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.”