In climbing one ascends.
"A coat of paint, or varnish." If we coat something we produce a coating, not a coat.
There can be none: a "collateral descendant" is not a descendant.
Give a man a title only if it belongs to him, and only while it belongs to him.
The word, in this sense, has something of the meaning of conspiracy, but there is no justification for it as a noun, in any sense.
This is not actually incorrect, but – well, it is a matter of taste.
A contribution to our noble tongue by its scholastic conservators, "commencement day" being their name for the last day of the collegiate year. It is ingeniously defended on the ground that on that day those on whom degrees are bestowed commence to hold them. Lovely!
Instead of "He committed suicide," say, He killed himself, or, He took his life. For married we do not say "committed matrimony." Unfortunately most of us do say, "got married," which is almost as bad. For lack of a suitable verb we just sometimes say committed this or that, as in the instance of bigamy, for the verb to bigam is a blessing that is still in store for us.
"He had the immodesty to compare himself with Shakespeare." Nothing necessarily immodest in that. Comparison with may be for observing a difference; comparison to affirms a similarity.