If you’ve ever tried to make the negative poles of two bar magnets touch each other, you know how tricky that can be. The two negative poles repel each other, dancing apart as you try to flatten the impenetrable bubbles of their opposing magnetic fields.

That’s pretty much how double negatives in sentence construction usually affect each other. In the statement “I don’t know nothing about him,” the verb “don’t” (do not) and the pronoun “nothing” clash with each other; “not” and “nothing” both express negation, and in that sentence they grammatically repel each other.

The sentence can become grammatically correct either by eliminating “not” (resulting in “I know nothing about him”) or replacing the negative “nothing” with a positive word (as in “I don’t know anything about him”).

Grammatically incorrect double negatives are often used in literature, film and song lyrics for the colloquial speech of characters or story settings, or to maintain the meter of songs or poems. If the Bee Gees had sung “I am unable to see anyone” rather than “I can’t see nobody” or the Rolling Stones had growled “I find gaining satisfaction elusive” instead of “I can’t get no satisfaction,” the power of those songs would have deflated like a popped balloon.

Double negatives in sentence construction don’t always repel each other, however; sometimes they can coexist. Double negatives can be used effectively if the intention is to make a deliberate ironic understatement. Prefacing a remark with “no uncertain terms” reinforces a serious tone.

When used in a calculating way, though, double negatives can mask subtle differences in meaning, or cloak a statement in muted sarcasm. When prospective home buyer Bob forgivingly described a bedroom paint job as “not the most unappealing color combination I’ve ever seen” he sidestepped direct criticism of how hideous it was.

Consider a sales representative’s claim that “you won’t regret this purchase.” That appears on the surface to be a strong assertion worthy of confidence, but it has paired a negative word (“won’t”) with a negative concept (“regret”). The statement appears to say, “In case you think you might later regret the decision, rest assured that you won’t.” But it’s less assertive than that; the sales rep is leaving something unsaid: “… at least I’m reasonably sure that you probably won’t regret it.” In comparison to “I’m sure you’ll love it,” for example, “you won’t regret it” is lukewarm, more reserved — perhaps deliberately so. Such indirect expressions often appear cautious, weak and timid, rather than wholehearted endorsements.

“You won’t regret” and “not the most unappealing” are examples of a literary device formally known as “litotes” (pronounced LIE-teh-teez or lie-TOE-teez). A litotes is an understated way of making a positive statement by negating contrary or contrasting words. Advertisers use litotes advantageously to blunt potential objections. A financial advising firm, for example, evasively acknowledged that “investing in government securities is not without risk.”

Statements that use “not unlike” to make a comparison are likewise tentative. The prepositional phrase “not unlike” is a means to compare two things and imply that they are similar, while raising the suggestion that they have some dissimilarities — leaving the reader responsible for discovering what those differences may be.

The rationale seems hazy for use of “not unlike” in this circumspect sentence: “Today, our political order faces new threats, not unlike the totalitarianism of the twentieth century.”

If the writer’s intention was to assert that new threats are comparable to 20th-century totalitarian regimes, the statement could (and should) have been more direct. The use of “not unlike” weakens the comparison.

The double negative phrase “not bad” can appear complimentary, as it superficially did when Warren told Pat, “you know, that pot roast was not bad” as he nodded in affirmation. Even so, that’s not quite the equivalent of “really good.” “Not bad” leaves room for Pat to wonder if Warren was thinking, “I was expecting the worst, but it wasn’t as bad as I thought it might have been.”

At its worst, the phrase “not unlike” is purely pretentious, used for no particular reason — as in this sentence in a scholarly journal: “Then, plagued by erratic leadership, the church began a spiraling decline not unlike many other urban congregations at the time.” And this one from a municipal agency: “The city, not unlike nearly every other California coastal community, is impacted by the intractable problems of homelessness and vagrancy.” And consider this spectacularly tangled passage: “I am not, indeed, sure whether it is not true to say that the Milton, who once seemed not unlike a seventeenth-century Shelley, had not become, out of an experience ever more bitter in each year, more alien to the founder of that Jesuit sect, which nothing could induce him to tolerate.”

A conversation between fashion designer Celeste and department store buyer Richard further illustrates the distinction between positives and double negatives. Consider what Celeste thought when Richard told her that he doesn’t dislike her designs. She recognized that as a guarded, ambivalent, noncommittal statement. She would have reason to be more encouraged if Richard were to tell her unequivocally that he likes her designs — or at least would have derived value from an honest admission that he disapproves of her work.

Consider avoiding double negatives to make your writing less polarizing and more magnetic.

The nationwide economic recession of the early 1990s hit particularly hard in California, in large part due to the contraction of the state’s once-powerful aerospace industry resulting from sharply reduced military defense spending. Even while other states recovered, more than 500,000 Californians lost their jobs and the state remained mired in a sluggish economy though the first three years of the decade, with little reason for optimism.

During that time, the University of California sustained four consecutive years of substantial budget cuts totaling nearly 20 percent of its allocations from the state government. The UC Davis campus, where Marti Childs and Jeff March worked in a communication unit, consolidated or eliminated numerous departments and instituted several rounds of early retirement programs, along with layoffs. As the summer of 1993 approached, more than 21 percent of UC Davis employees had retired, but further staff reductions, particularly in non-academic departments, were imminent.

