bully pulpit: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Monday, August 31, 2015

bully pulpit
We occasionally still use the old positive meaning of the word “bully” when congratulating somebody (sincerely or sarcastically) by saying “Bully for you!” A century ago “bully” meant “good,” “great.”

That’s why Theodore Roosevelt called the American presidency a “bully pulpit,” meaning that it provided him an outstanding platform from which to preach his ideas. The expression is often misused by writers who mistakenly think it has something to do with preaching at people in a bullying way.


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seam/seem: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Sunday, August 30, 2015

seam/seem
“Seem” is the verb, “seam” the noun. Use “seam” only for things like the line produced when two pieces of cloth are sewn together or a thread of coal in a geological formation.

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lion’s share: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Saturday, August 29, 2015

lion’s share
Even though the original meaning of this phrase reflected the idea that the lion can take whatever he wants—typically all of the slaughtered game, leaving nothing for anyone else—in modern usage the meaning has shifted to “the largest share.” This makes great sense if you consider the way hyenas and vultures swarm onto the leftovers from a typical lion’s kill.


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angel/angle: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Friday, August 28, 2015

angel/angle
People who want to write about winged beings from Heaven often miscall them “angles.” A triangle has three angles. The Heavenly Host is made of angels. Just remember the adjectival form: “angelic.” If you pronounce it aloud you’ll be reminded that the E comes before the L.

 
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coupe de gras/coup de grace: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Thursday, August 27, 2015

coupe de gras/coup de grace
A coupe de gras (pronounced “coop duh grah”) would be a cup of fat; what is intended is the French fencing term coup de grace (pronounced “coo duh grahss”), the final blow that puts the defeated victim out of his misery.


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medal/metal/meddle/mettle: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Wednesday, August 26, 2015

medal/metal/meddle/mettle
A person who proves his or her mettle displays courage or stamina. The word “mettle” is seldom used outside of this expression, so people constantly confuse it with other similar-sounding words.

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card shark/cardsharp: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Tuesday, August 25, 2015

card shark/cardsharp
Although he may behave like a shark, the slick, cheating card player is a “cardsharp.”

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scrapegoat/scapegoat: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Monday, August 24, 2015

scrapegoat/scapegoat
Leviticus 16:5–10 describes an ancient ritual in which a goat was symbolically laden with the sins of the people and driven out into the desert to the demon Azazel. In early English translations confusion led to this goat being called a “scapegoat” (for “escaped goat”). A person or cause being sacrificed as a victim to spare others is therefore referred to as a scapegoat. You load the burdens on; you don’t scrape them off.

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pair (number): Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Sunday, August 23, 2015

pair (number) 
“This is a left-handed pair of scissors.” “There is a pair of glasses on the mantelpiece.” “Pair” is singular in this sort of expression. Note that we say, “That is a nice pair of pants,” even though we also say, “Those are nice pants.”



 
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academia: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Saturday, August 22, 2015

academia
Although some academics are undoubtedly nuts, the usual English-language pronunciation of “academia” does not rhyme with “macadamia.” The third syllable is pronounced “deem.” Just say “academe” and add “ee-yuh.”

However, there’s an interesting possibility if you go with “ack-uh-DAME-ee-yuh”: although some people will sneer at your lack of sophistication, others will assume you’re using the Latin pronunciation and being learned.


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dribble/drivel: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Friday, August 21, 2015

dribble/drivel 
“Dribble” and “drivel” originally meant the same thing: drool. But the two words have become differentiated. When you mean to criticize someone else’s speech as stupid or pointless, the word you want is “drivel.”

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Happy birthday, Wilt Chamberlain (1936).

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toe-headed/tow-headed: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Thursday, August 20, 2015

toe-headed/tow-headed
Light-colored rope is called “tow” and someone with very blond hair is called a “tow-head.” Tow-headed children are cute, but a toe-headed one would be seriously deformed.

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tad bit/tad, bit: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Wednesday, August 19, 2015

tad bit/tad, bit
A “tad” was originally a small boy, but this word evolved into the expression “a tad” meaning “very small” or “very slightly”: “The movie was a tad long for my taste.”

Some people combine this with the equivalent expression “a bit” and say “a tad bit.” This is redundant. Just say “a bit” or “a tad.”



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zoology: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Tuesday, August 18, 2015

zoology
Both O’s in “zoo” are needed to create the “oo” sound in this word; but the same is not true of words like “zoology” and “zoologist.” Here each O has its own sound: “oh” followed by “ah.” The first two syllables rhyme with “boa.”

Then there is a whole class of technical words like “zooplankton” where both O’s are pronounced “oh,” though the second “oh” is pronounced so weakly it comes out more like “uh.” But if you need to speak such words, you probably know how to pronounce them already.

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pedal/peddle: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Monday, August 17, 2015

pedal/peddle 
If you are delivering newspapers from a bike you can pedal it around the neighborhood (perhaps wearing “pedal-pushers”), but when you sell them from a newsstand you peddle them.

