Common Errors J

JACK/PLUG

In electronics, a jack is a female part into which one inserts a plug,
the male part. People get confused because "Jack" is a male name. The
cyberpunk term (from William Gibson's "Neuromancer") "jack in" should
logically be "plug in," but we're stuck with this form in the science
fiction realm.


JAM/JAMB

The only common use for the word "jamb" is to label the vertical part of
the frame of a door or window. It comes from the French word for "leg";
think of the two side pieces of the frame as legs on either side of the
opening.

For all other uses, it's "jam": stuck in a jam, traffic jam, logjam, jam
session, etc.

JERRY-BUILT/JURY-RIGGED

Although their etymologies are obscure and their meanings overlap, these
are two distinct expressions. Something poorly built is "jerry-built."
Something rigged up temporarily in a makeshift manner with materials at
hand, often in an ingenious manner, is "jury-rigged." "Jerry-built"
always has a negative connotation, whereas one can be impressed by the
cleverness of a jury-rigged solution. Many people cross-pollinate these
two expressions and mistakenly say "jerry-rigged" or "jury-built."

JEW/JEWISH

"Jew" as an adjective ("Jew lawyer") is an ethnic insult; the word is
"Jewish." But people who object to "Jew" as a noun are being
oversensitive. Most Jews are proud to be called Jews. The expression "to
Jew someone down"--an expression meaning "to bargain for a lower
price"--reflects a grossly insulting stereotype and should be avoided in
all contexts.

JEWELRY

Often mispronounced "joolereee." To remember the standard pronunciation,
just say "jewel" and add "-ree" on the end. The British spelling is much
fancier: "jewellery."

JOB TITLES

The general rule is to capitalize a title like "President" only when it
is prefixed to a particular president's name: "It is notable that
President Grover Cleveland was the first Democratic president elected
after the Civil War." Similar patterns apply for titles like
"principal," "senator," "supervisor," etc.

But often the American president's title is used as a sort of substitute
for his name, and routinely capitalized despite the objections of some
style manuals: "The President pardoned the White House Thanksgiving
turkey yesterday." And the British would never write anything other than
"The Queen ate strawberries in the Royal Enclosure." The Pope is also
usually referred to with a capital P when the specific individual is
meant: "The Pope announced that he will visit Andorra next month."
Following these common patterns is not likely to get you in trouble
unless your editor has adopted a contrary rule.

If no specific individual is meant, then definitely use lower case: "We
need to elect a homecoming queen"; "The next president will inherit a
terrible budget deficit."

JOHN HENRY/JOHN HANCOCK

John Hancock signed the Declaration of Independence so flamboyantly that
his name became a synonym for "signature." Don't mix him up with John
Henry, who was a steel-drivin' man.

JOHN HOPKINS/JOHNS HOPKINS

The famous university and hospital named Johns Hopkins derives its
peculiar name from its founder. "Johns" was his great-grandmother's
maiden name. It is an error to call these institutions "John Hopkins."


JOINT POSSESSIVES

When writing about jointly owned objects, people often fret about where
to place apostrophes. The standard pattern is to treat the two partners
as a single unit--a couple--and put an apostrophe only after the last
name: "John and Jane's villa," "Ben & Jerry's ice cream." Add more
owners and you still use only one apostrophe: "Bob and Carol and Ted and
Alice's party."

If each person owns his or her own item, then each owner gets an
apostrophe: "John's and Jane's cars" (each of them separately owns a
car).

But when you begin to introduce pronouns the situation becomes much
murkier. "Jane and his villa" doesn't sound right because it sounds like
Jane and the villa make a pair. The most common solution--"Jane's and his
villa"--violates the rule about using the possessive form only on the
last partner in the ownership. However, most people don't care and using
this form won't raise too many eyebrows.

How about when you have two pronouns? "She and his villa" definitely
won't work. "Her and his villa" might get by; but if you say "his and
her villa" you inevitably remind people of the common phrase "his and
hers" with a very different meaning: male and female, as in a sale on
"his and hers scarves."

If you have time to think ahead, especially when writing, the best
solution is to avoid this sort of construction altogether by rewording:
"Jane and John have a villa outside Florence. Their villa is beautiful."
"The villa owned by Jane and him is beautiful." "The villa is Jane's and
his." "The villa that he and she own is beautiful."

JUDGEMENT/JUDGMENT

In Great Britain and many of its former colonies, "judgement" is still
the correct spelling; but ever since Noah Webster decreed the first E
superfluous, Americans have omitted it. Many of Webster's crotchets have
faded away (each year fewer people use the spelling "theater," for
instance); but even the producers of "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" chose
the traditional American spelling. If you write "judgement" you should
also write "colour."

JUST ASSUME/JUST AS SOON

People sometimes write, "I'd just assume stay home and watch TV." The
expression is "just as soon."