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from the its-quiet-awl-write-two-laugh-hat-you're-miss-steaks dept.
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: 1) by zoward on Friday October 11 2019, @01:59PM (4 children)
Not that this directly applies to the list, but one of the things you see a lot online is misuse of homonyms, e.g. "there" for "their" or "they're". This used to mildly irk me until I discovered that I sometimes find myself doing the same thing, when I re-read a sentence I just typed, even if I'm clear on the difference between the words. I suspect there's something in the way the brain processes the words as you're typing them.
As for the list: well, in some cases, it's a matter of people only having heard the phrase rather than having read it.
PS: I'm already fond of "pot-bellied politics"!
(Score: 3, Touché) by DannyB on Friday October 11 2019, @02:22PM (3 children)
Your never going to get you're weigh on this.
Their are simply two many people out they're using there words wrong too get to triggered about it.
Sew don't loose you're cool over it.
You can sea mini common examples of incorrect usage.
People pick the write words two use according too there porpoises.
To transfer files: right-click on file, pick Copy. Unplug mouse, plug mouse into other computer. Right-click, paste.
(Score: 2) by etherscythe on Friday October 11 2019, @06:22PM
My parser crashed on every line, and gave up with a fatal error halfway through that post.
I'm terrible with riddles; I'm sure it's related somehow.
"Fake News: anything reported outside of my own personally chosen echo chamber"
(Score: 2) by gtomorrow on Friday October 11 2019, @07:52PM (1 child)
YOU ARE ON FIRE TONIGHT!
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Friday October 11 2019, @08:08PM
But I don't live in California?
To transfer files: right-click on file, pick Copy. Unplug mouse, plug mouse into other computer. Right-click, paste.