dolly/handcart: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Thursday, February 28, 2013

dolly/handcart
A dolly is a flat platform with wheels on it, often used to make heavy objects mobile or by an auto mechanic lying on one under a car body. Many people mistakenly use this word to designate the vertically oriented, two-wheeled device with upright handles and horizontal lip. This latter device is more properly called a “handcart” or “hand truck.”

bring/take: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Wednesday, February 27, 2013

bring/take
When you are viewing the movement of something from the point of arrival, use “bring.” “When you come to the potluck, please bring a green salad.” Viewing things from the point of departure, you should use “take”: “When you go to the potluck, take a bottle of wine.”

material/materiel: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Tuesday, February 26, 2013

material/materiel
“Material” is a very common word, so it’s not surprising that when people encounter the French-derived spelling “materiel” in military contexts (“supplying men and materiel”), they think it’s a mistake and “correct” it to the more familiar “material.” The equipment and supplies used by armies and other organizations are “materiel,” which is never spelled with an S on the end.

as follow/as follows: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Monday, February 25, 2013

as follow/as follows
“My birthday requests are as follows.” This standard phrase doesn’t change number when the items to follow grow from one to many. It’s never correct to say “as follow.”

murmer/murmur: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Sunday, February 24, 2013

murmer/murmur 
Think of “murmur” as a gentle repetition of sounds like “blahblah.”

adviser/advisor: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Saturday, February 23, 2013

adviser/advisor 
“Adviser” and “advisor” are equally fine spellings. There is no distinction between them.

laissez-faire: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Friday, February 22, 2013

laissez-faire
The mispronunciation “lazy-fare” is almost irresistible in English, but this is a French expression meaning “let it be” or, more precisely, “the economic doctrine of avoiding state regulation of the economy,” and it has retained its French pronunciation (though with an English R): “lessay fare.” It is most properly used as an adjective, as in “laissez-faire capitalism,” but is also commonly used as if it were a noun phrase: “the Republican party advocates laissez-faire.”

states/countries: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Thursday, February 21, 2013

states/countries
Citizens of the United States, where states are smaller subdivisions of the country, are sometimes surprised to see “states” referring instead to foreign countries. Note that the US Department of State deals with foreign affairs, not those of US states. Clearly distinguish these two uses of “state” in your writing.

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Toward faux pas–free pronunciation and spelling: Paul Brians' latest blog post deals with how English speakers handle French vocabulary.

near/nearly: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Wednesday, February 20, 2013

near/nearly
Some dialects substitute “near” for standard “nearly” in statements like “There weren’t nearly enough screws in the kit to finish assembling the cabinet.”

stomp/stamp: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Tuesday, February 19, 2013

stomp/stamp 
 “Stomp” is colloquial, casual. A professional wrestler stomps his opponent. In more formal contexts “stamp” is preferred. But you will probably not be able to stamp out the spread of “stomp.”

recuperate/recoup: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Monday, February 18, 2013

recuperate/recoup
If you are getting over an illness, you are recuperating; but if you insist on remaining at the roulette table when your luck has been running against you, you are seeking to recoup your losses.

no where/nowhere: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Sunday, February 17, 2013

no where/nowhere
“Nowhere,” like “anywhere” and “somewhere,” is always one word.

for sale/on sale: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Saturday, February 16, 2013

for sale/on sale
If you’re selling something, it’s for sale; but if you lower the price, it goes on sale.

unrest: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Friday, February 15, 2013

unrest
Journalists often use this mild term to describe all manner of civil disorders, but it’s silly to call mayhem or chaos merely “unrest” when there are bullets flying about and bodies lying in the streets.

gift/give: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Thursday, February 14, 2013

gift/give
Conservatives are annoyed by the use of “gift” as a verb. If the ad says “gift her with jewelry this Valentine’s Day,” she might prefer that you give it to her.

raise/rear: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Wednesday, February 13, 2013

raise/rear 
Old-fashioned writers insist that you raise crops and rear children, but in modern American English children are usually “raised.”

not all that/not very: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Tuesday, February 12, 2013

not all that/not very
The slangy phrase “not all that,” as in “The dessert was not all that tasty,” doesn’t belong in formal writing. “Not very” would work, but something more specific would be even better: “The pudding tasted like library paste.”

dieties/deities: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Monday, February 11, 2013

dieties/deities
This one is always good for a laugh. The gods are deities, after the Latin deus, meaning “god.”

cheap at half the price/cheap at twice the price: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Sunday, February 10, 2013

cheap at half the price/cheap at twice the price
“Cheap at half the price” implies the price is too high. The only logical version of this common phrase is “cheap at twice the price.”

flys/flies: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Saturday, February 9, 2013

flys/flies
“Flys” is a misspelling of “flies” except when the word is being deliberately changed from its traditional spelling as in the name of the popular music group, The Flys.

hand and hand/hand in hand: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Friday, February 8, 2013

hand and hand/hand in hand
“Poverty goes hand in hand with malnutrition.” The image here is of the two subjects holding hands, one hand in the other. The phrase is very frequently misspelled “hand and hand,” which does not convey the same sort of intimate connection.

prioritize: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Thursday, February 7, 2013

prioritize
Many people disdain “prioritize” as bureaucratic jargon for “rank” or “make a high priority.”

in spite of/despite: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Wednesday, February 6, 2013

in spite of/despite
Although “in spite of” is perfectly standard English, some people prefer “despite” because it is shorter. Be careful not to mix the two together by saying “despite of” except as part of the phrase “in despite of” meaning “in defiance of.”

And note that unlike “despite,” “in spite” should always be spelled as two separate words.

nip it in the butt/nip it in the bud: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Tuesday, February 5, 2013

nip it in the butt/nip it in the bud
To nip a process in the bud is to stop it from flowering completely. The hilariously mistaken “nip it in the butt” suggests stimulation to action rather than stopping it.

mucus/mucous: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Monday, February 4, 2013

mucus/mucous 
Mucous membranes secrete mucus. “Mucus” is the noun and “mucous” is the adjective. It’s not only snotty biologists who insist on distinguishing between these two words.

ninty/ninety: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Sunday, February 3, 2013

ninty/ninety
“Nine” keeps its E when it changes to “ninety.”

Scotch/Scots: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Saturday, February 2, 2013

Scotch/Scots 
Scottish people generally refer to themselves as “Scots” or “Scottish” rather than “Scotch.”

LCD display/LCD: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Friday, February 1, 2013

LCD display/LCD 
“LCD” stands for “liquid crystal display,” so it is redundant to write “LCD display.” Use just “LCD” or “LCD screen” instead.

Many people confuse this abbreviation with “LED,” which stands for “light-emitting diode”—a much earlier technology. You will often see explanations even in technical contexts in which “LCD” is incorrectly defined as “liquid crystal diode.”