Common Errors in English - Part 3

CACHE/CACHET

"Cache" comes from the French verb "cacher," meaning "to hide," and in English is pronounced exactly like the word "cash." But reporters speaking of a cache (hidden hoard) of weapons or drugs often mispronounce it to sound like cachet­­"ca­SHAY"­­a word with a very different meaning: originally a seal affixed to a document, now a quality attributed to anything with authority or prestige. Rolex watches have cachet.

CADDY­CORNER/CATTY­CORNER, CATER­CORNER, KITTY­CORNER

 

This expression, meaning "diagonally opposite," was formed from a mispelling in English of the French word quatre ("four") prefixed to "corner." Although the word has nothing to do with cats or kittens, in various dialects all three spellings are acceptable: "catty," "cater" or "kitty."

But unless you have somebody holding your golf clubs permanently stationed in the corner of your room, you shouldn't use the spelling "caddy corner."

CALL THE QUESTION

This is more a matter of parliamentary procedure than of correct English, but people are generally confused about what "calling the question" means. They often suppose that it means simply "let's vote!" and some even imagine that it is necessary to call for the question before a vote may be taken. You even see deferential meeting chairs pleading, "Would someone like to call for the question?"

But "calling the question" when done properly should be a rare occurrence. If debate has dragged on longer than you feel is really warranted, you can "call the question," at which time the chair has to immediately ask those assembled to vote to determine whether or not debate should be cut off or continue. The motion to call the question is itself not debatable. If two­thirds of those voting agree that the discussion should have died some time ago, they will support the call. Then, and only then, will the vote be taken on the question itself.

Potentially this parliamentary maneuver would be a great way to shut down windy speakers who insist on prolonging a discussion when a clear consensus has already been arrived at; but since so few people understand what it means, it rarely works as intended.

Chairs: when someone "calls the question," explain what the phrase means and ask if that is what's intended. Other folks: you'll get further most of the time just saying "Let's vote!"

CALLOUS/CALLUSED

Calling someone callous is a way of metaphorically suggesting a lack of feeling similar to that caused by calluses on the skin; but if you are speaking literally of the tough build­up on a person's hand or feet, the word you need is "callused."

CALLS FOR/PREDICTS

Glendower: I can call spirits from the vasty deep.

Hotspur: Why, so can I, or so can any man; But will they come when you do call for them?

Shakespeare: Henry IV, Part 1

Newspeople constantly joke that the weather service is to blame for the

 

weather, so we shouldn't be surprised when they tell us that the forecast "calls for rain" when what they mean is that it "predicts" rain. Remember, wherever you live, the weather is uncalled for.

CALM, COOL, AND COLLECTIVE/CALM, COOL, AND COLLECTED

Unless you're living in an unusually tranquil commune, you wouldn't be "calm, cool, and collective." The last word in this traditional phrase is "collected," in the sense of such phrases as "let me sit down a minute and collect my thoughts." If you leave out "cool" the last word still has to be "collected."

CALVARY/CAVALRY

"Calvary," always capitalized, is the hill on which Jesus was crucified.

It means "hill of skulls." Soldiers mounted on horseback are cavalry.

CAN GOODS/CANNED GOODS

Is there a sign at your grocery store that says "can goods"? It should say "canned goods."

CANADIAN GEESE/CANADA GEESE

"Canadian geese" would be any old geese that happen to be in Canada. What people usually mean to refer to when they use this phrase is the specific species properly called "Canada geese."

CANON/CANNON

"Canon" used to be such a rare word that there was no temptation to confuse it with "cannon": a large piece of artillery. The debate over the literary canon (a list of officially­approved works) and the popularity of Pachelbel's Canon (an imitative musical form related to the common "round") have changed all that­­confusion is rampant. Just remember that the big gun is a "cannon." All the rest are "canons." Note that there are metaphorical uses of "cannon" for objects shaped like large guns, such as a horse's "cannon bone."

CANNOT/CAN NOT

These two spellings are largely interchangeable, but by far the most common is "cannot"; and you should probably use it except when you want to be emphatic: "No, you can not wash the dog in the Maytag."

See also "may/might."

CAPITAL/CAPITOL

A "capitol" is almost always a building. Cities which serve as seats of

government are capitals spelled with an A in the last syllable, as

are most other uses of the word as a common noun. The only exceptions

are place names alluding to capitol buildings in some way or other, like

 

"Capitol Hill" in DC, Denver, or Seattle (the latter either named after the hill in Denver or in hopes of attracting the Washington State capitol building). Would it help to remember that Congress with an O meets in the Capitol with another O?

CARAMEL/CARMEL

Take Highway 1 south from Monterey to reach the charming seaside town of Carmel, of which Clint Eastwood was formerly mayor. Dissolve sugar in a little water and cook it down until the sugar turns brown to create caramel. A nationwide chain uses the illiterate spelling "Karmelkorn(TM)," which helps to perpetuate the confusion between these two words.

