Toward? Towards? The British Bug Bites Again
An urgent request for help has just been received, and the Guru is ready to help.
The question is “I’ve written a poem, and one of the lines is …’she is floating toward him.’ Is it toward or towards?”
And the definitive answer is {drum roll, please} either one!
That’s really helpful, isn’t it? Actually, the Grammar Guru was a bit surprised by this one, having always thought that towards was a Southern colloquialism that should be avoided. Guess what? The Grammar Guru was mistaken!
Every book I have consulted on this question, including Fowler’s, Webster’s, and Nitty-Gritty Grammar, has stated that towards is British usage, and toward is common American usage.
So the question is not one of rightness, but one of locality. If you are an American and/or you are writing for an American audience, toward should be your choice. If you are British and/or you are writing for a British audience, go with towards.
Now, for a couple of oft-confused words that occurred to me today…
- A peak is a mountaintop or summit. To peek is to catch a quick or stealthy glimpse of, or to briefly appear. If you will peek out the window, you may see the peak of Rainier peeking through the cloud-cover.
- Breeches are pants (usually knee-length). Breaches are holes. He had to replace his breeches because of the breaches they received in his battle with the rose-bush.
The funniest misuse of this pair of words that I have ever seen came to me in a press release from the Dept. of the Navy some 15 years ago. The release mentioned “breeches in security” and made me wonder what kind of uniforms their guards were wearing.