574. To some students the following list of Special or Irregular Phrases may at first glance appear disappointingly meagre. For such, a few words of explanation may be necessary. In the first place, many phrases ordinarily classed as "Special Phrases" (for instance United States of America) are in fact "Simple Phrases," as already defined; that is, phrases constructed by merely joining together several words in their ordinary forms. Phrases of this character are appropriately included in the list of "Simple Phrases." (See Chapter XXIV (Simple Or Word-Joining Phrases)). Other so-called "Special Phrases" (especially those whose only peculiarity is an ellipsis of some word or words) have in this volume found their logical place under some specific principle of phrase formation. It would not have been practicable to include here all phrases that may be found useful by different writers in all the various branches of business. Any such list, if attempted, could not possibly be complete; and it would simply swell this volume to inordinate size, without any corresponding advantage to the general student. A third consideration, the most important of all, is that such a list, if placed before the student, would be regarded by him as an invitation to memorize a number of phrases which he would suppose to have been invented for his benefit; and in that way, one prime object of this book - to educate the student to construct for himself phrases suitable to meet his individual needs - would be defeated. The author's aim has been, not to make the present list exhaustive, or to adapt it to the demands of particular lines of business, but simply to give enough phrases of irregular formation to serve as models for the young writer in learning to make phrases for himself, according to the principles presented in this volume.

Almighty God

and company

at any rate

at hand

at least

at some time

at the same time

at length

as far as

best of your (or my) knowledge

British America

carbonic acid

Christian society

circumstantial evidence

Court of Common Pleas

Democratic party

District of Columbia

down stairs

eight or nine

Episcopal church

eternal life

express company

fellow-citizens

finance committee

five or six

for instance

for the purpose of

four or five

Great Britain

Great Britain and Ireland

habeas corpus

handwriting

Her Majesty

Holy Ghost

honorable gentleman-men

honorable member

honorable Senator

House of Commons

House of Lords

House of Representatives

human life

inasmuch as

in order

in order to

in order that

in the first place

in the last place

in the next place

in the second place

in this shape