Synonyms for “Synonym”

It’s an old joke, and people are generally amused that they can’t think of a good answer. The guy in the comic has a good answer, though.

Of course English does have a couple synonyms for “synonym”; they just aren’t in common usage.

For example, you have “metonym,” a type of synonym where you refer to part of something to mean all of it. When you say “wheels” to refer to your car, that’s a metonym.

“Analog” can be used to mean “synonym. ” Not very often, though. I suggest you make it into a phrase, such as:

“Beater” is a noun analog for “car.”

Sorry for spoiling the joke.

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(n.b.: When you say “another repeat,” you’re implying the existence of at least three of whatever you’re talking about, the original, the repeat, and the another.) Anyway, I’m sure I mentioned this solecism in the past, but I can’t find a single post about it. So maybe I need to, um, repeat the lesson!

Don’t say, “try and [do something]” 
Say “try to [do the something].”

Here are a couple comics. One gets it right and one gets it wrong. 

Maybe the rabbit needs better grammar more than he needs a shower!

Try to google n.b. if you don’t know what it means. 

Been a while since I mentioned this fairly common error (but I have mentioned it. More than once.). 

When you compare two things, use the form that ends in -er: steeper, sweeter, longer.
When you compare three or more, the winner gets the -est form: steepest, sweetest, longest.

That makes it easy to tell what form they should have used in the last panel:

Unless maybe they’re including the rest of the world???

I occasionally point out times when people write “only” too early in a sentence. Such as here and here. 

The rule is that in English (not necessarily other languages) adjectives, such as “only,” should come directly before the word they modify, particularly when you have more than one word that it could modify.

Sometimes the correct word is the first one! For example:

The donkey’s three-times-repeated reply is correct! He only wants.

Even I do this! Well, sometimes. In spoken language. I don’t recommend it in expository writing, though. 

It’s in the last panel. Do you see it?

Yup; “tiny little.” You need only one of those words.