Purists may tell you that many of the words in the list below aren’t “really” words at all, but that’s misleading at best. A few of the words are simply misspellings, and the rest often appear in people’s everyday speech Read More …
Purists may tell you that many of the words in the list below aren’t “really” words at all, but that’s misleading at best. A few of the words are simply misspellings, and the rest often appear in people’s everyday speech Read More …
You know that swear words and texting abbreviations (LOL) should not appear in your school reports, of course. But there are other types of unprofessional words that can sabotage your work when writing a research paper or resume. Many should Read More …
A common writing error occurs when students use the wrong version of a compound word or phrase. It’s important to know the difference between everyday and every day because these expressions have very different meanings. It’s also important to know Read More …
The words sole and soul are homophones: they sound alike but have different meanings. DEFINITIONS The noun sole refers to the underside of a foot or shoe or to a kind of flatfish. The adjective sole means single, solitary, or the only one. The noun soul refers to spirit, a Read More …
While similar-sounding words or homophones are already confusing for others, distinguishing between similar-sounding phrases may be even more difficult for some writers. This post will differentiate the phrases pore over and pour over and will show how to properly use them in your writing. Read More …
A euphemism is a seemingly nice or polite way of expressing a harsh or unpleasant truth. In the Oxford Dictionary of Euphemisms (2007), R.W. Holder observes that euphemism is often “the language of evasion, hypocrisy, prudery, and deceit.” To test Read More …
Silent letters are letters that are not pronounced in a word. There are many silent letters in English including the letter ‘e’ at the end of a word, the letter ‘b’ following ‘m’ and many, many more. Can you guess Read More …
A form of verbal play, tongue twisters rely on a sequence of phonemes that are similar but distinct, and therefore difficult to articulate clearly and quickly. They’re great practice for public speaking and learning to annunciate, so give these a Read More …
Have you ever been walking through a supermarket when suddenly a totally bizarre food label jumped out at you? “That can’t be right,” you think to yourself. “Maybe there was a mistake at the factory.” Perhaps these funky labels are Read More …
Some words have meanings that are related or close to each other causing some people to misuse or even interchange them. The terms minimize and reduce are a good example of this situation since both of them pertain to making things smaller. This post Read More …