Common Errors in English - Part 9

Q/G

See "G/Q."

QUANTUM LEAP

The thing about quantum leaps is that they mark an abrupt change from one state to a distinctly different one, with no in­between transitional states being possible; but they are not large. In fact, in physics a quantum leap is one of smallest sorts of changes worth talking about. Leave "quantum leap" to the subatomic physicists unless you know what you're talking about.

SQUASH/QUASH

You can squash a spider or a tomato; but when the meaning you intend is "to suppress," as in rebellions or (especially) legal motions, the more sophisticated term is "quash."

QUESTION/ASK

When you question someone, you may ask a series of questions trying to arrive at the truth: "The police questioned Tom for five hours before he admitted to having stolen the pig." "Question" can also mean "challenge": "His mother questioned Timmy's claim that the cat had eaten all the chocolate chip cookies." But if you are simply asking a question to get a bit of information, it is not appropriate to say "I questioned whether he had brought the anchovies" when what you really mean is "I asked whether he had brought the anchovies."

QUEUE

If you're standing in a queue you'll have plenty of time to ponder the unusual spelling of this word. Remember, it contains two "U's."

THE QUICK AND THE DEAD

The earliest meaning of the word "quick" in English is "alive." When a

baby was first felt to move in its mother's womb it was considered to have come to life, and this moment was called "quickening." This original meaning of the word "quick" has now died out except in the phrase "the quick and the dead," kept alive by the King James translation of Acts 10:42, which speaks of Jesus as judge "of quick and dead," but even more by the continued recitation of the Apostles' Creed, which says of Jesus that "he shall come to judge the quick and the dead."

People who use this phrase to imply that speed is involved­­liveliness rather than aliveness­­sometimes get credit for creating a clever pun but more often come off as ignorant.

QUIET/QUITE

This is probably caused by a slip of the fingers more often than by a slip of the mental gears, but one often sees "quite" (very) substituted for "quiet" (shhh!). This is one of those common errors your spelling checker will not catch, so look out for it.

QUOTE

A passage doesn't become a quote (or­­better­­"quotation") until you've quoted it. The only time to refer to a "quote" is when you are referring to someone quoting something. When referring to the original words, simply call it a passage.

QUOTATION MARKS

The examples below are set off in order to avoid confusion over the use of single and double quotation marks.

There are many ways to go wrong with quotation marks. They are often used ironically:

She ran around with a bunch of "intellectuals."

The quotation marks around "intellectuals" indicate that the writer believes that these are in fact so­called intellectuals, not real intellectuals at all. The ironic use of quotation marks is very much overdone, and is usually a sign of laziness indicating that the writer has not bothered to find the precise word or expression necessary.

Advertisers unfortunately tend to use quotation marks merely for emphasis:

"FRESH" TOMATOES 59 CENTS A POUND

The influence of the more common ironic usage tends to make the reader question whether these tomatoes are really fresh. Underlining, bold lettering, all caps­­there are several less ambiguous ways to emphasize words than placing them between quotation marks.

In American usage, single quotation marks are used normally only for

quoted words and phrases within quotations.

"Angela had the nerve to tell me "When I saw 'BYOB' on your invitation, I assumed it meant 'Bring Your Old Boyfriend'."

British usage has traditionally been to reverse this relationship, with single quotation marks being standard and double ones being used only for quotations within quotations. (The English also call quotation marks "inverted commas," though only the opening quotation mark is actually inverted­­and flipped, as well.) However, usage in the UK is shifting toward the US pattern, (see, for instance, "The Times" of London); though the printing of fiction tends to adhere to the older British pattern, where US students are most likely to encounter it.

Block quotations like this should not be surrounded by any quotation marks at all.

(A passage this short should not be rendered as a block quotation; you need at least three lines of verse or five lines of prose to justify a block quotation.) Normally you should leave extra space above and below a block quotation.

When quoting a long passage involving more than one paragraph, quotation marks go at the beginning of each paragraph, but at the end of only the final one. Dialogue in which the speaker changes with each paragraph has each speech enclosed in its own quotation marks.

Titles of books and other long works that might be printed as books are usually italicized (except, for some reason, in newspapers); but the titles of short poems, stories, essays, and other works that would be more commonly printed within larger works (anthologies, collections, periodicals, etc.) are enclosed in quotation marks.

There are different patterns for regulating how quotation marks relate to other punctuation. Find out which one your teacher or editor prefers and use it, or choose one of your own liking, but stick to it consistently. One widely accepted authority in America is The Chicago Manual of Style, whose guidelines are outlined below. Writers in England, Canada, Australia, and other British­influenced countries should be aware that their national patterns will be quite different and variable.

I spent the morning reading Faulkner's "Barn Burning," which seemed to be about a pyromaniac.

Periods are also normally placed inside quotation marks (with the exception of terms being defined, see above). Colons and semicolons, however, are preceded by quotation marks.

If the quoted matter ends with a question mark or exclamation point, it is placed inside the quotation marks:

John asked, "When's dinner?"

