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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: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 11 2019, @04:07PM (1 child)
I'm not native speaker (don't even speak english). Often see "then" used in place of "than", is confusing. I see it even in places where the people is well educated.
Is this a trend? Is socially acceptable?
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Friday October 11 2019, @04:37PM
Similar response to an earlier post:
If you see that mistake frequently, then the people using it are not "well educated". Anybody can make a typo, so seeing "then" used for "than" one time is no big deal. But if the author(s) make that mistake routinely, they had a crap education.
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.