Re: Vice versa

["Mark L. Levinson" <nosnivel -at- NETVISION -dot- NET -dot- IL>]

Matt Wiseley asks about "vice versa."

1. Yes, that's how it's spelled.

2. It means "the other way around."

3. There are a couple of reasons not to use it:

   a. It can be ambiguous.

      "My wife alerts me if she sees the collie in
       the spaniel's bed, and vice versa."

      (Does that mean I also alert her if I see the same
      thing, or she alerts me if she sees the spaniel in
      the collie's bed, or what?)

   b. It can add to the reader's effort.

      "Some days Rover chases Fido, and other
       days Fido chases Rover."

      "Some days Rover chases Fido, and other
       days vice versa."

      (The reader needs to perform an extra step in order
       to decode the second sentence.)

   c. But if ambiguity is not a problem, and the alternative
      to "vice versa" is very wordy and repetitious, then
      "vice versa" may be the way to go.

      "The amount of effort invested in the work influences
       the perceived value of the finished product, and the
       perceived value of the finished product influences
       the amount of effort invested in the work."

      "The amount of effort invested in the work influences
       the perceived value of the finished product, and vice
       versa."

      (It's easier to decode the "vice versa" than to decode
       the long sentence.)

--
- Mark L. Levinson - nosnivel -at- netvision -dot- net -dot- il - Herzlia, Israel -
 "You can't judge right by looking at the wrong."  - Willie Dixon

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