Grammar Moses: Is 'from' better than 'than'?

If I could be allergic to certain ill-conceived word combinations, well, I'd never be able to leave the house.

The list is too long.

I'm sure because you're reading this that you have your own list.

A couple that just make me want to gouge my (or your) eyes out are "Me and her went shoe shopping" and "Your sweater is different than mine."

I don't have a major issue with shoe shopping itself, but I do take issue with "me" and "her" masquerading as subjects of a sentence.

Now for the lesser-known issue of the two: "different than."

"Than" should be used in conjunction with a comparative adjective: smarter than, taller than, cuter than.

You know, all the words people use to differentiate my brother from me. (Hint: I'm five inches taller.)

"Different" isn't strictly a comparative adjective.

So one should say "different from" rather than "different than."

Think of it this way: You'd never say something "differs than" something else. You'd say this "differs from" that.

But here is where it gets messy.

There are situations in which "different from" simply doesn't work.

"My stereo buddy Art and I were discussing recently how the appeal of high-end audio gear is different for men than it is for women."

Aha! An appropriate different-than construction.

I've tried, and I can't think of a way to substitute with "different from."

Google's Ngram Viewer tells us that in books - writing that normally goes through batteries of editors - the combination "different from" historically has been the clear winner over "different than."

That is, until 1995, when the "different from" combo started its fall from a graphical cliff. But it's still considered the preferred usage today.

Hoarding words

Many moons ago, Ted "Dictionary Man" Utchen wrote to me about an interesting homophone.

"I recently came across the word 'horde' in a newspaper story, and I thought, Omigod, that writer spelled the word wrong! But for some reason I went to the dictionary, and I discovered there are two words in our language, namely 'horde' and 'hoard,' and I had not known that before. 'Horde' is a teeming crowd or throng. And 'hoard' is a supply or fund stored up and often hidden away."

What Ted failed to mention is two more. One is "hoared, an old-timey word for moldy or dusty. And then there is one with an altogether different meaning. The spelling is "whored," and the meaning, well, that is not for a family newspaper to get into.

A sign of the times

"By order of the state of Illinois," the sign in the liquor store reads, "masks or face coverings are required to enter these premises."

Reader Bob Anderson sent that to me with no explanation, but I get it.

Who or what is required to enter the story?

I'm not well-versed in dram shop law, but I'm fairly certain that teetotaling masks are not required to enter any liquor store.

Let's try "You are required to wear a mask or face covering to enter these premises" or "Masks or face coverings must be worn for you to enter these premises."

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.