Grammar Moses: Benign problems with air travel

If you're sitting in coach right now, it's probably best to save this column for your destination.

Otherwise, dig right in.

Frank Gronn of Streamwood writes, "Can you explain the term 'near miss'? I hear it so often when describing an almost collision between airplanes. Is a 'near miss' a collision?"

Frank, I agree this seems like a misnomer. If something nearly misses something, it hits it. Right?

My trusty Webster's Dictionary of English Usage provides some historical context.

"As originally used during World War II, near miss described a bomb that exploded in the water near enough to a ship to damage its hull. But after the war near miss took on different associations, commonly describing a narrowly avoided collision or other mishap."

Considering that one of the meanings of "near" is narrow, you might find the term more palatable.

The FAA defines a "near-miss" when airplanes come within 500 feet of one another.

It's been part of the vernacular for more than a half-century, so I wouldn't fret about it anymore. There are myriad things entrenched in English usage that make little sense.

"Midair" collisions?

Russell Bath, a Herald copy editor before there was a "Daily" in the nameplate, wrote to say, "'Midair' is one of those cute tautologies that never fails to elicit a chuckle. I've always wondered where 'midair' is ... 5 miles north of the Toledo skyline, maybe?"

Unlike near misses, midair collisions result in actual damage, usually catastrophic.

But why the "mid-" and what defines "mid-"?

Consider your options. You can't just say or write "collision." You need to differentiate a collision of airplanes in flight from the far more likely collision of airplanes on the ground. So you can't just say two planes collided and expect someone to be able to visualize it.

You could go with "midflight," but that would suggest that it is halfway through the flight. Or "in-flight," I suppose.

But "midair" is a legitimate word in any dictionary meaning, simply, somewhere above ground level.

I feel bad

Marian Taylor of East Dundee wrote me months ago looking for concurrence on the difference between "bad" and "badly" to describe how one feels.

I feel bad for failing to get to Marian's topic in a timely fashion.

If you feel bad, then you probably ate that entire block of cheese or you're an empathetic person.

If you feel badly, then you may have little sensation in your fingers.

Write carefully!

• Jim Baumann is assistant vice president/managing editor of the Daily Herald. Write him at jbaumann@dailyherald.com. Put Grammar Moses in the subject line. You also can friend or follow Jim at facebook.com/baumannjim.