The Court of Peeves, Crotchets and Irks resumes its summer assizes with a tough motion from Connie Swenson of Charlotte, N.C. She asks for a declaratory judgment on “chary,” “wary” and “leery.”

She is not seeking an appraisal of Chary, Wary & Leery, the well-known law firm, but of three terms that may be defined under a general heading of “cautious.” The genus embraces such related adjectives as prudent, vigilant, guarded and watchful, but these are cousins of the third degree.

In the court’s view, subject to appeal, amendment or modification, “chary” carries an overtone of cool frugality. “He’s chary about giving to the homeless.” A chary person is sparing, chinchy, ungenerous, stingy, tightfisted. None of these pejoratives applies to “wary” and leery.” Here we find a penumbra of caution that approaches dark suspicion. If we are wary of Joe the poker player, we will join the game, but with a watchful eye. If we are leery of the rascal, we won’t play at all. Next case!

Al Knight of Wilsonville, Ala., is the leading plaintiff in a class action styled “In re Myriad.” The plaintiffs seek a restraining order that would prevent every writer from using “myriad” except as an adjective. In their view, “myriad” is never a noun. As a horrid example of misuse, they offer a recently published comment on the riches of our English vocabulary: “We are blessed with a myriad of choices.” As an example of what they regard as proper usage, they cite an article in last month’s Vanity Fair about actor Brad Pitt: He has “defied myriad pressures to play the hero in any number of movies.”

The plaintiffs’ motion to ban the noun is denied. Emphatically denied! Contrary to widespread belief, “myriad” is not an adjective only. It is also a noun. Indeed, it has been an English noun since 1555, two centuries ahead of its first employment as an adjective in 1765. It was first defined as 10,000 of something. Gradually it morphed into a great many of anything. It roughly enumerates the innumerable – myriad brands of Scotch, a myriad of stars.

Dick Stannard of Seattle petitions the court for an order legitimizing “till” as a respectable conjunction. Such an order would be a redundancy, a tautology and a superfluity; for “till” has been around since the ninth century and still is respectably chugging away. It appears most memorably in the famous aria, “Wait Till the Sun Shines, Nellie,” from Mozart’s “La Boheme.”

The court will seize this opportunity, sua sponte, to warn against “’til.” In his “Modern American Usage,” Bryan Garner faintly damns “’til” as incorrect. He banishes the apostrophized double-l “’till” as an abomination. In the court’s view, the choice between “till” and “until” depends largely upon tone and cadence: “Until” has its two-syllable shoes on; the monosyllabic “till” is barefoot. It remains to be said only that “until” usually works better than “till” and much better than “’til” at the beginning of a sentence. Next case!

Steve Rossie of Richmond, Va., petitions the court for a ruling on “the late,” as in “the late Henry J. Mozart.” The question is, How many years must elapse following Henry’s demise before he becomes, editorially speaking, “the late”? In 1983 the court ruled tentatively that a span of 20 years is about right. That opinion remains in effect, but the court is reminded of Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s interpretation of “stop.” In the context of traffic signs, she said, California drivers regard “stop” not as a command, but as just a suggestion.

William and Mary Morris, in their Dictionary of Contemporary Usage, say “the late” refers to a person whose death has occurred within the 20 or 30 years just past. My brother maven, William Safire of The New York Times, says “10 to 15 years.” Other commentators put the statute of limitations at half a century. It’s a judgment call. One more thing. We should be careful about writing that “the late President Eisenhower signed the bill.” He wasn’t “late” when he signed it.

The court wishes all petitioners a pleasant summer, and takes a recess.

James Kilpatrick is a syndicated columnist.

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