CARAT/CARET/CARROT/KARAT

"Carrots" are those crunchy orange vegetables Bugs Bunny is so fond of, but this spelling gets misused for the less familiar words which are pronounced the same but have very different meanings. Precious stones like diamonds are weighed in carats. The same word is used to express the proportion of pure gold in an alloy, though in this usage it is sometimes spelled "karat" (hence the abbreviation "20K gold"). A caret is a proofreader's mark showing where something needs to be inserted, shaped like a tiny pitched roof. It looks rather like a French circumflex, but is usually distinct from it on modern computer keyboards. Carets are extensively used in computer programming. Just remember, if you can't eat it, it's not a carrot.

CAREER/CAREEN

A truck careening down the road is swerving from side to side as it races along, whereas a truck careering down the road may be simply traveling very fast. But because it is not often clear which meaning a person intends, confusing these two words is not likely to get you into trouble.

CARING

Most people are comfortable referring to "caring parents," but speaking of a "caring environment" is jargon, not acceptable in formal English. The environment may contain caring people, but it does not itself do the caring.

CAST IN STONE/CAST IN CONCRETE, CARVED IN STONE

People expressing flexibility say that their ideas or rules are "not cast in concrete," meaning they have not hardened into rigidity. You cast concrete in a mold by pouring it in and letting it set; so the expression can also be "not set in concrete."

A similar expression is "not carved in stone" (like the Ten Commandments).

People frequently mix these two expressions up and say things like "It's

 

not cast in stone." They may be influenced by the unrelated Christian saying, "Don't cast [throw] the first stone."

CAST DISPERSIONS/CAST ASPERSIONS

"Aspersions" is an unusual word whose main meaning is "false or misleading accusations," and its only common use is in the phrase "cast aspersions." To disperse a crowd is to break it up and scatter it, which perhaps leads some people to mistakenly associate "cast" ("throw") with "disperse" but the expression is "cast aspersions."

CATCH­22/CATCH

People familiar with Joseph Heller's novel are irritated when they see "Catch­22" used to label any simple hitch or problem rather than this sort of circular predicament: you can't get published until you have an agent, and you can't get an agent until you've been published. "There's a catch" will do fine for most other situations.

CD­ROM disk/CD­ROM

"CD­ROM" stands for "compact disc, read­only memory," so adding another "disc" or "disk" is redundant. The same goes for "DVD" (from Digital Video Disc" or "Digital Versatile Disc"­­there are non­video versions). Don't say "give me that DVD disk," just "give me that DVD."

CEASAR/CAESAR

Did you know that German "Kaiser" is derived from the Latin "Caesar" and is pronounced a lot more like it than the English version? We're stuck with our illogical pronunciation, so we have to memorize the correct spelling. (The Russians messed up the pronunciation as thoroughly as the English, with their "Czar.") Thousands of menus are littered with "Ceasar salads" throughout America which should be "Caesar salads"­­named after a restaurateur, not the Roman ruler (but they both spelled their names the same way).

CELIBATE/CHASTE

Believe it or not, you can be celibate without being chaste, and chaste without being celibate. A celibate person is merely unmarried, usually (but not always) because of a vow of celibacy. The traditional assumption is that such a person is not having sex with anyone, which leads many to confuse the word with "chaste," denoting someone who does not have illicit sex. A woman could have wild sex twice a day with her lawful husband and technically still be chaste, though the word is more often used to imply a general abstemiousness from sex and sexuality. You can always amuse your readers by misspelling the latter word as "chased."

CELTIC

Because the Boston Celtics basketball team pronounces its name as if it began with an S, Americans are prone to use this pronunciation of the

 

word as it applies to the Bretons, Cornish, Welsh, Irish and Scots; but the dominant pronunciation among sophisticated US speakers is "keltik." Just remember: "Celts in kilts."

Interestingly, the Scots themselves often use the "S" pronunciation, notably in referring to the Glasgow soccer team, the "Celtic Football Club."

CEMENT/CONCRETE

People in the building trades distinguish cement (the gray powder that comes in bags) from concrete (the combination of cement, water, sand, and gravel which becomes hard enough in your driveway to drive your car on). In contexts where technical precision matters, it's probably better to speak of a "concrete sidewalk" rather than of a "cement sidewalk."

CENTER AROUND/CENTER ON, REVOLVE AROUND

Two perfectly good expressions­­"center on" and "revolve around"­­get conflated in this nonsensical neologism. When a speaker says his address will "center around the topic of" whatever, my interest level plummets.

CENTER OF ATTRACTION/CENTER OF ATTENTION

"Center of attraction" makes perfect sense, but the standard saying is "center of attention."

CENTS

On a sign displaying a cost of twenty­nine cents for something the price can be written as ".29," as "$.29," or as "29c," but don't combine the two forms. ".29c" makes no sense, and "$.29c" is worse.

