Here’s something worthy of a Word Wise mention. I found this all-too-frequent error in an AP article syndicated by the Peoria Journal Star about capital punishment.

…if the cost of something (be it the purchase of an apple or the act of killing someone) becomes too high, people will change their behavior (forego apples or shy from murder).

According to the AP’s very own stylebook, the proper word for this situation is “forgo,” which means to abstain, not “forego,” which means to go before. The way the sentence is written now suggests that if the cost of killing becomes too high, people will simply kill sooner. This totally mangles the author’s true meaning and commits what Henry Higgins called “the cold-blooded murder of the English tongue.”

Perhaps the death penalty should be extended to those who butcher their language.

Filed under: Writing