| 词组 | catachresis |
| 释义 | catachresis Catachresis is a term from classical rhetoric for "the use of a wrong word for the context." We present first a couple of examples of the thing: • There was quite an ecliptic collection of whale artifacts —Antiques and the Arts Weekly, 29 Oct. 1982 • The Royals made three errors in the first five innings, but the Orioles failed to materialize on the mistakes —Morning Union (Springfield, Mass.) (AP), 17 Mar. 1987 The catachreses are the use of ecliptic for eclectic and materialize for capitalize. Catachresis has become part of the jargon of 20th-century usage writers. It can be found in Fowler, and Partridge uses it with some frequency. It is a favorite word of John Simon's, and we have recent examples from him and from Philip Howard. Occasionally, other writers will flourish it as well. Usage writers tend to apply the term loosely, using it as a sesquipedalian term of disparagement for whatever usage they choose not to approve. Fowler 1926, for instance, applies the term to the use of mutual where he would prefer common, as in "our mutual friend"—a long-established usage even in his day. Simon 1980 hangs it on the phrase "reasonably entranced," even though reasonable has a sense "moderate," which makes it difficult to tease out something objectionable from this use of the adverb. It has been pointed out at least once that usage writers themselves are not immune to the fault: • Catachresis for instance is grammarians' jargon for using a word in a wrong sense. When grammarians call writing jargon merely because it is verbose, circumlocutory and flabby, they themselves commit the sin of catachresis —Gowers 1948 The derivative adjective is catachrestic. |
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