CHAI TEA/CHAI

"Chai" is simply the word for "tea" in Hindi and several other Asian languages. The spicy, milky variety known in India as "masala chai" is called "chai" in the US Since Americans likely to be attracted by the word "chai" already know it's a tea­based drink, it's both redundant and pointless to call the product "chai tea."

CHAISE LONGUE

When English speakers want to be elegant they commonly resort to French, often mangling it in the process. The entree [acute accent over the second E], the dish served before the plat, usurped the latter's position as main dish. And how in the world did French "lingerie" (originally meaning linen goods of all sorts, later narrowed to underwear only) pronounced­­roughly­­"lanzheree" come to be American "lawnzheray"? Quelle horreur! "Chaise longue" (literally "long chair"), pronounced­­roughly­­"shezz lohng" with a hard G on the end became in English "shayz long." Many speakers, however, confuse French "chaise" with English "chase" and French longue with English "lounge" (understandable since the article in question is a sort of couch or

 

lounge), resulting in the mispronunciation "chase lounge." We may imagine the French as chasing each other around their lounges, but a chaise is just a chair.

CHALK­FULL/CHOCK­FULL, CHUCK­FULL

Originally a person or thing stuffed to the point of choking was "choke­full." In modern speech this expression has become "chock­full," or in less formal American English, "chuck­full." Chalk has nothing to do with it.

CHAMPAIGN/CHAMPAGNE

Champaign is the name of a city and county in Illinois.

Champagne is a region of France which produces the sparkling wine of that name.

CHAUVINIST/MALE CHAUVINIST, SEXIST

Nicolas Chauvin of Rochefort became a laughingstock in Napoleon's army for his exaggerated nationalism, and his name gave rise to the term "chauvinism," which characterizes people who wildly overestimate the excellence and importance of their own countries while denigrating others. The word was then broadened to cover an exaggerated belief in the superiority of one's own kind in other respects. Following this pattern, feminists in the 1970s invented the term "male chauvinist" to label people who considered women inferior to men. Unfortunately, this was the context in which many people first encountered "chauvinism" and not understanding that it had a broader meaning, dropped the "male," thinking that "chauvinist" was a synonym for "sexist." This misunderstanding is so widespread that only occasionally will you encounter someone who knows better, but in formal writing it is wise to avoid the abbreviated form in this restricted meaning. However, if you do intend the older meaning of the word, it's also a good idea to make that clear from your context, for a great many of your readers will assume you are talking about sexism.

CHECK/CZECH

Pronounce the name of the country which broke away from the former Czechoslovakia to form the Czech Republic as "check," but don't spell it that way. Its citizens are Czechs.

CHEESE QUESADILLA/QUESADILLA

"Queso" is the Spanish word for "cheese," so it's redundant to write "cheese quesadilla" on a menu. If you think your customers need a definition or if you want to distinguish the purely cheese­filled ones from­­say­­chicken quesadillas, you can add a brief explanation such as "cheese­filled fried tortilla."

CHEMICALS

 

Markets offering "organic" produce claim it has been raised "without chemicals." News stories fret about "chemicals in our water supply." This common error in usage indicates quite clearly the lamentable level of scientific literacy in our population. Everything on earth save a few stray subatomic particles and various kinds of energy (and­­if you believe in it­­pure spirit) is composed of chemicals. Pure water consists of the chemical dihydrogen oxide. Vitamins and minerals are chemicals. In the broadest sense, even simple elements like nitrogen can be called chemicals. Writers who use this term sloppily contribute to the obfuscation of public debate over such serious issues as pollution and malnutrition.

CHICANO/LATINO/HISPANIC

"Chicano" means "Mexican­American," and not all the people denoted by this term like it. When speaking of people living in the US from various other Spanish­speaking countries, "Chicano" is an error for "Latino" or "Hispanic." Only "Hispanic" can include people with a Spanish as well as with a Latin American heritage; and some people of Latin American heritage object to it as ignoring the Native American element in that population. Only "Latino" could logically include Portuguese­speaking Brazilians, though that is rarely done.

CHOOSE/CHOSE

You chose tequila last night; you choose aspirin this morning. "Chose" is the past tense, "choose" the present.

CHRISPY/CRISPY

There are a lot of menus, signs, and recipes out there featuring "chrispy chicken." Is this misspelling influenced by the "CH" in "chicken" or the pattern in other common words like "Christmas"? At any rate, the proper spelling is "crispy."

CHUNK/CHUCK

In casual conversation, you may get by with saying "Chuck [throw] me that monkey wrench, will you?" But you will mark yourself as illiterate beyond mere casualness by saying instead "Chunk me that wrench." This is a fairly common substitution in some dialects of American English.

