List O

official or officious?

OFFICIAL = authorised, formal an OFFICIAL visit an OFFICIAL invitation OFFICIOUS = fussy, self-important, interfering an OFFICIOUS secretary an OFFICIOUS waiter

onto or on to?

There are circumstances when the words must always be written separately. We will consider these first. " Always write the words separately if ‘to’ is part of an infinitive (e.g. to eat, to speak, to be, to watch, etc.): She drove ON TO test the brakes. As a matter of interest you can double-check the ‘separateness’ of the two words by separating them further: She drove ON because she wanted TO test the breaks. " Always write the words separately when ‘to’ means ‘towards’: We cycled ON TO Oxford. Once again, the two words can be further separated: We cycled ON the few remaining miles TO Oxford. " It is permissible to write ‘onto’ or ‘on to’ when you mean ‘to a position on’: The acrobat jumped ONTO the trapeze. The acrobat jumped ON TO the trapeze. It should be borne in mind, however, that many careful writers dislike ‘onto’ and always use ‘on to’. ‘Onto’ is more common in American English but with the cautions expressed above.