Today, some random dispatches from the Word Front ...

— Prep School — A while back, I scolded "prep perps" — people who use the wrong prepositions after verbs. A lot of good that did!

Since then, I've seen or heard these gems: "He feels guilt for it," "He's excited for the big day," and "The Americans were thankful of the British aid."

Call me old fashioned, in fact, pour me an old-fashioned, but I always thought people felt guilt OVER something, were excited ABOUT something and were thankful FOR something.

— "Prank"enstein — In a recent column, I explored the increasingly common practice of converting nouns to verbs, e.g., "a nurse roomed the patient."

Several readers mailed me other examples, including two that provide concise alternatives to belabored constructions: "guilt" for "make someone feel guilty" ("Tom guilted me into donating"), and "prank" for "play a prank" ("Sally pranked me on Halloween").

— Potboiler — Some people interviewed on TV and radio in the aftermath of hurricanes pronounced the first syllable of "potable," as in "potable water," as "POT." While such water might be found in a pot, the correct pronunciation is "POTE-able," from the Latin "potare" (to drink).

— Name Game — I was watching an NFL game the other day when the aptly named Philadelphia Eagles running back Kenneth Gainwell scored a touchdown. I'm always delighted to discover a name that perfectly fits a person's profession.

"Eagle"-eyed readers have recently sent me these "aptronyms": a veterinarian named Danielle Furphy and an atmospheric scientist called Betsy Weatherhead.

— Long Haul — Earlier this year, a news story reported that a suspect was arrested and "hauled into court in chains." Tom Condon of Cheshire, Connecticut, wrote to ask whether the story should have read "haled into court."

The verb "hale" means "to compel to go," so the standard phrase is "haled into court," sometimes misspelled as "hailed into court." But if the suspect in the news story was physically dragged or pulled into court, the term "hauled into court" could certainly be used.

— Flea Circus — I can't resist sharing this charming anecdote from Richard Lederer's book "The Revenge of Anguished English." A father was reading a Bible story to his young son. "A man named Lot," read the father, "was warned to take his wife and flee out of the city."

When the father finished the story, his son looked up and inquired, "What happened to the flea?"

Rob Kyff, a teacher and writer in West Hartford, Connecticut, invites your language sightings. His new book, "Mark My Words," is available for $9.99 on Amazon.com. Send your reports of misuse and abuse, as well as examples of good writing, via email to WordGuy@aol.com or by regular mail to Rob Kyff, Creators Syndicate, 737 3rd Street, Hermosa Beach, CA 90254.

Photo credit: SweetMellowChill at Pixabay