Revised as of
15 Jan 2023
Lest ye screw up and use less than your wits, KD Did It brings thee thy latest word confusion.
Oops, did I forget to tell you we’re exploring less versus lest today? My bad. I’m actually not too worried about writers confusing less and lest as the latter is a formal, somewhat archaic word. What does worry me is a writer using lest incorrectly when trying to be “fancy” in one’s writing.
I have no problem being fancy . . . I’d be a hypocrite if I did! . . . and I do prefer galloping along in my reading, without those hesitations because someone used the wrong word, ahem. So lest you forget, be sure to check any words you don’t use on a regular basis. We wouldn’t want you to have less of a reading audience because of poor word choices.
| Consider the following: | |
|---|---|
| . . . keeping her lips clamped tight less she blurt out she loved him . . .
She’s either not keeping her lips clamped as tightly as she could or she doesn’t want to tell him she loves him. |
. . . keeping her lips clamped tight lest she blurt out she loved him . . .
She doesn’t want to tell the jerk she loves him. |
You may want to explore “Lessen versus Lesson” and/or “Fewer versus Less” as well.
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 “Less versus Lest” interesting, consider subscribing to KD Did It, if you’d like to track this post for future updates.
| Less | Lest |
|---|---|
Cheese Blintzes with Blackberries by Susánica Tam from Los Angeles, California, United States, (breakfast) is under the CC BY 2.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons. — There’s less jam in the jar now that I spread some on the blintzes. |
Democracy — Lest We Forget by JMacPherson (Flickr: Lest_we_forget) is under the CC BY 2.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons. — We must remember our past, lest we forget why we have fought past wars. |
| Part of Grammar: | |
| Adjective; Adverb; Determiner; Preposition; Pronoun; Suffix | Conjunction |
| Use only with uncountable things — less money, less time.
With countable things, use fewer, as in fewer people, fewer words. See also the post on “Fewer versus Less“. |
Uses subjunctive mood verb form, which is all about the possible, the wishful, the unreal, or the hypothetical and uses be (present tense) or were (past tense) with lest. |
| Adjective: [Archaic] Of lower rank or importance Adverb: Not so much
Determiner: Not as much Preposition: Minus Pronoun: Not as much
Suffix: |
Conjunction: [Formal] With the intention of preventing something undesirable To avoid the risk of
|
| Examples: | |
| Adjective: James the Less was one of the Twelve chosen by Jesus. She has less money than I thought. Hank, a little less speed, if you please. She was no less a person than the manager. Adverb: That this is a positive stereotype makes it no less a stereotype. Mitch looked less than happy. The data was less than ideal. Determiner: Exercise more and eat less. I eat less chocolate and fewer cookies than I used to. Preposition: The survey reveals that two-thirds of married women earn less than their husbands. Do you pay less tax if you’re self-employed? Pronoun: You’d better be ready in less than an hour. It’s a city with a population of less than 200,000. Suffix: Yes, I used skinless chicken! I was terrified, staring into a pair of cold, fathomless grey eyes. She was tireless in keep the house clean. |
She was worrying lest he be attacked. He is using headphones lest he disturb anyone. He spent whole days in his room, headphones on lest he disturb anyone. She sat up late worrying lest he be held up on the way home. We must remember history lest we forget. They were afraid to press charges lest they arouse the gang’s ire. Mary was hesitant to speak out lest she be fired. I ask that you be dignified lest you laugh. I ask that Shelly refrain lest she weep. Roger recommended that Larry be on hand lest they lose control of the catboat. |
| Derivatives: | |
| Adjective: little, least Adverb: little, least |
|
| History of the Word: | |
| From Old English lǣssa, is of Germanic origin and related to the Old Frisian lēssa, from an Indo-European root shared by the Greek loisthos meaning last. | Its first known use was before the 12th century.
From Old English thȳ lǣs the meaning whereby less that, later the læste. |
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 Less versus Lest
Apple Dictionary.com
Cambridge Dictionary: less
Dictionary.com: less
Pinterest Photo Credits
Annual Electricity Net Generation in the World by Lery007 (EIA) is under the CC0 license, via Wikimedia Commons.
