AP Style Tip: Historic vs. Historical

With the presidential elections less than a year away, journalists and pundits would likely use words like "historical" and "historic" to describe a victory by Barak Obama or Hillary Clinton.

But which word is the correct one to use? According to the AP stylebook, "A historic event is an important occurrence, one that stands out in history. Any occurrence in the past is a historical event."

In other words, go with historic if you're describing a specific event. Although every historic event is historical, not every historical event is historic. 

And for those prone to malapropisms, avoid using "hysterical" in all circumstances.