The Language Perfectionist: Verbal Vexation

By Don Hauptman  
Can you detect anything amiss in the following two sentences?

1. I even called the place and handed him the phone so that he could get verbal directions.

2. A verbal agreement is legally every bit as effective as a written one.

The word verbal is often used as a synonym for spoken. But verbal means having to do with words or language, whether spoken or written. When you refer to the spoken word as opposed to the written word, use oral.

The second example above should read: "An oral agreement is legally every bit as effective as a written one."

[Ed Note: Don Hauptman was a direct-response copywriter for more than 30 years. For his direct-mail subscription packages, he won The Newsletter on Newsletters promotion award for 10 years. He also writes about the English language and has worked on a humorous new book in that genre.] __________________________________________________
This article appears courtesy of Early to Rise [Issue #2268, 02-02-08], the Internet's most popular health, wealth, and success e-zine. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com/.