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5) Farther or Further?

Guess what? These two words are not interchangeable. 

Farther is for distance: The store is farther than the school. You have to run farther than that.

Further is for degree: We need more money to further the cause. I will look into the matter further.

Trick to Remember

Farther is for things that are far. 

Further is related to furthermore and metaphorical distances.

Book Lovers’ Memes (Set 8)

Punctuation with Dialogue #2

Question marks and exclamation points are inside quote marks if they are part of the dialogue. If they are not part of the dialogue, they go outside. Simple enough, right?
“Are you coming tonight?”
“Get that straw out of my ear!”

Did she just say, “Go ahead”?
Then he rolled his eyes and said, “Whatever”!
Note how these two are sentences that are only partially made up of dialogue.

The same rule applies to commas and periods only if you are British. In American writing, commas and periods always always always go inside quote marks because it looks rather lame to leave a comma or period hanging outside like that:
The policy is “no exceptions”, which is fine with me. (British)
The police is “no exceptions,” which is fine with me. (American)

Review: The Finger Trap

The Finger Trap by Johnny Worthen
Mystery, Thriller
☆☆☆☆

This was a lot of fun to read; I loved it. It’s part snarky conversation, part mystery/thriller. It takes the classic noir mystery and places it in the modern day.



Tony Flaner drifts from hobby to hobby and job to job. Now he’s a ticket counter agent at the airport.

I sympathize with modern travelers. People like me vex them, frustrate them, and humiliate them. We search them, screen them, rob them, and then, if they didn’t complain, we’ll identify them as suspicious and bring out the guys with the big fingers and blue rubber gloves just to see how far we can take it. There is a good reason weapons aren’t allowed in airports; any sane person would use them after going through the post-9/11 hell of American air travel.

When Tony gets charged with murder, it’s up to him to solve it and prove his innocence. It’s dangerous and suspenseful yet still plenty snarky. I think Johnny really enjoys showing jerks getting their comeuppance. It’s a wish-fulfillment thing we can all enjoy.

There are some typos. Moderate amount of strong language. Sexual content is mostly innuendo.

Punctuation with Dialogue #1

● The simplest rule is to separate the dialogue tag (“he said”) from the dialogue with a comma:
Joe said, “Let me in.”
“Let me in,” said Joe.

● Complete sentences that go before or after dialogue get a period as normal:
She nodded. “I know.”
“I almost killed you.” Her voice was sharp.
These sentences are not actual dialogue tags but function like them.

● You can combine these types:
“I’m hungry,” I said. “I’d like some more.”

● If you want to interrupt a sentence of dialogue with a sentence of prose, use em-dashes outside the quotes:
“I would like you to know”—he stood up—“that I am not left-handed.”
Even though the action is a complete sentence by itself, it is part of a sentence that includes dialogue, so it isn’t capitalized.