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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: 2) by Mojibake Tengu on Friday October 11 2019, @04:44PM (2 children)
English writing system is extremely flawed. In English, speech spoken does not correspond to written letters at all. It is a cultural mismatch resulted from historically enforced foreign culture on native population, for the purpose of destruct and erase the original culture. The best writing systems on this planet are Russian Azbuka (known as Cyrillic), Korean Hangul and all Indic writs. All of them were made by smart people who knew what they are doing for their own culture.
The edge of 太玄 cannot be defined, for it is beyond every aspect of design
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 11 2019, @05:51PM (1 child)
The English writing system is extremely flawed. In English, spoken speech does not correspond to written letters at all. It is a cultural mismatch resulting, historically, from enforcing foreign culture on native populations for the purposes of destroying and erasing the original culture. The best writing systems on this planet are Russian Azbuka (known as Cyrillic), Korean Hangul and all Indic writs. All of them were made by smart people who knew what they are doing for their own culture.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 11 2019, @08:43PM
>quote>All of them were made by smart people who knew what they were doing for their own culture.
You missed that one. And you're welcome.