Words at W ork

Wolverhamptons victory thrilled him, for it was his native city.

The victory was scored by a team o f footballers. W olverham pton,
meaning that team, cannot in the same sentence mean the place. It is like
saying W olverham pton is a magnificent team w ith a fine tow n hall in the
m iddle. There is no escape from repeating the w ord: W olverham ptons
victory thrilled him, for W olverham pton was his native city. The error
is not rare in the w orld o f sport.
Mr Scoular travelled to England every week to watch Liverpool, where he
was a season-ticket holder.
The w ord w here gives the w ord Liverpool a double usage w hich it
cannot have. For the place w here Mr Scoular was a ticket-holder was
not the same thing as the band o f players he came to watch. Mr
Scoular, a season-ticket holder, travelled to England every week to watch
Liverpool.
The same error can occur in speaking about the past. A confusion
arises between the record and the reality.
Even this building has a most fascinating history which is well worth
reading.
The history o f what the building has been through is one thing and
w hat you can read is another thing. It w ould be correct, but rather
awkward to say: Even this building has a most fascinating history, w hich
is well w orth reading about. Perhaps it should rather be: which is well
w orth know ing. Not very different in category is the slip in the following
recom m endation for certain wines.
Currently the range consists of three wines . . . , each of which has a recipe
on the back that you can peel off and keep.
We may overlook the fact that it is the bottle and not the w ine w hich
has a recipe on the back. This, o f course, represents a shift in meaning
o f the w ord w ine. More interesting is the shift in meaning of the w ord
recipe. First it is a real recipe w ith advice about use of the wine. But a
m om ent later it has become a piece of paper that you can peel o ff the
bottle. Currently the range consists o f three wines . . . , and each bottle
has a recipe on the back label w hich you can peel off and keep.
These transitions in meaning, however, are less stark than the fol
lowing: