Legal Writing

Today's word choice tip: Uncharted

A familiar phrase in news stories refers to uncertainty. Here is an example:

After coming out as a gay man eight years ago, Brett Webb-Mitchell left his wife, his Carrboro home, and his job to start a new and uncharted course at the age of 44.

"Uncharted" means unmapped, so an "uncharted course" means that someone is on a journey without the benefit of a map. Sometimes "uncharted" is rendered as "unchartered." It happens commonly enough that when I put the phrase "unchartered waters" in a Google search, the program asked me if I meant "uncharted waters." I found a television reality series in Australia titled "Unchartered Waters." I also found several stories about charter schools that were headlined "Unchartered Territory," a play on words that indicates the headline writers know the difference between "uncharted" and "unchartered."

The other thing I found in Googling these terms is that a number of people are annoyed when writers mix up "uncharted" and "unchartered." If you mean an uncertain path, write "uncharted."

Full post as published by Triangle Grammar Guide on December 03, 2007 (boomark / email).