timber/timbre: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Tuesday, July 21, 2015

timber/timbre
You can build a house out of timber, but that quality which distinguishes the sound produced by one instrument or voice from others is timbre, usually pronounced “TAM-bruh,” so the common expression is “vocal timbre.”

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This is the tenth year of the Common Errors in English Usage calendar. To celebrate, we are bringing back some of our favorite interesting, funny, but sometimes merely silly entries through the years before going on hiatus in 2016.

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desert/dessert: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Monday, July 20, 2015

desert/dessert
Perhaps these two words are confused partly because “dessert” is one of the few words in English with a double S pronounced like Z (“brassiere” is another). That impoverished stretch of sand called a “desert” can only afford one S. In contrast, that rich gooey extra thing at the end of the meal called a “dessert” indulges in two of them. The word in the phrase “he got his just deserts” is confusingly pronounced just like “desserts.”

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This is the tenth year of the Common Errors in English Usage calendar. To celebrate, we are bringing back some of our favorite interesting, funny, but sometimes merely silly entries through the years before going on hiatus in 2016.

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in the mist/in the midst: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Sunday, July 19, 2015

in the mist/in the midst
When you are surrounded by something, you’re in the midst of it—its middle. If you’re in a mist, you’re just in a fog.

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This is the tenth year of the Common Errors in English Usage calendar. To celebrate, we are bringing back some of our favorite interesting, funny, but sometimes merely silly entries through the years before going on hiatus in 2016.

Enjoy the calendar? Buy the book!

in spite of/despite: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Saturday, July 18, 2015

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.

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This is the tenth year of the Common Errors in English Usage calendar. To celebrate, we are bringing back some of our favorite interesting, funny, but sometimes merely silly entries through the years before going on hiatus in 2016.

Enjoy the calendar? Buy the book!

wary/weary/leery: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Friday, July 17, 2015

wary/weary/leery
People sometimes write “weary” (tired) when they mean “wary” (cautious), which is a close synonym with “leery.” “Leery” in the psychedelic era was often misspelled “leary,” but since Timothy Leary faded from public consciousness, the correct spelling has prevailed.


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Paul Brians’ latest blog post discusses one of death’s most popular euphemisms.

This is the tenth year of the Common Errors in English Usage calendar. To celebrate, we are bringing back some of our favorite interesting, funny, but sometimes merely silly entries through the years before going on hiatus in 2016.

Enjoy the calendar? Buy the book!

primer: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Thursday, July 16, 2015

primer 
When this word is used in the US to mean “elementary textbook” it is pronounced with a short I: “primmer” (rhymes with “dimmer”). All other meanings are pronounced with a long I: “prymer” (rhymes with “timer”).

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This is the tenth year of the Common Errors in English Usage calendar. To celebrate, we are bringing back some of our favorite interesting, funny, but sometimes merely silly entries through the years before going on hiatus in 2016.

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service/serve: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Wednesday, July 15, 2015

service/serve
A mechanic services your car and a stallion services a mare, but most of the time when you want to talk about the goods or services you supply, the word you want is “serve”: “Our firm serves the hotel industry.”

 
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This is the tenth year of the Common Errors in English Usage calendar. To celebrate, we are bringing back some of our favorite interesting, funny, but sometimes merely silly entries through the years before going on hiatus in 2016.

Enjoy the calendar? Buy the book!