Sometimes I'm Wrong
I was reading a column in the Zimbabwe Independent, and I came across this sentence:
"However, the Zimbabwean abroad needs to be conscious of three key factors which militate against attaining the parallel and black market exchange rate, as against the rate realised from inward remittances through official channels."
I thought to myself, "militate"? Shouldn't that be "mitigate"?
I turned to my dictionary, only to read:
"Mitigate is sometimes used as an intransitive (followed by against) where militate might be expected. Even though Faulkner used it and one critic thinks it should be considered an Amercian idiom, it is usually considered a mistake."
"However, the Zimbabwean abroad needs to be conscious of three key factors which militate against attaining the parallel and black market exchange rate, as against the rate realised from inward remittances through official channels."
I thought to myself, "militate"? Shouldn't that be "mitigate"?
I turned to my dictionary, only to read:
"Mitigate is sometimes used as an intransitive (followed by against) where militate might be expected. Even though Faulkner used it and one critic thinks it should be considered an Amercian idiom, it is usually considered a mistake."
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