ABIDE and ABIDE BY. To abide something usually means to endure it, to tolerate it. “Can you abide such hot weather?” It can also mean to await it.A columnist thinks that the press has treated a certain local politician too kindly. The politician “has succeeded in making himself the personification of the city.” An attack on him therefore becomes an attack on the city “and no one can abide by that.” It should be “and no one can abide that.” Omit “by.”To abide by something is to comply with it, conform to it. “I abide by the law.” / “I’m a law-abiding citizen.” The past tense and past participle of abide is abode or abided.
USA Today Books- An error has occurred; the feed is probably down. Try again later.
- NY Times
- Greece Teeters Ahead of New Vote 16 May 2012Amid warnings of the possibility of bank runs, state television said June 17 would be the date for a new round of elections.
- Brain Disease Is Found in Veterans Exposed to Bombs 16 May 2012The same degenerative brain disease found in football players and boxers has been found in veterans exposed to roadside bombs, a finding with potentially profound implications.
- DealBook: Facebook Increases Number of Shares for I.P.O. 16 May 2012Facebook will offer 96 million more shares, or 25 percent more than it was planning to offer previously in response to high demand.
- Greece Teeters Ahead of New Vote 16 May 2012