CHURCH

Catholics routinely refer to their church as the Church, with a capital "C." This irritates the members of other churches, but is standard usage. When "Church" stands by itself (that is, not as part of a name like "First Methodist Church") you should normally capitalize it only to mean "Roman Catholic Church." Note that protestant theologians and other specialists in religion do refer to the whole body of Christians as "the Church," but this professional usage is not common in ordinary writing.

CITE/SITE/SIGHT

 

You cite the author in an endnote; you visit a Web site or the site of the crime, and you sight your beloved running toward you in slow motion on the beach (a sight for sore eyes!).

CLASSIC/CLASSICAL

"Classical" usually describes things from ancient Greece or Rome, or things from analogous ancient periods like classical Sanskrit poetry. The exception is classical music, which in the narrow sense is late 18th and 19th­century music by the likes of Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven, and in the broader sense formal concert music of any period in the West or traditional formal music from other cultures, like classical ragas.

"Classic" has a much looser meaning, describing things that are outstanding examples of their kind, like a classic car or even a classic blunder.

CLEANUP/CLEAN UP

"Cleanup" is usually a noun: "the cleanup of the toxic waste site will cost billions of dollars." "Clean" is a verb in the phrase "clean up": "You can go to the mall after you clean up your room."

CLICHE/CLICHED

One often hears young people say "That movie was so cliche!" "Cliche" is a noun, meaning an overfamiliar phrase or image. A work containing cliches is cliched.

CLICK/CLIQUE

Students lamenting the division of their schools into snobbish factions often misspell "clique" as "click." In the original French, "clique" was synonymous with "claque"­­an organized group of supporters at a theatrical event who tried to prompt positive audience response by clapping enthusiastically.

CLOSE/CLOTHES

Because the TH in "clothes" is seldom pronounced distinctly, it is often misspelled "close." Just remember the TH in "clothing," where it is obvious. Clothes are made of cloth. Rags can also be cloths (without an E).

CLOSED­MINDED/CLOSE­MINDED

"Closed­minded" might seem logical, but the traditional spelling of this expression is "close­minded." The same is true for "close­lipped" and "close­mouthed."

COARSE/COURSE

"Coarse" is always an adjective meaning "rough, crude." Unfortunately,

 

this spelling is often mistakenly used for a quite different word, "course," which can be either a verb or a noun (with several different meanings).

COLD SLAW/COLE SLAW

The popular salad made of shredded cabbage was originally "cole slaw," from the Dutch for "cabbage salad." Because it is served cold, Americans have long supposed the correct spelling to be "cold slaw"; but if you want to sound more sophisticated go with the original.

COLLAGE/COLLEGE

You can paste together bits of paper to make a collage, but the institution of higher education is a college.

COLLECTIVE PLURAL

In UK English it is common to see statements like "Parliament have

raised many questions about the proposal" in which because Parliament is

made up of many individuals, several of whom are raising questions, the

word is treated as if it were plural in form and given a plural verb.

This is the proper­noun form of what is called the "collective plural."

Many UK authorities object when this pattern is applied to

organization names if the organization is being discussed as a whole and

not as a collection of individuals. According to them, "The BBC have

been filming in Papua New Guinea" should be "The BBC has been

filming. . . ."

This sort of collective plural applied to the names of organizations is almost unheard of in the US, and in fact strikes most Americans as distinctly weird, with the exception of an occasional sports team with a singular­form name like the Utah Jazz, the Miami Heat, the Orlando Magic, or the Seattle Storm. There's a sarcastic saying, "The Utah Jazz are to basketball what Utah is to jazz."

COLOMBIA/COLUMBIA

Although both are named after Columbus, the US capital is the District of Columbia, whereas the South American country is Colombia.

COMMAS

What follows is not a comprehensive guide to the many uses of commas, but a quick tour of the most common errors involving them.

The first thing to note is that the comma often marks a brief pause in the flow of a sentence, and it helpfully marks off one phrase from another. If you write "I plan to see Shirley and Fred will go shopping while we visit" your readers are naturally going to think the announced visit will be to both Shirley and Fred until the second half surprises them into realizing that Fred is not involved in this visit at all. A simple comma makes everything clear: "I plan to see Shirley, and Fred will go shopping while we visit." People who read and write little have

 

trouble with commas if they deal with English primarily as a spoken language, where emphasis and rhythm mark out phrases. It takes a conscious effort to translate the rhythm of a sentence into writing using punctuation.

Not many people other than creative writers have the occasion to write dialogue, but it is surprising how few understand that introductory words and phrases have to be separated from the main body of speech in direct address: "Well, what did you think of that?" "Good evening, Mr. Nightingale."

Commas often help set off interrupting matter within sentences. The proper term for this sort of word or phrase is "parenthetical." There are three ways to handle parenthetical matter. For asides sharply interrupting the flow of the sentence (think of your own examples) use parenthesis marks. For many other kinds of fairly strong interjections, dashes­­if you know how to type them properly­­work best. Milder interruptions, like this, are nicely set off with commas. Many writers don't realize that they are setting off a phrase, so they begin with the first comma but omit the second, which should conclude the parenthetical matter. Check for this sort of thing in your proofreading.

