Easy Editing: October 2013

Thursday 31 October 2013

On Route or En Route?

This is another one of those cases that’s not a classic troublesome pair. Meaning one is correct and the other incorrect. The stems from people writing down what they think they have heard. Similar problems come up with Here! Here! versus Hear! Hear! and would of versus would have. I have started noticing these common errors a lot on social media. It might be that people simply just pen or type what they think it might be hearing.

Incorrect: on route.
Correct: en route

An incorrect usage does make sense in a funny kind of way, and it sounds the same too, but, it in reality it isn’t!

So, as we probably know, it means “on the way” to or from somewhere. It comes from the French – 18th Century French, so it’s been around for long enough that it’s stuck and isn’t likely to be that pliable. You can use on route, but only in a very specific sense, when talking about named roads in places like America. And then there’ll be a capital in the middle, and you’re not using it in precisely the same way. So, “On Route 66 I found a lovely motel” – fine. But in all other cases: “I was en route to Chicago when I happened upon a charming hotel” – also fine.

This also applies to phrases like en masse. If there’s an “on” sound and the other word looks like it might be French, check it!

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