An element of style: upon the retirement of longtime CW wordsmithing columnist Alden Wood, we look back on some of the words and rules we learned.

It's the word freak in all of us that looked forward to his column every other month. Alden Wood began his stint as local linguist for IABC (at the time the International Council of Industrial Editors, or ICIE) in December 1964, with the introduction of his column "The Typochondriac" in Reporting (a precursor to Communication World). By October 1988, Reporting had been replaced by CW, and the ICIE had already become IABC. (Lots of letters, we know, but not acronyms, as Wood might point out: Acronyms are initials that are pronounced as a word, as opposed to initialism--when you actually spell out the initials of such an abbreviation.) It was in that October issue of CW that Wood made his reappearance as wordsmith granddaddy with his new column, "Wood on Words."

Wood's long run with IABC ended when he retired late last year. Here, we reflect on the knowledge he imparted.

His mini-bio always read something like the following: "Alden Wood, professor emeritus at Simmons College in Boston, Massachusetts, writes and lectures on language use. He is a retired insurance industry vice president of advertising and public relations." But oh, how this doesn't do him justice.

Time and time again, he warned us against "spelling by ear": "There is an A-line, an A-frame and an A-train, but B-line is absent from my dictionaries. As Webster's 9th notes, 'beeline: [from the belief that nectar-laden bees return to their hives in a straight line] (1830): a straight direct course'" (CW,, November 1990).

He steered us away from the pitfalls of structural ambiguity:

"When's the last time you collected a squinting modifier?

"You recall the nature of the beast ... a modifier--often an adverb--that pops up between two verbs, leaving the reader to ponder over which one it should connect to. John Bremner shows us this example: 'A writer who thinks carefully chooses the right words.'

"And Bremner reminds us to be clear; depending upon the desired meaning, one should say either 'A writer who carefully thinks chooses the right words' or 'A writer who thinks chooses the right words carefully.' Savor the difference."

And:

"I was reading a review of Harold Van Winkle's Elements of English Grammar when I saw this squintessential construction: 'Because I was taught grammar well over half a century ago....' The reader wonders whether the writer wants to say he was skillfully instructed in grammar more than 50 years ago, or whether someone just taught him basic grammar considerably longer than 50 years ago.

"You have to write carefully if you ever want to get an edge in ... word-wise." (Both from CW, January 1991.)

He kept us up-to-date with new editions of reference works, and gave us history regarding longtime standbys: 1963 saw Webster's Third New International Dictionary break the mold of prescriptivism and venture into descriptive territory (CW, May-June 1990). And you have to love someone who loves the Oxford English Dictionary in all its shapes and forms (CW, April 1989).

Wood's hard-hitting critiquing didn't merely poke good-natured fun at those not in the know; it also served the purpose of giving writers and editors a sort of how-not-to guide:

"The first letter, first sentence, declared that 'Today's racial tensions ... is causing all of us great concern.'

"A teeny-botcher error, you say? Perhaps. But those ellipsis points represent 22 words that the writer packed between his subject and his verb. This is really asking for it. By their nature, long sentences invite trouble, trouble with sense and syntax. Write tight" (Reporting, September 1970).

But Wood didn't always focus on the negative; he often offered praise:

"Asking a question up front almost always works, especially an alliterative triplet followed by a defining statement." He went on to commend the writer for using "plain language, short sentences, the active voice, and resources that light up her story with fresh, new information" (CW, February 1991).

Another noteworthy insight he made is the fact that "erroneous misspellings is more a pleonasm than a double negative; misspellings alone does the work" (CW, June 1989).

He reminded us of words that are often confused for each other: "If it walks like a word and it's spelled like a word, it must be a word, right? Um, yeah, right, except sometimes it's the wrong word" (CW, August-September 1997). Take, for example, his pointing out that it's who you rob and what you steal (CW, November 1990); or the true difference between nauseated and nauseous (CW, October 1998). Whip out your dictionaries if you have any doubts!

Wood pointed us in the direction of the origins of certain turns of phrase:

"Sea change. Were you familiar with it? Webster's 9th dates it to 1610, when William Shakespeare was working on The Tempest; Ariel's Song introduces the phrase:</p> <pre> 'Full fathom five thy father lies;

Of his bones are coral made: Those are pearls that were

his eyes: Nothing of him that doth fade, But doth suffer a sea-change Into something rich and strange.' </pre> <p>"Today an open compound, sea change is a powerful phrase, invested as it is with all the immense imagery of the oceans and their elemental forces" (CW, March 1990).

He even guided us back to the righteous path after we were led astray by the widespread misquoting of popular quotes:

"And how often have you heard or read about 'gilding the lily'? What Shakespeare truly wrote appears in King John (Act IV, Scene ii): 'To gild refined gold, to paint the lily/To throw perfume on the violet, to smooth the ice ... is wasteful and ridiculous excess'" (CW, October-November 1996).

And he did all this with the ability to have a good laugh--even at himself: "Like scores of other words, 'chaise lounge' has long been on our verities list--a neat, specific noun to be kept on the back of the rack for occasional use.

"Last week we spotted it spelled 'chaise longue,' promptly and positively castigated the writer (who hides out nearby), and received only a silky 'Why don't you look it up?' in reply. 'Ridiculous,' we trumpeted, as the first droplet of acid nibbled at the edge of our primary ulcer. But there it was in the good book, indubitably spelled 'chaise longue.' Live and learn" (Reporting, April 1965).

Greg Alger is an intern with IABC's publishing department. Natasha Spring is CW's executive editor.