Thursday, June 28, 2007

Writing rant of the day

"Over" and "more than" are not interchangeable terms. Sadly, too few writers seem to know this.

"Over" refers to a physical relationship (that is, "my hand is OVER the desk") while "more than" refers to a numerical relationship (that is, "I have 18 cookies MORE THAN you have").
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2 comments:

  1. Stephen D. Rogers8:22 PM

    Hey Michael,

    I thought I was going to have to rewrite my bio until I checked "over" in dictionary.com.

    13. in excess of; more than: over a mile; not over five dollars.

    Phew.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Kevin R. Tipple10:22 PM

    And one can be both at the same time--over 300 pounds as well as more than 300 pounds.

    I'm also over 45 and more than 45. Gray hair comes from kids.

    ReplyDelete