Wordsmithereens is a whenever-I-feel-like-it column where I blast the hell out of some nitpicky topic pertaining to diction, editing, self-editing, or writing. Why? Because I’m anal-retentive with a hyphen, that’s why.
I was editing a story today, a nasty gay erotic horror tale (“Stray”), and inserting the word beside gave me pause. Was it beside, or besides? My editorial gut instinct told me there was a difference.
Beside
Merriam-Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary defines beside as:
- An adverb meaning in a nearby position, close by, alongside: “He dropped the towel and sat beside him on the couch.”
- A preposition meaning:
- at or by the side of, close to, near: “The wastecan stood beside the dresser.”
- in comparison with: “He needs to be a Stephen King if writing overlong books is to be considered unimportant beside simply having a fresh voice.”
- on par with: “A literary achievement that can be ranked beside that of Joe R. Lansdale.”
- (used with “oneself,” as in “beside herself”) carried out of oneself as through extreme excitement, out of one’s wits or senses: “I was beside myself with disappointment.”
Beside = next to
Besides
M-W defines besides as:
- An adverb, meaning:
- in addition, moreover: “The story is excellent, and besides it costs less than a buck.”
- otherwise, else: “He knows the rules of grammar, but little besides.”
- A preposition, meaning:
- in addition to: “Besides being an entertaining read, I learned a lot about cremation.”
- other than, except: “She could do nothing besides watch him bleed out.”
Besides = in addition to, except
Shelving this new knowledge beside the old, what have you besides putting it to good use in your writing? If you don’t, I’ll be beside myself…
Wordsmithereens 