A standard use for commas is to separate the items in a series: "cats, dogs, and gerbils." Authorities differ as to whether that final comma before the "and" is required. Follow the style recommended by your teacher, editor, or boss when you have to please them; but if you are on your own, I suggest you use the final comma. It often removes ambiguities.

A different kind of series has to do with a string of adjectives modifying a single noun: "He was a tall, strong, handsome, but stupid man." But when the adjectives modify each other instead of the noun, then no comma is used: "He was wearing a garish bright green tie." A simple test: if you could logically insert "and" between the adjectives in a series like this, you need commas.

English teachers refer to sentences where clauses requiring some stronger punctuation are instead lightly pasted together with a comma as "comma splices." Here's an example: "He brought her a dozen roses, he had forgotten she was allergic to them." In this sentence the reader needs to be brought up sharply and reoriented mid­sentence with a semicolon; a comma is too weak to do the trick. Here's a worse example of a comma splice: "It was a beautiful day outside, she remembered just in time to grab the coffee mug." There is no obvious logical connection between the two parts of this sentence. They don't belong in the same sentence at all. The comma should be a period, with the rest being turned into a separate sentence.

Some writers insert commas seemingly at random: "The unabridged dictionary, was used mainly to press flowers." When you're not certain a comma is required, read your sentence aloud. If it doesn't seem natural to insert a slight pause or hesitation at the point marked by the comma, it should probably be omitted.

 

See also "colons/semicolons" and "hyphens & dashes."

COMPARE AND CONTRAST

Hey kids, here's a chance to catch your English teacher in a redundancy! To compare two things is to note their similarities and their differences. There's no need to add "and contrast."

COMPARE TO/COMPARE WITH

These are sometimes interchangeable, but when you are stressing similarities between the items compared, the most common word is "to": "She compared his home­made wine to toxic waste." If you are examining both similarities and differences, use "with": "The teacher compared Steve's exam with Robert's to see whether they had cheated."

COMPLEMENT/COMPLIMENT

Originally these two spellings were used interchangeably, but they have come to be distinguished from each other in modern times. Most of the time the word people intend is "compliment": nice things said about someone ("She paid me the compliment of admiring the way I shined my shoes."). "Complement," much less common, has a number of meanings associated with matching or completing. Complements supplement each other, each adding something the others lack, so we can say that "Alice's love for entertaining and Mike's love for washing dishes complement each other." Remember, if you're not making nice to someone, the word is "complement."

COMPLEMENTARY/COMPLIMENTARY

When paying someone a compliment like "I love what you've done with the kitchen!" you're being complimentary. A free bonus item is also a complimentary gift. But items or people that go well with each other are complementary.

In geometry, complementary angles add up to 90 degrees, whereas supplementary ones add up to 180 degrees.

COMPRISED OF/COMPOSED OF

Although "comprise" is used primarily to mean "to include," it is also often stretched to mean "is made up of"­­a meaning that some critics object to. The most cautious route is to avoid using "of" after any form of "comprise" and substitute "is composed of" in sentences like this: "Jimmy's paper on Marxism was composed entirely of sentences copied off the Marx Brothers Home Page."

COMPTROLLER

Although it is less and less often heard, the traditional pronunciation of "comptroller" is identical with "controller." The Oxford English Dictionary, indeed, considers "comptroller" to have begun as a misspelling of "controller"­­back in the 16th century.

 

CONCENSUS/CONSENSUS

You might suppose that this word had to do with taking a census of the participants in a discussion, but it doesn't. It is a good old Latin word that has to do with arriving at a common sense of the meeting, and the fourth letter is an "S."

CONCERTED EFFORT

One cannot make a "concerted effort" all by one's self. To work "in concert" is to work together with others. The prefix "con­" means "with."

CONFLICTED/CONFLICTING FEELINGS

Phrases like "conflicted feelings" or "I feel conflicted" are considered jargon by many, and out of place in formal writing. Use "I have conflicting feelings" instead, or write "I feel ambivalent."

CONFUSIONISM/CONFUCIANISM

Confucius is the founder of Confucianism. His name is not spelled "Confucious," and his philosophy is not called "Confusionism." When you spot the confusion in the latter term, change it quickly to "Confucianism."

CONGRADULATIONS/CONGRATULATIONS

I fear that all too many people are being "congradulated" for graduating from high school who don't know that this word should be spelled "congratulations." Try a search for this misspelling on your favorite Web search engine and be prepared to be astonished.

CONSERVATIVISM/CONSERVATISM

The conservative spelling of this word is "conservatism."

CONTACT

Although some still object to "contact" as a verb, sentences like "contact me when the budget is ready" are now standard English.

