Welcome to the Grammar Minute, where we’re saving the English language sixty seconds at a time! I’m Lauren Smyth, and I recently saw a book described as a “nonpareil.” This puzzled me because for one thing the book was written in English, so why use a French word to describe it? Secondly, the English meaning of the term “nonpareil” is generally … candy. Yup, you heard that right: a nonpareil is a small chocolate candy covered in sprinkles. Translated, it means “unrivaled” or “matchless.” The only problem? Almost nobody knows that.
To borrow some common advice from Strunk and White’s Elements of Style, avoid foreign words in your writing. It makes you sound pretentious, and it clouds the meaning for your reader. And, if you’re not careful, you might end up calling a book a food.
That’s your Grammar Minute! Visit thegrammarminute.com for more tips and tricks.