More than vs. over

My wife Holly, a former newspaper copy editor, says she "cringes" when people use "over" when "more than" is correct.

"I was taught that over was for physical things like, 'I stepped over the snake,' " she said. " 'There were more than a dozen on the ground.' "

I agree, but it wasn't always so. Nearly 30 years ago, my boss and friend Pete and I were editing a story. The writer said that a runner had gained "over 1,000 yards" on the football field, and Pete almost went ballistic.

"The cow jumped OVER the moon; the runner gained MORE than 1,000 yards," he exclaimed. Others in the newsroom looked at Pete like he was crazy. Crazed, maybe. Words meant a lot to him.

Same with me. Same with Holly.

Contact: You can reach me at tgilli52@gmail.com or nc3022@yahoo.com.

More EDITOR@WORK blog entries

• You really DO need an editor

• Reminders for would-be novelists

• What I do when I'm editing

• What I charge (it's a deal) and what I edit

• Slogging through the Internet

• J-school: More eyes on your stories

• J-school: Go out and learn

• Rookie mistakes for magazine writers

Entries from The Dog Blog

• Katie cried

• Growl and pull

• 10 years with Lady

• ... said the spider to ...

• The Dog Diary (2014)

• YIP! YIP! The stereo-sound huskies

• What Lady and Michael Jackson had in common

Blog entries from The Auto Racing Journal

• Angel in Black: Remembering Dale Earnhardt Sr.

(a book of great stories about the Intimidator)

• Then Junior Said to Jeff...

(the book of great NASCAR stories)

• My best day as a sports writer

• Jeff Gordon's milk toast to Dale Earnhardt

• Wayne Auton: A life in racing

More blog entries by Tom Gillispie

• Resume for a writer and editor

• An editor's views on powerful writing

• Advice for be and would-be novelists

• Links to TG's stories online

• Favorite quotes

• What I do when I'm editing

Anecdotes by Tom Gillispie

• Wipeout at Death Valley

• Days with rainbows

• A desperate writer working in the dark

• Yer outta there!