Some Misused Words.
“ L.G. ” sends the following sentence from a daily newspaper :—“ The lifeboats are propelled instead of rowed, levers Vicing used in place of oars.” What, if any, he asks, is the difference between rowed and propelled? To propel is to drive forward, and you could propel a boat either by oars or by screw propeller. The sentence would have been clearer if it had read-The life-boats are driven by propellers, operated by hand levers. But the sentence was not ambiguous. The difference between rowed and propelled is a wide one. Rowed narrows the means of propulsion to oars, but you might say that a boat was propelled by steam or oil or electricity or by screw, paddlewheel or oars. TOUCHSTONE.
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Bibliographic details
Star (Christchurch), Volume XLIV, Issue 638, 16 December 1932, Page 6
Word Count
122Some Misused Words. Star (Christchurch), Volume XLIV, Issue 638, 16 December 1932, Page 6
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