I was recently introduced to Professor Paul Brians' web site at Washington State University (WSU). I know I've made many mistakes like these over the years, and would like to think that I have learned from those mistakes. Would that I could have learned them, then, without having to go through those experiences.
So, with a sense of gratitude for what I've been taught and learned so far, and in hopes that it might afford a Soylentil a chance to avoid a red-face-inducing faux pas, I offer you examples of some Common Errors in English Usage:
People send me quite a few word confusions which don't seem worth writing up but which are nevertheless entertaining or interesting. I simply list a number of these below for your amusement. Many of them are discussed on the Eggcorn Database site.
Note: if you don't find what you're looking for below, please be aware that this is only a supplementary page to a much more extensive site that begins here.
NOTE: This is a greatly thinned list of examples from the linked page and has been reformatted for use here. Ellipses ([...]) between entries are implied.
What was said | What was meant |
---|---|
ad homonym | ad hominem |
aerobic numbers | Arabic numbers |
ashfault | asphalt |
Cadillac converter | catalytic converter |
circus sized | circumcised |
deformation of character | defamation of character |
flamingo dancer | flamenco dancer |
four-stair heating | forced-air heating |
gentile manners | genteel manners |
glaucomole | glaucoma |
gorilla warfare | guerilla warfare |
Heineken remover | Heimlich maneuver |
immaculate degeneration | macular degeneration |
in sink | in synch |
ivy tower | ivory tower |
misconscrew | misconstrue |
muncho man | macho man |
parody of virtue | paragon of virtue |
piece of mind | peace of mind |
pot-bellied politics | pork-barrel politics |
shock ways | shockwaves |
techknowledgy | technology |
two sense worth | two cents' worth |
tyrannical yolk | tyrannical yoke |
very close veins | varicose veins |
windshield factor | wind chill factor |
What are your favorites — either from this list — or from elsewhere?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 11 2019, @01:06PM (5 children)
How do you pronounce a silent "H"?
(Score: 3, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 11 2019, @01:11PM
" "
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 11 2019, @01:35PM (1 child)
Like you do in Aluminhum instead of Aluminium.
(Score: 3, Funny) by DannyB on Friday October 11 2019, @02:37PM
Oy hear eat pronounced down under as Al You Min Eee Um.
Electric is pronounced AL-ectric.
The lower I set my standards the more accomplishments I have.
(Score: 5, Funny) by DannyB on Friday October 11 2019, @02:08PM
To sound like a Brit,
1. Remove the leading H from words that have one
2. Add a leading H to words that do not have one
P1: What was that bird sound?
P2: I think it was an Awk.
P1: I think it sounded more like a Howl.
To sound like an Aussie, is more difficult:
Oy saw a snike. Eat head beeg blow oys and a huge tile.
(it's a joke, not to be taken too seriously, jokes about American English welcome equally)
The lower I set my standards the more accomplishments I have.
(Score: 2) by Rupert Pupnick on Friday October 11 2019, @04:17PM
Like the "p" in "swimming".