A month ago I wrote about a USA Today article that incorrectly used "awhile" in place of "a while" (link in related posts below). Just to review, Oxford dictionaries.com says:
The single word awhile is an adverb meaning ‘for a short time’, and should not be confused with the noun use of a while, ‘a period of time’: stand here awhile, but we stood there for a while.
Today USA Today had a headline that read, "Amazon-Hachette dispute may last awhile."
"Awhile" is the right choice because it modifies the verb "last."
However, a different word entirely would have been better. The first paragraph of the story reads:
"...Amazon has launched a defense against a rising chorus of criticism about its decision to limit the supply of books from publisher Hachette Book Group and warned that the tussle could be protracted."
Protracted is the opposite of for a short time.
Proofreaders and copy editors, send your resumes to USA Today.
