We came across another grammar book on our shelves...one with a cutely named title Woe Is I by Patricia T. O'Connor. She has some often-misused words cited on page 82. Read and learn:

• decimate. To decimate means literally "to slaughter every tenth one," although most people don't intend it literally. It can be used loosely to mean "to destroy in part" (Gomez says the mushroom crop in the cellar has been decimated by rats), but don't use it to mean "to destroy completely." And definitely don't attach a figure to the damage: The earthquake decimated seventy-five percent of Morticia's antiques. Ouch!
• dilemma. This is no ordinary problem; the di (from the Greek for "twice") is a clue that there's a twoness here. A dilemma is a situation involving two choices--both of them bad. (This idea is captured neatly in the old phrase about being caught in the horns of a dilemma.) Richie faced a dilemma: he could wear the green checked suit with the gravy stain, or the blue one with the hole.
• restive. Here's one that's worse than it sounds. Restive doesn't mean impatient or fidgety (that's restless). It means unruly or stubborn. Even on a good day, Pugsley is a restive child.
  
  
  Source: Woe Is I by Patricia T. O'Connor.

Two Debuts on This Date

On July 11, 1914, Babe Ruth made his MLB debut to lead the Boston Red Sox over the Cleveland Indians, 4-3. On July 11, 1767, John Quincy Adams was born in Braintree, Massachusetts. Take a swing at today's quiz and see if you're made of presidential timber.

1. Treaty of Ghent: (a) ended the Revolutionary War; (b) ended the 7 Years War; (c) ended the War Between the States; (d) ended the War of 1812.

2. tariff: (a) a tax collected by means of a stamp purchased and affixed; (b) a deduction from the full amount of a tax; (c) an official register of the quantity, value, and ownership of real estate used in apportioning taxes; (d) a schedule of duties imposed by a government on imported or in some countries exported goods.

3. Monroe Doctrine: (a) the antislavery sentiment expressed by President James Monroe; (b) a statement of United States foreign policy expressing opposition to extension of European control or influence in the western hemisphere; (c) a statement of United States foreign policy expressing support for a free Ireland; (d) an expansionist policy of the United States to acquire all land between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

4. Barbary Coast: (a) Morocco, Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli; (b) Morocco, Spain, and Portugal; (c) Sudan, Eritrea, and Ethiopia; (d) Tanzania, Mozambique, and Madagascar.

5. La Amistad: (a) slave merchant; (b) slave leader; (c) slave ship; (d) famous abolitionist.

6. batting average: (a) number of hits divided by number of at-bats; (b) number of at-bats divided by number of hits; (c) number of hits divided by number of games played; (d) number of hits divided by number of swings.

7. Curse of the Bambino: (a) 86 years; (b) 46 years; (c) 60 years; (d) 76 years and counting.

8. The Babe: (a) George Gehring Ruth; (b) George Herman Ruth; (c) Herman Louis Ruth; (d) George Barber Ruth.

9. battery: (a) first four batters in the lineup; (b) the infield players; (c) pitcher and catcher; (d) a reverse slider pitch.

10. fielder's choice: (a) a situation in baseball in which a batter reaches base safely because the fielder attempts to put out another base runner on the play; (b) a usually high inside pitch in baseball intended to intimidate the batter; (c) dogs over burgers; (d) beer over soda.

Check your answers to see how you rate for the presidential job!