Wednesday 11 July 2012

Expect Better!



Anticipate does not mean the same as expect. It means to do something before something else happens. For example:

                The runner anticipated the starter's gun.

means that the runner started before the starter fired his gun.

If you screw a screw in with a chisel you not only damage the screw- you also damage the chisel. By using anticipate because you are too lazy or indiscriminate to reach for expect you are taking the edge off anticipate, which is a fine word having a specific and definite function.

I heard it today on Radio 4 and shuddered as if someone had drawn cat's claws across a blackboard.

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