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13 Frequently Misused/Confused Words

27/1/2011

17 Comments

 
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Welcome back for another installment of the Thursday Thirteen!

This week's post is actually writing-related, and I've been building it (very) slowly over the course of the last couple of months. So, why delay any longer? Here we go with

13 Frequently Misused/Confused Words

1) It's "Congratulations" NOT "Congraduations".
To be honest, this is one which almost breaks my heart. Thanks to Hallmark and their decision to put a bit of wordplay on cards meant for high school and college graduates, we now have a great many people who think "Congraduations" is how we congratulate people on any given accomplishment.

Please stop doing this. I will congratulate you for it. Otherwise...

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Naughty-naughty!
2) It's "Definitely" NOT "Definately" or "Deafenitly" or any other variation.
I would like to blame David Gilmour for this, in part, thanks to the track called "Deafinitely" on his 1978 solo album. Unfortunately, this error is becoming more widespread each year, it seems. Grrrr... Just remember: if something is "definite" it is "finite" in space/time.
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Side Two. Track number four. Shame on you, David. Look what you've done.
3) "Hanger" and "Hangar".
A "hanger" is what you put clothes on. A "hangar" is where you keep an airplane.

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HangEr.
Picture
HangAr.
4) "Rein", "Reign" and "Rain".
Okay, this is a biggie. A "rein" is part of a horse's harness. To guide, slow or stop a horse, you pull on the "reins". To bring a situation under control, you "rein it in".
A king or queen, however, has a "reign" (think "sovereign") (Middle English regne, from Anglo-French, from Latin regnum, from reg-, rex king).
"Rain" falls from the sky.
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Reins.
Picture
Rain.
Picture
Reign(ing).
5) Peak, pique and peek.
Three very different words with very different meanings. A "peak" is the top of something, say a mountain or the roof of a house (stand on the peak of a mountain and gaze down at the world"). To "pique" is to irritate, instigate or arouse an emotion, or is the state of emotion which follows this (a fit or state of pique). To "peek" is to steal a glance, to peer at something ("I took a quick peek but saw nothing").
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Peak.
Picture
Gerard Pique. (Just making sure you're paying attention.)
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Peek-a-boo!!!
6) "Break" and "Brake".
"Break" means something goes to pieces or someone is going easy on you ("give me a break!"). "Brake" means to slow something down, or the object used to slow something down.
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Break. (Actually, 'broken' but you get the idea.)
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Brake. (Car)
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Brake. (Bicycle)
7) "Heroin" and "Heroine".
That "e" makes a big difference. "Heroin" is a drug. The "heroine" is the female lead of a story.

Please help stop the insidious spread of this increasingly common mistake.
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Heroin.
Picture
Heroine.
8) "Might" and "Mite".
"Might" is power, or means something could possibly happen. ("Mighty" is the adjective form of this word.)

A "Mite" is something very, very small.
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Mighty Mouse has might. He might win the day!
Picture
Mite. Much smaller than Mighty Mouse.
9) "Your" and "You're".
"Your" means that you own something: Your car is a mess! Your house needs painting, etc.

"You're" is the contraction of "You are": You're looking good! You're going where?
10) Dilute and delude.
To "dilute" or to be "diluted" means to be watered down or spread out.
To "delude" or to be "deluded" means to be fooled or to confuse (directly related to "delusion/delusional").
Picture
Dilute.
Picture
One deluded puppy.
11) "Clamor" and "Clamber".
To "clamor" is to shout or make noise. To "clamber" is to climb or struggle over an obstacle.

12) "Passed" and "Past".
Past is a time reference, used to indicate occurences in time prior to the present. "Oh, that's history. It's in the past." Alternately, past is used as an adverb: "He went past at a high rate of speed."

Passed means having traveled beyond something in physical space. "He passed me on the right! That's illegal!"

(There's a lot more to these two, but we'll stop here for the sake of space.)
13) "Bawling" and "Balling".
If someone is crying loudly, they're "bawling".
"Balling" is frequently used as a sexual euphemism, and thus is rather jarring if it appears in the wrong place.
Picture
Bawling.
Picture
Did you really expect a photo for 'Balling'? Tsk.




All righty then. I feel better after getting that off my chest.













I'm sure many of you understand, and probably agree.






















I appreciate that, truly.




















And while we're on the subject of getting things off our chests...









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Aren't we happy *he* did?
Ciao for now!
17 Comments
Darla M Sands link
27/1/2011 05:21:32 am

Great list! I have a problem typing form versus from. It's as annoying as seeing these mistakes. Well, almost. People can be so ignorant. Thanks for trying to correct them!

Reply
Claire link
27/1/2011 06:33:19 am

You know why I like this list? A.) I have a Masters in English and I teach college freshmen who ALWAYS get these mixed up and B.) Hot men! A girl after my own heart. Happy Thursday!

Reply
Jennifer Leeland link
27/1/2011 06:53:35 am

OMG! Passed and Past get me EVER STINKIN' TIME! I frequently use that one incorrectly. *hangs head in shame*.

Reply
Xakara link
27/1/2011 07:34:06 am

Thank you for pointing these out. They irritate me, but I'm sure I've done at least two due to writing to fast and proofreading with less vigor than necessary.

Happy TT,

~Xakara
<a href="http://xakara.livejournal.com/96181.html">The Clockwork Courtesan</a>

Reply
Virginia Cavanaugh link
27/1/2011 08:48:15 am

Number 7 had me laughing.

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Mary Quast link
27/1/2011 08:55:51 am

Like always I enjoy your post... especially the eye candy treat!

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Alice Audrey link
27/1/2011 09:02:51 am

This is exactly the kind of mistake I'm likely to make - the kind the spell checker won't catch. Worse, half the time I actually do know the difference and am suffering from a typo.

Reply
Paige Tyler link
27/1/2011 09:03:07 am

Great list! Love the pics, especially the eye candy!

*hugs*
Paige

My TT is at http://paigetylertheauthor.blogspot.com/

Reply
Heather link
27/1/2011 09:16:30 am

Yes! I don't think I need to tell YOU how much *I* love this post. Like you, I blame Hallmark for #1, and 2 and 5 are a couple of my biggest peeves.

Another one that makes me "shudder" is people who use "shutter" instead of the correct word as I did.

Reply
Dexie link
27/1/2011 09:24:42 am

I've encountered those misused words except for Congraduations. That's just sad.

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CountryDew link
27/1/2011 10:09:02 am

Very common mistakes. One of my favorites is "irregardless" instead of "regardless." Ack.

Reply
Shelley Munro link
27/1/2011 11:20:19 am

Great post, Kimberly. The first two aren't common down this part of the world. In fact, I'd never seen them before. I like the pictures. ;)

Reply
Savannah Chase link
27/1/2011 02:11:35 pm

Fantastic list. I have probably messed one of these up in my work. You learn from your mistakes.

Reply
Mercy link
27/1/2011 03:13:32 pm

Great list, love the peek a boo pic. Happy T13!

Reply
Yvette Davis link
27/1/2011 06:24:54 pm

I love the peek a boo kitty! Nice shots there!

I seem to remember some previous rumblings on a few of these. Definite, to be sure. Others, I have to just shake my head at. Balling versus bawling? Really? Tsk tsk for sure!

Reply
Adelle Laudan link
27/1/2011 09:53:34 pm

Great list. Those little kitten pics are adorable.

Happy T13!

Reply
Greta
28/1/2011 09:14:11 pm

Oh I did enjoy the read. No picture for 'balling'. :{

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    Kimberly Menozzi

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