CONTAMINATES/CONTAMINANTS

When run­off from a chemical plant enters the river it contaminates the water; but the goo itself consists of "contaminants."

CONTINUAL/CONTINUOUS

"Continuous" refers to actions which are uninterrupted: "My upstairs neighbor played his stereo continuously from 6:00 PM to 3:30 AM." Continual actions, however, need not be uninterrupted, only repeated: "My father continually urges me to get a job."

 

CONVERSATE/CONVERSE

"Conversate" is what is called a "back­formation" based on the noun "conversation." But the verb for this sort of thing is "converse."

CORE/CORPS/CORPSE

Apples have cores. A corps is an organization, like the Peace Corps. A corpse is a dead body, a carcass.

COLLABORATE/CORROBORATE

People who work together on a project "collaborate" (share their labor); people who support your testimony as a witness "corroborate" (strengthen by confirming) it.

COLONS/SEMICOLONS

Colons have a host of uses, but they mostly have in common that the colon acts to connect what precedes it with what follows. Think of the two dots of a colon as if they were stretched out to form an equal sign, so that you get cases like this: "he provided all the ingredients: sugar, flour, butter, and vanilla."

There are a few exceptions to this pattern, however. One unusual use of colons is in between the chapter and verses of a Biblical citation, for instance, "Matthew 6:5." In bibliographic citation a colon separates the city from the publisher: "New York: New Directions, 1979." It also separates minutes from hours in times of day when given in figures: "8:35." It is incorrect to substitute a semicolon in any of these cases.

Think of the semicolon as erecting a little barrier with that dug­in comma under the dot; semicolons always imply separation rather than connection. A sentence made up of two distinct parts whose separation needs to be emphasized may do so with a semicolon: "Mary moved to Seattle; she was sick of getting sunburned in Los Angeles." When a compound sentence contains commas within one or more of its clauses, you have to escalate to a semicolon to separate the clauses themselves: "It was a mild, deliciously warm spring day; and Mary decided to walk to the fair." The other main use of semicolons is to separate one series of items from another­­a series within a series, if you will: "The issues discussed by the board of directors were many: the loud, acrimonious complaints of the stockholders; the abrupt, devastating departure of the director; and the startling, humiliating discovery that he had absconded with half the company's assets." Any time the phrases which make up a series contain commas, for whatever reason, they need to be separated by semicolons.

Many people are so terrified of making the wrong choice that they try to avoid colons and semicolons altogether, but I'm afraid this just can't be done. Formal writing requires their use, and it's necessary to learn the correct patterns.

 

COME WITH

In some American dialects it is common to use the phrase "come with" without specifying with whom, as in "We're going to the bar. Want to come with?" This sounds distinctly odd to the majority of people, who would expect "come with us."

COMPANY NAMES WITH APOSTROPHES

Some company names which have a possessive form use an apostrophe before the S and some don't: "Macy's" does and "Starbucks" doesn't. Logo designers often feel omitting the apostrophe leads to a cleaner look, and there's nothing you can do about it except to remember which is standard for a particular company. But people sometimes informally add an S to company names with which they are on familiar terms: "I work down at the Safeway's now" (though in writing, the apostrophe is likely to be omitted). This is not standard usage.

CONCERNING/WORRISOME, TROUBLING

People commonly say of things that are a cause for concern that they are "concerning": "My boyfriend's affection for his pet rattlesnake is concerning." This is not standard English. There are many better words that mean the same thing including "worrisome," "troubling," and "alarming."

CONNOTE/DENOTE

The literal meaning of a word is its denotation; the broader associations we have with a word are its connotations. People who depend on a thesaurus or a computer translation engine to find synonyms often choose a word with the right denotation but the wrong connotations.

"Determined" and "pig­headed" both denote stubbornness; but the first connotes a wise adherence to purpose and the second connotes foolish rigidity.

"Boss" and "Chief Executive Officer" (CEO) can refer to the same office; but the first is less admiring and likely to connote the view of employees lower down in the company­­nobody wants to be thought of as "bossy." Higher executives would be more likely to speak admiringly of a "CEO."

I often write "insufficiently complex" at the bottom of student papers instead of "simple­minded." Although they denote essentially the same quality, the connotations of the first are less insulting.

CONSCIENCE, CONSCIOUS, CONSCIOUSNESS

Your conscience makes you feel guilty when you do bad things, but your consciousness is your awareness. If you are awake, you are conscious. Although it is possible to speak of your "conscious mind," you can't use "conscious" all by itself to mean "consciousness."

 

See unconscience.

CONTRARY/CONTRAST

The phrases "on the contrary" and "to the contrary" are used to reply to an opposing point. Your friend tells you she is moving to New York and you express surprise because you thought she hated big cities. She replies, "On the contrary, I've always wanted to live in an urban area."

