How to Tell Fate from Destiny: And Other Skillful Word Distinctions, Paperback

If you have trouble distinguishing the verbs imitate and emulate, the relative pronouns that and which, or the adjectives pliant, pliable, and supple, never fear--How to Tell Fate from Destiny is here to help With more than 500 headwords, the book is replete with advice on how to differentiate commonly confused words and steer clear of verbal trouble.

Whether you're a boomer, a Gen-Xer, or a millennial, if you peruse, browse, or even skim these spindrift pages you will (not shall) become versed in the fine art of differentiation. You will learn, for example,

■ how to tell whether you suffer from pride, vanity, or hubris
■ how to tell whether you're contagious or infectious
■ how to tell if you're pitiful or pitiable
■ how to tell if you're self-centered or self-absorbed
■ how to live an ethical life in a moral universe

About the Author:

For more than thirty years, CHARLES HARRINGTON ELSTER has been writing and commenting about the English language for a general audience, publishing eleven books and more than three hundred articles on vocabulary, pronunciation, and usage.