Yesterday afternoon my husband regretfully dispatched to the Dumpster a favorite succulent that had lost its long and courageous battle against mealybugs. To fill the empty space in the plant stand in our porch, we spent some time shopping online for a replacement. One nursery proclaimed that it’s “proud to offer the most unique collection of succulents and low-water plant material for the discerning gardener.”
This discerning gardener immediately noticed that annoying “most unique.” The nursery should have described its collection as “most unusual.”
What’s the difference, and why bother?
“Unique” means one-of-a-kind. It doesn’t mean unusual. If you make the two words interchangeable, you lose a useful word from the English language. You can’t qualify unique: Things aren’t “very unique” or “most unique.” It’s like pregnant: You either are or you aren’t.
My fingerprints (like yours) are unique. No one else has fingerprints exactly like mine. But my fingerprints aren’t unusual – in fact they’re pretty ho-hum, as fingerprints go.
Those of you who live in Northern climes can go outdoors in the winter and catch snowflakes. Each will be unique, but none will be unusual (unless your region experiences an indescribably weird meteorological event).
Good writers are precise, and that quest for precision works two ways. Of course you have to select the right words for each job. But it’s also true that the words themselves have to do their job. If the meanings get sloppy (“unique” and “unusual” become synonyms), we lose a speck of our ability to be precise. Over time those specks add up.
Want some more examples? I once knew a clergyman who used “penultimate” to mean “most extreme.” It sounded great rolling off his tongue. But “penultimate” actually means “second from the last.” It’s a useful word when you’re explaining the rules of Spanish pronunciation, for example (“Put the stress on the penultimate syllable”).
Here’s another one: Some people use “infinitesimal” as a synonym for “infinite.” Again, it sounds great. But “infinitesimal” actually means “tiny.” Or “eensy-weensy.” Or “itsy-bitsy.”
OK, I’ll stop.
Incidentally, we found an unusual (but not unique) succulent yesterday to fill that infinitesimal space on the penultimate shelf on our planter.
