The Penguin Guide to Plain English

carousal I carousel
As to carouse is to drink freely, so a carousal is a drunken feast. (In
pronunciation the stress is on the second syllable.) A carousel, originally
a knightly tournam ent w ith racing horses, came to be used of a m erry-goround. Hence it is used for the revolving luggage conveyor at an airport
and also for the circular tray into w hich slides are slotted and produced
one by one for a projector.
classic / classical
A classic is a w ork of art o f the highest excellence w hich has stood the
test of time. The w ord is used for something created w hich is of the first
rank and m ust be regarded as definitive. Hence comes the less strict
connotation o f the adjective classic exemplified in such statements as It
was a classic case o f parental negligence, w here the w ord means little
more than typical. The w ord classical was applied to the civilization
of ancient Greece and Rome and to later forms of art and architecture
that preserved the same tradition o f formality and restraint. In this respect
contrasts between classical and rom antic styles were drawn. More
recently the w ord classical has come to be used o f music belonging to
serious traditional culture as opposed to ephemeral popular music.
complacent I complaisant
To be com placent is to be over-easily satisfied w ith things, and especially
w ith ones self and w ith ones ow n achievements. It is to be unm oved
by matters w hich really should cause concern, and thus the w ord is m uch
used in criticism o f political opponents. Conversationally com placent
means smug. The bachelor essayist Charles Lamb found nothing m ore
distasteful than the complacency and satisfaction w hich beam in the
countenances o f new -m arried couples. To be complaisant is to be
agreeably obliging, accommodating ones self readily to the requests and
needs o f others. In Buckinghams burlesque play The Rehearsal (1672),
w hich satirizes contemporary drama, a Mr Smith avers that its very
complaisant to be of another m ans opinion before knowing w hat it is.
complement I compliment
These two w ords are often confused, both as verbs and as nouns. A
com plim ent is an appreciative or respectful tribute paid to someone. A
com plem ent is basically a person or thing w hich completes something.
We speak of a full com plem ent o f staff or crew. The w ord is most