When a distinction is being made that does not involve opposition of this sort, "in contrast" is appropriate. "In New York, you don't need a car. In Los Angeles, in contrast, you can't really get along without one, though you won't need a snow shovel."

Here's a simple test: if you could possibly substitute "that's wrong" the phrase you want is "on the contrary" or "to the contrary" If not, then use "in contrast."

CONTRASTS/CONTRASTS WITH

"With" must not be omitted in sentences like this: "Julia's enthusiasm for rugby contrasts with Cheryl's devotion to chess."

COPE UP/COPE WITH

When you can't keep up with your work you may not be able to cope with your job; but you never "cope up" with anything. In casual speech we say "I can't cope," but in formal writing "cope" is normally followed by "with."

COPYWRITE/COPYRIGHT

You can copyright writing, but you can also copyright a photograph or song. The word has to do with securing rights. Thus, there is no such word as "copywritten"; it's "copyrighted."

COSTUMER/CUSTOMER

Just what would a "costumer service" do? Supply extra­shiny spangles for a Broadway diva's outfit? But this phrase is almost always a typographical error for "customer service," and it appears on an enormous number of Web pages. Be careful not to swap the U and O when you type "customer."

COULD CARE LESS/COULDN'T CARE LESS

Cliches are especially prone to scrambling because they become meaningless through overuse. In this case an expression which originally meant "it would be impossible for me to care less than I do because I do not care at all" is rendered senseless by being transformed into the now­common "I could care less." Think about it: if you could care less, that means you care some. The original already drips sarcasm, so it's pointless to argue that the newer version is "ironic." People who misuse this phrase are just being careless.

 

More on �COULD CARE LESS"

People who use the shortened form are often convinced they are right because they are being "ironic" and some even claim it's the original form. But here's the entry in "The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms":

"This expression originated about 1940 in Britain and for a time invariably used couldn't. About 1960 could was occasionally substituted, and today both versions are used with approximately equal frequency, despite their being antonyms."

"I could care less" just isn't logically ironic. The people speaking

feel irony, but their words don't convey it. "I'd buy those jeans" could

be ironic if you really meant the opposite: you wouldn't buy those jeans

if they were the last pair in the world. But "I could care less" isn't

used to imply its opposite: that you care more. Thus it is not ironic.

"Couldn't care less" is a strong statement because it says you don't care at all, zero!

"Could care less," whatever meaning you take it to have, does not have that crucial message of zero interest which gives the original saying its sting. See http://incompetech.com/gallimaufry/care_less.html

See also Michael Quinion on this point:

http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa­ico1.htm.

COULD OF, SHOULD OF, WOULD OF/COULD HAVE, SHOULD HAVE, WOULD HAVE

This is one of those errors typically made by a person more familiar with the spoken than the written form of English. A sentence like "I would have gone if anyone had given me free tickets" is normally spoken in a slurred way so that the two words "would have" are not distinctly separated, but blended together into what is properly rendered "would've." Seeing that "V" tips you off right away that "would've" is a contraction of "would have." But many people hear "would of" and that's how they write it. Wrong.

Note that "must of" is similarly an error for "must have."

COUNCIL/COUNSEL/CONSUL

The first two words are pronounced the same but have distinct meanings. An official group that deliberates, like the Council on Foreign Relations, is a "council"; all the rest are "counsels": your lawyer, advice, etc. A consul is a local representative of a foreign government.

COUPLE/COUPLE OF

Instead of "she went with a couple sleazy guys before she met me," write "a couple of guys" if you are trying to sound a bit more formal. Leaving the "of" out is a casual, slangy pattern.

 

COWTOW/KOWTOW

You can tow a cow to water, but you can't make it drink. But the word that means bowing worshipfully before someone comes from the Chinese words for knocking one's head on the ground, and is spelled "kowtow."

CRACKER JACKS/CRACKER JACK

"Crackerjack" is an old slang expression meaning "excellent," and the official name of the popcorn confection is also singular: "Cracker Jack." People don't pluralize its rival Poppycock as "Poppycocks," but they seem to think of the individual popped kernels as the "jacks." A similarly named candy is "Good and Plenty." All three have descriptive names describing qualities and shouldn't be pluralized. A way to remember this: in "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" "Cracker Jack" rhymes with "back."

CRAFTS

When referring to vehicles, "craft" is both singular and plural. Two aircraft, many watercraft, etc. Do not add an "S."

But when referring to hobbies and skills such as "woodcrafts" or "arts and crafts" adding an "S" in the plural form is standard.

CREDIBLE/CREDULOUS

"Credible" means "believable" or "trustworthy." It is also used in a more abstract sense, meaning something like "worthy": "She made a credible lyric soprano." Don't confuse "credible" with "credulous," a much rarer word which means "gullible." "He was incredulous" means "he didn't believe it" whereas "he was incredible" means "he was wonderful" (but use the latter expression only in casual speech).