 
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slight of hand/sleight of hand: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Sunday, August 16, 2015

slight of hand/sleight of hand
“Sleight” is an old word meaning “cleverness, skill,” and the proper expression is “sleight of hand.” It’s easy to understand why it’s confused with “slight” since the two words are pronounced in exactly the same way.

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weiner/wiener: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Saturday, August 15, 2015

weiner/wiener
The Vienna sausage from the city the Austrians call Wien inspired the American hot dog, or wiener. Americans aren’t used to the European pronunciation of IE as “ee” and often misspell the word as “weiner.”


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chemicals: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Friday, August 14, 2015

chemicals
Markets offering “organic” produce claim it has been raised “without chemicals.” News stories fret about “chemicals in our water supply.” This common error in usage indicates quite clearly the lamentable level of scientific literacy in our population. Everything on earth save a few stray subatomic particles and various kinds of energy (and—if you believe in it—pure spirit) is composed of chemicals. Pure water consists of the chemical dihydrogen oxide. Vitamins and minerals are chemicals. In the broadest sense, even simple elements like nitrogen can be called chemicals. Writers who use this term sloppily contribute to the obfuscation of public debate over such serious issues as pollution and malnutrition.

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shook/shaken: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Thursday, August 13, 2015

shook/shaken
Elvis Presley couldn’t have very well sung “I’m all shaken up,” but that is the grammatically correct form. “Shook” is the simple past tense of “shake,” and quite correct in sentences like “I shook my piggy bank but all that came out was a paper clip.” But in sentences with a helping verb, you need “shaken”: “The quarterback had shaken the champagne bottle before emptying it on the coach.”


 
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perse/per se: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Wednesday, August 12, 2015

perse/per se
This legal term meaning “in, of, or by itself” is a bit pretentious, but you gain little respect if you misspell per se as a single word. Worse is the mistaken “per say.”

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specific/Pacific: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Tuesday, August 11, 2015

specific/Pacific
An astonishing number of people mispronounce “Pacific” as “specific.”

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squash/quash: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Monday, August 10, 2015

squash/quash
You can squash a spider or a tomato; but when the meaning you intend is “to suppress,” as in rebellions or (especially) legal motions, the more sophisticated term is “quash.”

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beside/besides: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Sunday, August 9, 2015

beside/besides
“Besides” can mean “in addition to” as in “besides the puppy chow, Spot scarfed up the filet mignon I was going to serve for dinner.” “Beside,” in contrast, usually means “next to.” “I sat beside Cheryl all evening, but she kept talking to Jerry instead.” Using “beside” for “besides” won’t usually get you in trouble, but using “besides” when you mean “next to” will.

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cannot/can not: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Saturday, August 8, 2015

cannot/can not
These two spellings are largely interchangeable, but by far the most common is “cannot”; and you should probably use it except when you want to be emphatic: “No, you can not wash the dog in the Maytag.”

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till/until: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Friday, August 7, 2015

till/until
Since it looks like an abbreviation for “until,” some people argue that this word should always be spelled “’til” (though not all insist on the apostrophe). However, “till” has regularly occurred as a spelling of this word for over 800 years; it’s actually older than “until.” It is perfectly good English.

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hold your peace/say your piece: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Thursday, August 6, 2015

hold your peace/say your piece
Some folks imagine that since these expressions are opposites, the last word in each should be the same; but in fact they are unrelated expressions. “Hold your peace” means “maintain your silence,” and “say your piece” means literally “speak aloud a piece of writing” but is used to express the idea of making a statement.

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flesh out/flush out: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Wednesday, August 5, 2015

flesh out/flush out
To “flesh out” an idea is to give it substance, as a sculptor adds clay flesh to a skeletal armature. To “flush out” a criminal is to drive him or her out into the open. The latter term is derived from bird-hunting, in which one flushes out a covey of quail. If you are trying to develop something further, use “flesh”; but if you are trying to reveal something hitherto concealed, use “flush.”

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misnomer: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Tuesday, August 4, 2015

misnomer 
A misnomer is a mistake in naming a thing; calling a debit card a “credit card” is a misnomer. Do not use the term more generally to designate other sorts of confusion, misunderstood concepts, or fallacies, and above all do not render this word as “misnamer.”

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wheelbarrel/wheelbarrow: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Monday, August 3, 2015

wheelbarrel/wheelbarrow
One very old meaning of the word “barrow” is an open container for carrying people or goods. The earliest barrows were carried by two people holding handles on either end. Add a wheel to one end and you have a wheelbarrow which can be handled by a single person. The word is also sometimes applied to two-wheeled versions.

The word has nothing to do with barrels.

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pawn off/palm off: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Sunday, August 2, 2015

pawn off/palm off
Somebody defrauds you by using sleight of hand (literal or figurative) to “palm” the object you wanted and give you something inferior instead. The variant spelling “pawn off” is both long-established and very popular, but makes little logical sense.

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scone/sconce: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Saturday, August 1, 2015

scone/sconce
If you fling a jam-covered biscuit at the wall and it sticks, the result may be a “wall scone”; but if you are describing a wall-mounted light fixture, the word you want is sconce.

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