It’s funny how we say things that we’ve heard all of
our lives, but don’t give much thought as to the meaning of the phrase.
Listed below are several of these cases in point. How many of these do you say
wrong?
I could care
less VS I couldn’t care
less
What you think it means: "I
couldn't care less."
What it actually means: You actually do
care.
It begs the
question
Would you think it means: To ask or raise
a question
What it actually means: To use an
argument that assumes as proved the very thing one is trying to prove.
Let's table this
What you think it means: To discuss
something later
What it actually means: In the United
States, it means what you think it does. But it means the exact opposite --
"let's discuss this right now" -- in most of the rest of the
English-speaking world.
I did a 360 VS I did a 180
What you think it means: Completely
changing your opinion.
What it actually means: Your opinion
changed, but then changed back to your original opinion.
PIN number VS
just PIN
What you think it means: A
non-repetitive way to refer to your personal identification number
What it actually means: That you're
being redundant. Especially when you use your PIN number at the ATM machine.
Lion's share
What you think it means: The greatest of
multiple shares
What it actually means: The phrase
originally comes from an Aesop's Fable in which the lion took all -- not the largest -- of the
shares.
I am nauseous.VS I
am nauseated.
What you think it means: I have a sick
feeling in my stomach.
What it actually means: "I make
other people sick," the correct term would have been "I am
nauseated."
Here are some words that you'll see used incorrectly
on a daily basis.
Irregardless
People think it means: Regardless.
Actually means: nothing.
Peruse
People think it means: To skim over or
browse something.
Actually means: Almost the opposite of that.
Peruse means
"to read with thoroughness or care." If you peruse a book, you leave
no page unturned. This makes sense when you consider the Middle English per
use, meaning "to wear out or use up."
Ironic
People think it means: Any kind of
amusing coincidence.
Actually means: An outcome that is the opposite
of what you'd expect.
Pristine
People think it means: "Spotless"
or "as good as new."
Actually means: "Ancient, primeval; in a
state virtually unchanged from the original."
Nonplussed
People think it means: Unperturbed, not
worried.
Actually means: Utterly perplexed or confused. It
comes from the Latin non plus (a state in which nothing more can be done).
Bemused
People think it means: Mildly amused.
Actually means: Bewildered or confused.
Enormity
People think it means: Enormous.
Actually means: Outrageous or heinous on a grand
scale.
Plethora
People think it means: A lot of
something.
Actually means: Too much of something, an
over-abundance.
redundant
People think it
means: useless
or unable to perform its function
Actually means: an excess
of something, that something is "surplus to requirements" and no
longer needed, or that it is obsolete.
Here are some confusing combinations:
Your means
"belonging to you."
You're is a contraction of "you are."
Whose/Who’s
Whose is an interrogative or relative
pronoun.
Who’s is a contraction for “who is”.
Use
who when it is the subject of the
sentence,
whom when it is the object. Replace the
word "who/whom" with "he/him." If "he" is
correct, "who" is correct. If "him" is correct,
"whom" is correct.
To indicates
direction.
Too means "also."
Two is the number after one but before three.
Their is a possessive
meaning "belonging to them."
There indicates position.
They're is a contraction of "they are."
that is specific,
whereas
which is general.
Than is used when you're making a
comparison between two or more things.
Then is used to indicate that something happens after something
else, often with a cause-and-effect relationship. Also use after "if"
clauses.
Sight/Site/Cite
Sight involves your
eyes being able to see.
Site is a location.
Cite is to give credit for a source
Sit/Set
When
used as a verb, to set means
"to place" or "to adjust to a value",
whereas to sit means, "to be seated".
A roll is:
a
small piece of bread
a
piece of paper that has been turned into a tube
a
verb meaning "to turn (paper) into a tube"
a
verb meaning "to turn over and over"
a
list of people in a group
A
role is a part in a play or the
function you perform in a certain group.
A piece is a portion or fragment of
something.
Peace is the opposite of war.
Peas are small green vegetables.
Past is an adjective meaning
"before now." It is also a noun meaning "the time before
now."
Passed is a past-participle form of the
verb "to pass" meaning "to give" or "to move".
Some
people also use it euphemistically for death; My father has passed.
More should be used when comparing
exactly two things. For example: You have more ice cream than Martha.
Most should be used
when comparing more than two things. For example: Sandy has the most ice cream
in the room.
Lay means you have to lay an object.
Lie means that it does not take an
object; it is something a person does.
However; lay is also the past-tense form of lie.
The
past-tense form of lay however is laid.
Isle/aisle
An
isle is a small island in a string
of small islands.
An
Aisle is corridor through which one
may pass from one place to another.
Imply/infer
Something
is implied if it is a suggestion intended by the person
speaking,
A
conclusion is inferred if it is reached by the person listening.
Unlike
most possessives, its does not
contain an apostrophe.
But
with its/it's you need to remember
that an apostrophe often replaces a letter. If the word is it's, ask, "What letter has been removed?" The letter i
from it is has been replaced by the
apostrophe.
Hoard/horde
A
hoard
is a store or accumulation of things.
A
horde
is a large group of people.
Historic/historical
historic
describes an event of importance—one that shaped history or is likely to do so.
Historical
merely describes something that happened in the past.
Hangar/hanger
The
airplane is in the hangar; the coat
is on the hanger.
Hang
To
hang
something or someone in the present tense, one uses the same form. In the
past, however, pictures are hung and criminals are hanged.
well is an adverb;
He did that well.
good is an adjective; That
was a good dinner.
Both
these words mean "more far." Farther means “more far” in terms
that can be measured.
Further refers to more
abstract differences, like the difference between two people's points of view.
Emigration/immigration
Emigration is the process
of leaving a country;
immigration
is the process of arriving in a country.
Disinterested/uninterested
To
be disinterested in something means to not be biased about
something.
To
be uninterested means to not be interested in or intrigued by
something.
A desert is a dry sandy place.
Dessert is the sweet stuff you
generally eat after a meal.
Disburse/disperse
Disburse means
"to give out", especially money.
Disperse
means "to scatter".
Diffuse/defuse
To diffuse is to disperse randomly,
whereas to defuse is to remove the fuse from a bomb, or in general to
render a situation less dangerous.
Diffuse can
also be used as an adjective, meaning, "not concentrated".
Dawn/sunrise
Dawn is
frequently used to mean "sunrise", but technically it means the
twilight period immediately before sunrise.
Assure/ensure/insure
To assure is to intend to give the
listener confidence,
to ensure
is to make certain of,
and
to insure is to purchase insurance.
Altar/alter
An
altar is a table or stand upon which
religious ceremonies are performed.
Alter means "to change"
Acute/chronic
Acute means
"sharp", as an acute illness is one that rapidly worsens and reaches
a crisis.
A chronic illness may also be a
severe one, but it is long-lasting or lingering.
Affect is a verb
meaning "to influence" or "to cause change in."
Effect is a noun meaning "the
result or outcome."
Accept is a verb meaning "to agree
to" or "to adapt to"
Except is a preposition or conjunction
meaning roughly "unless" or "if not."
Dallas Woodburn is the author of two award-winning collections of short stories and editor of Dancing With The Pen: a collection of today's best youth writing.
Her short fiction has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize three
years in a row and her nonfiction has appeared in a variety of national
publications including Family Circle, Writer's Digest, The Writer,
and The Los Angeles Times. She is the founder of Write On! For Literacy and Write On! Books Youth Publishing Company
and is currently pursuing her Master's degree in Fiction Writing at
Purdue University, where she teaches undergraduate writing courses and
serves as Fiction Editor of Sycamore Review. Many of her short stories are compiled online here.
