Bob Shaw of Hobart was mystified by a word he encountered while reading one of his favorite entertainment critics in The Wall Street Journal.
In reviewing the movie "An Education,” viewed at the Tellurude Film Festival in Colorado, the critic observed that the movie would soon make its commercial debut, so he would save his detailed review for later.
He added, "Insuffice it to say that the director ... and the screenwriter ... have created a classic, star-is-born occasion for a young English actress named Carey Mulligan.”
"Insuffice it to say”? Neither Bob nor Buck had encountered that expression before. Apparently, neither had Webster’s, Encarta, Oxford or American Heritage dictionaries.
In a less technological age, Buck would have a pretty good idea of what happened. The critic wrote his story in Tellurude, Colo., site of the festival, which is a long way from his home office in New York. He called the newsroom and dictated his story to a clerk/typist. The writer dictated, "And suffice it to say ...,” and the typist heard "Insuffice it to say ....”
But today’s on-the-road reporters generally file stories directly to their newsrooms via laptop computers, so a clerk/typist is an unlikely culprit. Suffice it to say, the Journal’s editors failed to catch the goof, and it made it to the Web.
"Suffice” means "to be sufficient.” So, "suffice it to say ...” means "It’s enough to say, and no more needs to be said.” "Insufficient” means "less than enough,” but "insuffice” is not a generally recognized word.
"Will that drink suffice?” asked Jack Daniels, bartender at the Red Eye Saloon.
"It’s insufficient,” Luther said, "and suffice it to say, I need a few more.”
39° 