See also "incredible."

CRESCENDO/CLIMAX

When something is growing louder or more intense, it is going through a crescendo (from an Italian word meaning "growing"). Traditionalists object to its use when you mean "climax." A crescendo of cheers by an enthusiastic audience grows until it reaches a climax, or peak. "Crescendo" as a verb is common, but also disapproved of by many authorities. Instead of "the orchestra crescendos," write "the orchestra plays a crescendo."

CREVICE/CREVASSE

Crevices are by definition tiny, like that little crevice between your teeth where the popcorn hulls always get caught. A huge crack in a glacier is given the French spelling: crevasse.

CRITERIA/CRITERION

 

There are several words with Latin or Greek roots whose plural forms ending in A are constantly mistaken for singular ones. See, for instance, data and media. You can have one criterion or many criteria. Don't confuse them.

CRITICISM

Beginning literature or art history students are often surprised to learn that in such contexts "criticism" can be a neutral term meaning simply "evaluating a work of literature or art." A critical article about The Color Purple can be entirely positive about Alice Walker's novel. Movie critics write about films they like as well as about films they dislike: writing of both kinds is called "criticism."

CRITIQUE/CRITICIZE

A critique is a detailed evaluation of something. The formal way to request one is "give me your critique," though people often say informally "critique this"­­meaning "evaluate it thoroughly." But "critique" as a verb is not synonymous with "criticize" and should not be routinely substituted for it. "Josh critiqued my backhand" means Josh evaluated your tennis technique but not necessarily that he found it lacking. "Josh criticized my backhand" means that he had a low opinion of it.

You can write criticism on a subject, but you don't criticize on something, you just criticize it.

CROISSANT

The fanciful legend which attributes the creation of the croissant to Christian bakers celebrating a 17th­century victory over the Turks is widely recounted but almost certainly untrue, since there is no trace of the pastry until a century later. Although its form was probably not influenced by the Islamic crescent, the word croissant most definitely is French for "crescent." Pastries formed from the same dough into different shapes should not be called "croissants." If a customer in your bakery asks for a pain au chocolat (PAN oh­show­co­LA), reach for that rectangular pastry usually mislabeled in the US a "chocolate croissant."

CRUCIFICTION/CRUCIFIXION

One might suppose that this common misspelling was a product of skepticism were it not for the fact that it most often occurs in the writings of believers. The word should make clear that Jesus was affixed to the cross, not imply that his killing is regarded as a fiction.

CRUCIFIX/CROSS

A crucifix is a cross with an image of the crucified Christ affixed to it. Reporters often mistakenly refer to someone wearing a "crucifix" when the object involved is an empty cross. Crucifixes are most often

 

associated with Catholics, empty crosses with Protestants.

CUE/QUEUE

"Cue" has a variety of meanings, but all uses of "queue" relate to its original French meaning of "tail," which becomes a metaphor for a line (beware, however: in French "queue" is also rude slang for the male sex organ). Although a few dictionaries accept "cue" as an alternative spelling for the braided tail some people make of their hair or a waiting line, traditionally both are queues: "Sun Yat Sen ordered that all Chinese men should cut off their queues," "I have over 300 movies in my Netflix queue."

CURRANT/CURRENT

"Current" is an adjective having to do with the present time, and can also be a noun naming a thing that, like time, flows: electrical current, currents of public opinion. "Currant" refers only to little fruits.

CURVE YOUR APPETITE/CURB YOUR APPETITE

A "curb" was originally a device used to control an unruly horse. Already in the 18th century people were speaking by analogy of controlling their appetites as "curbing" them. You do not "curve" your hunger, appetite, desires, etc. You curb them.

CUT AND DRY/CUT AND DRIED

Many people mishear the standard expression meaning "set," "not open to change," as "cut and dry." Although this form is listed in the Oxford English Dictionary, it is definitely less common in sophisticated writing. The dominant modern usage is "cut and dried." When used to modify a noun, it must be hyphenated: "cut­and­dried plan."

CUT AND PASTE/COPY AND PASTE

Because "cut and paste" is a familiar phrase, many people say it when they mean "copy and paste" in a computer context. This can lead to disastrous results if followed literally by an inexpert person. If you mean to tell someone to duplicate something rather than move it, say "copy." And when you are moving bits of computer information from one place to another the safest sequence is often to copy the original, paste the copy elsewhere, and only then delete (cut) the original.

CUT OF TEA/CUP OF TEA

An astounding number of people write "cut of tea" when they mean "cup of tea," especially in phrases like "not my cut of tea" instead of "not my cup of tea." This saying is not about fine distinctions between different ways the tea's been harvested; it just refers to the ordinary vessel from which you drink the stuff.

Is this mistake influenced by the expression "the cut of his jib" or is

 

it just a goofy typo?

(Common Errors in English by Paul Brians)