~couple~, ~two~: Discriminate carefully between these terms. _Couple_ as an indefinite amount is a Teutonism common in America. Do not say “He has a _couple_ of dollars in the bank”; say rather, “He has some money in the bank.” Compare COUPLE.
~courier~, ~currier~: Discriminate carefully between these terms. A _courier_ is a special messenger sent express with letters or despatches; an attendant on a party of travelers. A _currier_ is a man who dresses leather or combs a horse.
~covey~: As this word means “a brood or hatch of birds,” especially quails or partridges, it should not be applied to persons or things as is done by Thackeray in “The Virginians,” ch. 27.
~creditable~ is sometimes confounded with ~credible~, but the one word means that which redounds to one’s credit, whereas the other signifies that which is worthy of belief.
~crime~, ~sin~, ~vice~: Exercise care in the use of these words. _Crime_ is an abstractly, flagrant violation of law or morality in general; _sin_, disagreement in word, thought, deed, or desire, whether by omission or commission, with the divine law; _vice_ is the habitual deviation from moral rectitude.
~crush~ implies to force out of shape, therefore, it is pleonastic to say “_crush out_,” of a mutiny.
~cultivation~, ~culture~: Discriminate carefully between these words. While one of the various senses of _cultivation_ is culture, _culture_ should be used only of the development of the individual.
~cunning~, meaning “artful,” and by extension “innocently artful,” and hence “bright,” “amusing,” or “characterized by quaint and playful moods,” is often improperly introduced to imply “dainty,” “choice,” especially if applied to anything diminutive. Such usage is not permissible. A kitten may properly be said to be _cunning_, but not a brooch, although (in archaic usage) that may exhibit the _cunning_ or skill of the artificer.
~curious~, in such expressions as “It is a _curious_ fact” has been hypercritically censured. The propriety of the usage is unquestionable. “_Curious_ first ... denoted a state of mind, interest or diligence in inquiry or prosecution; then it was predicated of things which exhibit evident tokens of care (_cura_), dextrous application, ingenuity; and, as such things are out of the common and are apt to arrest attention, it naturally acquired the sense of ‘novel,’ ‘unusual,’ or more generally ‘novel and noticeable.’”--FITZEDWARD HALL, _False Philology_, p. 25.