I was hunting for sentences using bald as a transitive verb, and came across Blackwell‘ s article on bungling common expressions, include bald-faced vs bold-faced. Just like authors, lawyers need to be careful about using words properly.
Blackwell’s article arose when US Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga) used bold-faced lie about people who accused January 6 rioters of fomenting an insurrection.
“A bald-faced lie is one that is obvious, unambiguous, and readily apparent—like the visage of a person unobscured by facial hair.” Barefaced (in the late 16th century) is a synonym which predated bald-faced (1761). By the mid-twentieth century, bald-faced lie started replaced barefaced lie in American publications.
Bold-faced means “important or deserving of emphasis”. (According to Bryan Garner’s Modern American Usage (3d ed.), boldface is the preferred spelling.)
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.
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| Bald-faced | Boldfaced |
|---|---|
 |
 — |
| Part of Grammar: | |
| Adjective | Adjective
Preferred spelling: boldfaced |
[North American] Shameless and undisguised
Showing no shame or embarrassment about doing something bad Brash Undisguised [Zoology] Having a white face or face markings |
Printed in boldface type
Flagrant or audacious |
| Examples: | |
| That is a bald-faced lie.
“But what it really is, is a bald-faced discount” (Marcus). “The version we know was a bald-faced lie” (Hutchinson). “The youngest brother went with her, mounted upon a skittish, bald-faced pony, and they halted together, near the low embankment that divided the prairie, to wait for the engine” (Gates, 135). “The bald-faced hornet is the worst in the terms of aggression” (Hogan). |
The guest list included several boldface names.
The statement was in boldfaced italics. Can we pull all the bold faced items out and make a list? If you want to make text boldfaced on the Internet, encase the desired text in <strong>bold</strong> using this HTML tag. The sections in boldfaced type are particularly important. Her death wasn’t marked by boldfaced headlines and a media glare. |
| Derivatives: | |
| Adverb: boldfacedly Noun: boldfacedness |
|
| History of the Word: | |
| 1761. | 1585–1595. |
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 Bald-faced versus Bold-faced
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Apple Dictionary.com
Blackwell, Savannah. “Don’t Say Bold-faced When You Mean Bald-faced.” The Bar Association of San Francisco. 9 Aug 2021. Web. 22 Oct 2022. <https://www.sfbar.org/blog/dont-say-bold-faced-when-you-mean-bald-faced/>.
Cambridge Dictionary: boldfaced
The Free Dictionary: bald-faced, boldfaced
Gates, Eleanor. The Biography of a Prairie Girl. Project Gutenberg. <https://bit.ly/3CRKvTg>. Originally published 1902. 2011. EBook. <https://amzn.to/3gurOgT>.
Hogan, John. “Don’t Be Too anxious to Get Rid of Bees, Wasps.” The Grand Rapids Press. Home and Garden. MLive.com. 19 Sept 201. Web. 22 Oct 2022. <https://www.mlive.com/homeandgarden/2010/09/dont_be_too_anxious_to_get_rid.html>.
Hutchinson, Earl Ofari. “The Second Slaying of Walter Scott.” Huffington Post. 14 Apr 2015. Last updated 14 June 2015. Web. 22 Oct 2022. <https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-second-slaying-of-walter-scott_b_7055290>.
Marcus, Jon and Holly K. Hacker. “Colleges are Quietly Shifting the Burden of Tuition Increases to Poor Families.” Huffington Post. 9 Mar 2014. Web. 22 Oct 2022. <https://www.huffpost.com/entry/tuition-poor-families_n_4932128>.
Merriam-Webster: bald-faced
Pinterest Photo Credits:
DC Capitol Storming is TapTheForwardAssist‘s own work is under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons.
Revised as of 5 Apr 2024
By: Kathy Davie