Marti and Jeff concluded that would be an opportune time to step away from the university and launch a new business offering editorial services to private-sector firms and public-sector organizations that were unable to justify keeping writers and editors on staff. They filed necessary paperwork, and EditPros became a business entity effective July 9, 1993.

EditPros set up shop in the laundry room of Marti's home, with a computer and laser printer on a table that had been intended for folding linens. We established an account with a local internet service provider, connecting through a 28 kbps telephone modem. We bought a then-state-of-the-art SyQuest removable cartridge disk drive unit for backups (predecessor to more compact Iomega Zip drives). Starting with a roster of three clients, EditPros business slowly grew, primarily through referrals. By January 1998 EditPros revenues had increased sufficiently to enable purchase of office furniture and relocation of the business to a downtown Davis office building — where we’ve remained since.

We've weathered the ebb and flow of economics since then by operating within modest means in order to keep our fees affordable. We also have remained flexible to respond to the needs of our clients, and carefully observed trends. Recognizing the emerging importance of electronic communication, Marti and Jeff registered the editpros.com web domain in January 1996, at the dawn of commercialization of the internet. Web page design had not yet become a profession, so we learned HTML coding and built our own website. At that time, EditPros was among only 100,000 entities worldwide that had established an online presence. That's in contrast to 1.1 billion web domains in existence today, according to the Internet Systems Consortium.

We had envisioned working primarily as editors and proofreaders, but most of the jobs that clients assigned to us were writing projects. Back in the 1990s, we worked predominantly on printed projects — primarily magazines, brochures and newsletters. Although newsletter preparation remains an important component of our services, we work largely these days on projects for digital distribution, including the written content for other companies' websites. Editing and proofreading now constitute a substantial share of our business.

We began producing this monthly e-mail newsletter for clients and friends in September 1997. You are reading the 251st edition.

While on our way to a business meeting in 1997, we hatched the idea for our first book. We were listening to an oldies station on the radio, and we wondered aloud about whatever happened to the recording artist. That set the wheels in motion for us to track down performers who, after attaining popularity in the 1960s, had shifted to other careers. We were intrigued about what had inspired them to pursue careers in music, and how they have lived their adult lives away from the spotlight.

We will be forever indebted to our friends Peter Asher and Gordon Waller, the first pop hit recording artists we contacted. Their willingness to speak to us, and their endorsement of our project, helped pave the way for us to connect with other performers. Singer Donnie Brooks, who was then producing oldies stage shows, also helped us make numerous contacts, which would otherwise have been very difficult because many performers lacked an internet presence back then. We prepared a detailed proposal and wrote three chapters. Billboard Books, the only publisher that we approached, offered us a contract and in November 1999 published our first book, Echoes of the Sixties.

As we gathered information for a second book, we took notice of digital technologies that foretold changes in the book publishing industry. Seeking greater control over the finished product, EditPros became an independent publisher by establishing a relationship with Ingram Book Co., the world's largest wholesale distributor of books. Under the EditPros imprint, we published paperback and e-book editions of a three-volume series of books under the title Where Have All the Pop Stars Gone? — Volume 1 in 2011, Volume 2 in 2012, and Volume 3 in 2016 — along with a reissued edition of Echoes of the Sixties in e-book form. In addition to our four books, we have published 20 books for 12 other authors. And we established a separate service called Book Prep (www.book-prep.com) for authors who want to retain all rights to their book and collect 100 percent of sales royalties. Book Prep has transformed eight manuscripts into books, and a ninth book project is under way.

We're grateful to the dozens of clients who throughout the past 25 years have entrusted us with writing, editing, proofreading and publication management assignments. We likewise appreciate the many readers who have bought copies of the printed, digital and audio books that EditPros has published. We hope you continue to find our services valuable and our books enjoyable.

Visit the EditPros online “bookshelf” catalog for book descriptions and purchasing information.

Kirk H. wrote:

The grammar coach replies:

* * * * *

Are you perplexed by some aspect of grammar or word usage? Don't be shy! Ask the "grammar coach" at EditPros and we'll try to help — at no charge, just for the sport of it.

Do you know of a friend or colleague whose office can benefit from EditPros’ services? If you do, you may be able to earn a “referral reward” of up to $500 from EditPros.   

We invite you to submit your questions to the "grammar coach," and we welcome you to subscribe to this monthly newsletter — which we'll send to your e-mail address at no charge. We respond to all "grammar coach" questions personally, but delays may occur because we must place top priority on assignments from our clients. We appreciate your patience and your interest.

You also can change your e-mail subscription address. For an address change, please indicate your existing AND your new e-mail address. Thank you.

OUR PRIVACY POLICY for e-mail newsletter subscribers:

We do not use any commercial e-mail lists or automated mass-mailing programs, and we do not allow access to the list by anyone else for any reason. Our subscriber list is maintained by hand, and it is not for sale. We are protective of confidentiality because many of our readers are also clients of ours.