The adjective, ”single handed” and adverb, “single handedly,” have become contestable about which is right or wrong in the application of the vocabularies to drive home one’s argument or make a clear statement. It has always been so. Even among the English purists and masters, it appears they have remained divided over the phrases, “single handed,” and “single handedly,” when the thought of the individual achieving set goals unaided comes to mind. And still within the same family of the expression; the one that also draws our attention and share similar fate is the other statement, and the adjective, “single-minded,” and the adverb, “single-mindedly.”
The question is, are there hard and fast rules that any of these expressions, “single handed,” “single handedly,” “single-minded,” and “single-mindedly,” should be preferred over and above the other in the attempt to express oneself unambiguously? The rules of engagement, as I often state, must be respected to ensure we don’t mislead or confused the reading and listening publics who are the end consumers of what the media throws at them. In fact, it is an established truth that the media, in whatever form, help people to make informed choices through the daily News and programmes broadcast on radio and television, the conventional or traditional mediums, and the new media, the internet, and of course, the newspapers, magazines, among other print media channels.
Care should therefore, be exercised the manner we use any of these mediums to inform the citizens about the latest advancement in a dynamic world that hardly goes to sleep, but depends on you and me as opinion moulders and conveyers, in many instances, to correctly engage them through the right path. This we can do by making sure the 7Cs in communication; conciseness, courtesy, completeness, correctness, clarity, consideration and concreteness are strictly adhered to. Once again, I want to remind us to keep our minds opened and absorb changes in the language as they develop from time to time in view of the non-static nature of even the cosmos.
I understand that some of us are well grounded in English and so, we get to be critical and ask questions when necessary, but not at the expense of dismissing what is current, especially when it comes from the stable of inventors of the vocabulary. To this end, if we must follow the verdicts of the language purists and enthusiasts, we go with the adjective, “single handed,” to suggest that Jane, for instance, “single handed confronted her assailants in the wee hours of the morning in an attempted assault.”
Rather than speak or write, “Jane, single handedly, confronted her assailants in the wee hours of the morning in an attempted assault,” using the adverb, “single handedly.” Same applies to the adjective and adverb, “single-minded” and “single-mindedly.” For example, “Alice single-minded took the decision to engage a lawyer in the case between her and the Landlady without seeking the advice of her friend, Agnes.”
