Grammar Moses: Close, but no cigar

Last week I discussed the important difference between "interment" and "internment" and how I suspect many people don't know they are two words.

Since then I've gotten a few reader suggestions on other combinations of words that are, well, close, but no cigar.

Statue of limitations

"Lots of folks go to New York and visit the Statue of Liberty for their vacation, but the other night one of the TV talking heads mentioned the 'statue of limitations,'" wrote Gary Andersen of Rolling Meadows.

"That really sounds like a boring destination. Good thing there isn't a 'statute of liberty.'"

You might think the U.S. Constitution is a "statute of liberty." While I am neither an attorney nor a constitutional scholar, I can tell you that "liberty" is mentioned only three times in our constitution. And I also know that statutes and constitutions are not one in the same. Statutes are more like the grandchildren of constitutions.

As for "statues of limitations," that's downright contradictory.

Statues are built to convey might, wisdom and bravery - man's ideals, not his limitations.

Would one erect a statue of Atlas being crushed by the weight of the world? Of Achilles sitting out a battle, nursing a sore foot?

What I'm telling you is a "statue" is a monument; a "statute" is a law.

Drafting an ordnance

Doren Wackerfuss of Palatine, who I assure you is a real person (and a lovely one at that), once wrote to me about a duel/dual mix-up she found in an advertisement. She found another goody in a wire story we published on Monday about authorities in London removing a submerged, unexploded World War II-era bomb near the start of the storied Oxford/Cambridge rowing race.

The story referred to the bomb as "ordinance" rather than "ordnance."

If a statute is the grandchild of a constitution, then an "ordinance" is the child of a statute. It's a law created by a municipality.

"Ordnance," however, is a collective noun describing military supplies - Jeeps, bombs, guns, ammo, etc. So what the London Marine Unit scooped up was a piece of "ordnance."

"One letter," as Dorene points out, "can make a big difference."

Un momento

What is the word that describes a keepsake that serves as a reminder of a person or event? A "memento."

Barbara Harrington of Wheeling has seen it spelled "momento," and so have I.

I suspect that happens because a "memento" can remind you of a moment - a ticket stub to a KISS concert, for instance, puts me in the moment as a terrified eight-grader in a packed auditorium without parental supervision.

But its Latin roots are "remember."

Now there is a word "momenta," which, if you were wondering, is not a feminine derivation of "memento." Rather, it's a plural form of "momentum."

Bet you didn't know that!

Write carefully!

• Jim Baumann is 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.