Word Court

G eorge W olff , of St. Pete Beach, Florida, writes, "Can you settle a dispute for me? My wife, who is quite strict about grammar, is not prepared to accept my criticism of her use of the word tabled. Recently she said that an issue was tabled in the course of a meeting. To me, that meant it was put on the table for discussion. She insists the verb table means 'to put aside for another time.' If the issue had been put aside, wouldn't it have been shelved? In the interest of full disclosure, I must admit that I am a Canadian, fairly recently transplanted to the United States."

It's easy, isn't it, to picture someone whose arms are laden with shopping bags coming home, setting the bags down on the hall or kitchen table, and immediately doing something with their contents, such as putting them away or ...