Skip to main content

word choice - Is “between __ or __” valid?


Today I heard somebody say:



This (technology) can be the difference between life or death.



And I winced.  While “life or death” can be used as an adjective (e.g., modifying “situation” or “decision”), I believe that “between X or Y” is wrong, because “between” should always be used with “and”. (Or an implied “and” , as in “between jobs”.)


Is “between X or Y” ever acceptable?



Answer



You are in good company in wincing at between ... or.


Garner in Modern American Usage (p103) calls the construction "a misuse that probably results from confusion between between ... and and either ... or."


Follett in Modern American Usage (p120) calls the combination of between and or "misguided".


Fowler in Modern English Usage (p57) states: "where terms are separately specified, the one and only right connexion between those terms is and."


As to whether the combination is ever acceptable, Fowler states;



Extenuating circumstances can be pleaded only when one or each of the terms is a compound and has its parts connected by and.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Is there a word/phrase for "unperformant"?

As a software engineer, I need to sometimes describe a piece of code as something that lacks performance or was not written with performance in mind. Example: This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. Based on my Google searches, this isn't a real word. What is the correct way to describe this? EDIT My usage of "performance" here is in regard to speed and efficiency. For example, the better the performance of code the faster the application runs. My question and example target the negative definition, which is in reference to preventing inefficient coding practices. Answer This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. In my opinion, reads more easily as: This coding style leads to unmaintainable and poorly performing code. The key to well-written documentation and reports lies in ease of understanding. Adding poorly understood words such as performant decreases that ease. In addressing the use of such a poorly ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Is 'efficate' a word in English?

I routinely hear the word "efficate" being used. For example, "The most powerful way to efficate a change in the system is to participate." I do not find entries for this word in common English dictionaries, but I do not have an unabridged dictionary. I have checked the OED (I'm not sure if it is considered unabridged), and it has no entry for "efficate". It does have an entry for "efficiate", which is used in the same way. Wordnik has an entry for "efficate" with over 1800 hits, thus providing some evidence for the frequency of use. I personally like the word and find the meaning very clear and obvious when others use it. If it's not currently an "officially documented" word, perhaps its continued use will result in it being better documented.
Post a Comment
Read more