Don’t get these contract terms confused

Contracts are the glue that hold business together in this country. A handshake and a verbal agreement may work in some rare cases, but a written contract can delve into details that no friendly arrangement can cover. In fact, those little details can mean the difference between a smooth working relationship and total disaster.

In order to stand up to scrutiny, however, contracts must be very specific and must cover a broad range of “ifs.” To that end, let’s look at some of the most commonly used (and confused) contract terms.

• Farther refers to physical distance, while Further speaks to things that can’t be tangibly measured.
• To Imply is to suggest, while Infer means to conclude.
• Between works for parties of two, while Among refers to groups of at least three.
• Semimonthly is twice per month and Bimonthly is every two weeks.
• By the same token, Semiweekly is twice per week, while Biweekly events occur every other week.
• The Mean is an average, while a Median is the number that sits in the middle of a set of values.
• Practicable means you can put it into practice. Practical means useful.
• Continual is used when something occurs intermittently. Continuous means without stopping.
• Imminent is a way to say that something is about to happen. Eminent is a high ranking individual.

As you can see, there are a lot of terms that can trip you up when writing a contract, but getting them right is important to the success of your business. That’s why it might be in your best interest to contact an attorney to draw up your contracts.