Revised as of
30 Dec 2022
I got all outraged when I ran across someone using sick in their story to indicate that the character was setting his dog onto someone. Well, because everyone knows that it should be sic to explain this action. And, oh, boy. I was wrong. I hate that!
Turns out that sic and sick can be used interchangeably, so about all I can whine about is consistency. Whichever version you choose to use, use it consistently. It’s one thing to vary your adjectives — whole words! — to make your story more interesting, but it’s considered very unprofessional to change the spellings of the words.
And, because I cannot resist trying to impose my will, think about your perception of the word sick. Is it more likely to raise up images of illness? Or of using your dog to protect yourself? English is so rich in words, in the nuances of those words. Use that.
One note of caution. Do not use sick in text to indicate questionable or erroneous text.
Word Confusions . . .
. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.
If you found this post on “Sic versus Sick” interesting, consider subscribing to KD Did It, if you’d like to track this post for future updates.
| Sic | Sick |
|---|---|
A Dog Chasing a Heron Off Its Nest in the Reeds is an engraving by F. Place under the CC BY 4.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons. — I wonder if someone sicced him on the bird. |
Nurses at Work on a Ward in Guy’s Hospital, London, 1941, by Ministry of Information Photo Division Photographer and is in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. — A hospital ward full of sick people. |
| Part of Grammar: | |
| Adjective 1; Adverb 2; Verb, transitive 3
Third person present verb: sics Alternative spelling: sick |
Adjective 1; Noun 1; Verb, transitive 2
Plural for the noun: sicks Third person present verb: sicks Alternative spelling: sic |
| Adjective: [North and Scots] Such 1 Adverb:
Verb, transitive:
|
Adjective: Affected by physical or mental illness 1
[Predicate] Feeling nauseous and wanting to vomit
[Predicate; sick of] Intensely annoyed with or bored by someone or something as a result of having had too much of them [Informal; esp. of humor] Having something unpleasant such as death, illness, or misfortune as its subject and dealing with it in an offensive way
[Informal] Excellent Noun: [British, informal] Vomit Verb, transitive: Sick something on Set a dog or other animal on someone
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| Examples: | |
| Adjective: Sir Francis Bacon is apt to conclude that Science, which has made sic astounding discoveries. Sic food as was wasted. “If I had kent of these reefs, if I had had a chart, or if Shuan had been spared, it’s not sixty guineas, no, nor six hundred, would have made me risk my brig in sic a stoneyard!” (Stevenson). Adverb: “It was the blessing bestowed on Judge Harold Medina’s prosecution [sic] of the eleven so-called ‘top native Communists,’ which blessing meant giving the Smith Act the judicial nod of constitutionality.” “It might may (sic) no difference, but for KY and WVA can we get someone to ask his belief.” Verb, transitive: He sicced the dogs on them. Sic ’em, boy. Paul sicced the boys on those bullies. |
Adjective: She was nursing very sick children. We were sick with bronchitis. The company organized a sick fund for its workers. Their economy remains sick. He was sick for a sight of her. He was starting to feel sick. Mark felt sick with fear. He had a sick fear of returning. He looked pretty sick at that, but he eventually agreed. I’m absolutely sick of your moods. This was someone’s idea of a sick joke. He is a deeply sick man from whom society needs to be protected. That’s sick, man. It was a sick party. Noun: That’s his sick. Someone has to clean up that sick. Verb, transitive: They sicked their little brother on the baby. Hal sicked the dog on the rabbits. Ellie sicked the detective on her roving husband. |
| Derivatives: | |
| Adverb: sic passim Noun: siccing, sicking |
Adjective: sickish |
| History of the Word: | |
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C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!
Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.
Resources for Sic versus Sick
Some of these links may be affiliate links, and I will earn a small percentage, if you should buy it. It does not affect the price you pay.
Apple Dictionary.com
Stevenson, Robert Louis. Kidnapped.. Cassell and Company Ltd, London: 1886. SeaWolf Press: 2020. <https://amzn.to/3Z4boxt>. Ebook.
Pinterest Photo Credits:
Sic ‘Em by Joseph Keppler is in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. A cartoon print from 1881, it is a print showing Charles Stewart Parnell, a prisoner in the “Kilmainham Kaboose”, directing a pack of small dogs labeled “Healy, Kettle, Egan, O’Connor, Dillon, Davitt, Sexton, [and] Brennan” to attack the British Lion, instead they scatter in all directions. The caption for the cartoon reads: “Mr. Parnell in his great feat of letting loose the dogs of war”.
