caddy-corner/catty-corner, cater-corner, kitty-corner: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Tuesday, July 28, 2015

caddy-corner/catty-corner, cater-corner, kitty-corner 
This expression, meaning “diagonally opposite,” was formed from a misspelling in English of the French word quatre (“four”) prefixed to “corner.” Although the word has nothing to do with cats or kittens, in various dialects all three spellings are acceptable: “catty,” “cater,” or “kitty.”

But unless you have somebody holding your golf clubs permanently stationed in the corner of your room, you shouldn’t use the spelling “caddy corner.”

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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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how to/how can I: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Monday, July 27, 2015

how to/how can I
You can ask someone how to publish a novel; but when you do, don’t write “How to publish a novel?” Instead ask “How can I publish a novel?” or “How does someone publish a novel?” If you’re in luck, the person you’ve asked will tell you how to do it. “How to” belongs in statements, not questions.

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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!

callous/callused: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Sunday, July 26, 2015

callous/callused
Calling someone “callous” is a way of metaphorically suggesting a lack of feeling similar to that caused by calluses on the skin; but if you are speaking literally of the tough build-up on a person’s hand or foot, the word you need is “callused.”

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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!

emulate/imitate: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Saturday, July 25, 2015

emulate/imitate
People generally know what “imitate” means, but they sometimes don’t understand that “emulate” is a more specialized word with a purely positive function, meaning to try to equal or match. Thus if you try to climb the same mountain your big brother did, you’re emulating him; but if you copy his habit of sticking peas up his nose, you’re just imitating him.


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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!

fluke: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Friday, July 24, 2015

fluke
A fluke was originally a lucky stroke in billiards, and it still means a fortunate chance event. It is nonstandard to use the word to label an unfortunate chance event. There are lucky flukes, but no unlucky ones.

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Paul Brians' latest blog post shows he's hip to the correct spelling of "tie-dye."

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!

road to hoe/row to hoe: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Thursday, July 23, 2015

road to hoe/row to hoe
Out in the cotton patch you have a tough row to hoe. This saying has nothing to do with road construction.

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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!

minus/hyphen: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Wednesday, July 22, 2015

minus/hyphen
When baffled computer users phone Support they may say they have a Model AB “minus” 231. In the model name “AB-231” the linking character is a hyphen, though “dash” will do. “Minus” makes no sense in such contexts, but is so common that support personnel have begun to adopt it too.

 
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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!