Word Routes
Exploring the pathways of our lexicon
Mailbag Friday: "Caveat"
August 14, 2009
By Ben ZimmerLaura C. of Wantage, N.J. writes in with today's Mailbag Friday question:
Continue reading...Co-workers keep using the word caveat around work and it's driving me crazy. People will say, "This is a great plan, but the caveat is..." (meaning 'the hook or catch is...'). Sometimes they'll use it as a transitive verb: "Let's caveat that proposed media spend." Is this really acceptable?