But if it is the enclosing sentence which asks the question, then the question mark comes after the quotation marks:

What did she mean, John wondered, by saying "as soon as you make it"?

Similarly:

Fred shouted, "Look out for the bull!"

but

When I was subsequently gored, all Timmy said was "this is kinda boring"!

Finally, I must lament that many standard character sets, including ASCII and basic HTML, lack true quotation marks which curl to enclose the quoted matter, substituting instead ugly "inch" or "ditto" marks. As far as I am concerned, there is not a single proper quotation mark on this page. Some browsers can translate the code for a true quotation mark (and true, curled apostrophes), but many cannot.

RBI/RBIs

Some people reason that since "RBI" stands for "runs batted in," there is no need for an additional "S" to indicate a plural, and speak of "120 RBI." However, though somewhat illogical, it is standard to treat the initialism as a word and say "RBIs." In writing, one can add an optional apostrophe: "RBI's." Definitely nonstandard is the logical but weird "RsBI."

The same pattern applies to other such plural initialisms as "WMDs" ("weapons of mass destruction," "POWs" ("prisoners of war"), and "MREs" ("meals ready to eat"); but "RPMs" ("revolutions per minute") is less widely accepted.

RPMs/RPM

"RPM" means "revolutions per minute," so it is redundant to add an S at the end of the abbreviation­­it's already plural. Adding the S is so common among people working with cars that it's not likely to get you into trouble, but you will impress some by avoiding it.

RACISM

The "C" in "racism" and "racist" is pronounced as a simple "S" sound, Don't confuse it with the "SH" sound in "racial."

RACK/WRACK

If you are racked with pain or you feel nerve­racked, you are feeling as if you were being stretched on that Medieval instrument of torture, the rack. You rack your brains when you stretch them vigorously to search out the truth like a torturer. "Wrack" has to do with ruinous accidents, so if the stock market is wracked by rumors of imminent recession, it's

wrecked. If things are wrecked, they go to "wrack and ruin."

RAISE/RAZE

To raze a building is to demolish it so thoroughly that it looks like it's been scraped right off the ground with a razor. To raise a building is just the opposite: to erect it from the ground up.

RAN/RUN

Computer programmers have been heard to say "the program's been ran,"

when what they mean is "the program's been run."

RANDOM

Kyle can choose the shirt he'll wear for the day at random­­they're all orange. This sort of use of "at random" to mean "by chance," is perfectly standard. (Kyle should get some new shirts, though.)

Less widely accepted are a couple of slangy uses of the word, mostly by young people. In the first, "random" means "unknown," "unidentified" as in "some random guy told me at the party that I reminded him of his old girlfriend."

The other is to use random to mean "weird," "strange," as in "The party at Jessica's was so random, not what I was expecting at all!" Evidently in this expression randomness is being narrowed down to unlikelihood and that is in turn being connected with strangeness, though randomness in real life is usually quite ordinary and boring.

Use of either of these two expressions in formal speech or writing is likely to annoy or confuse your audience.

RAPPORT

Many more people hear this word, meaning "affinity," than read it, judging by the popularity of various misspellings such as "rapore" and "rapoire." If you get along really well with someone, the two of you have rapport.

RATE OF SPEED/RATE, SPEED

Lots of people like to say things like "traveling at a high rate of speed." This is a redundancy. Say instead "traveling at a high rate" or "traveling at high speed."

RATIO

A ratio is a way of expressing the relationship between one quantity and another. If there is one teacher to fifty students, the teacher/student ratio is one to fifty, and the student/teacher ratio fifty to one. If a very dense but wealthy prince were being tutored by fifty teachers, the teacher/student ratio would be fifty to one, and the student/teacher ratio would be one to fifty. As you can see, the order in which the

numbers are compared is important.

The ratios discussed so far are "high"­­the difference between the numbers is large. The lowest possible ratio is one to one: one teacher to one student. If you are campaigning for more individual attention in the classroom, you want a higher number of teachers, but a lower student/teacher ratio.

RATIONAL/RATIONALE

"Rational" is an adjective meaning "reasonable" or "logical": "Ivan made a rational decision to sell his old car when he moved to New York." "Rational" rhymes with "national."

"Rationale" is a noun which most often means "underlying reason": "His rationale for this decision was that it would cost more to pay for parking than the car was worth." "Rationale" rhymes with "passion pal."

RATIONALE/RATIONALIZATION

When you're explaining the reasoning behind your position, you're presenting your rationale. But if you're just making up some lame excuse to make your position appear better­­whether to yourself or others­­you're engaging in rationalization.

RAVAGING/RAVISHING/RAVENOUS

To ravage is to pillage, sack, or devastate. The only time "ravaging" is properly used is in phrases like "when the pirates had finished ravaging the town, they turned to ravishing the women." Which brings us to "ravish": meaning to rape, or rob violently. A trailer court can be ravaged by a storm (nothing is stolen, but a lot of damage is done) but not ravished. The crown jewels of Ruritania can be ravished (stolen using violence) without being ravaged (damaged).

To confuse matters, people began back in the fourteenth century to speak metaphorically of their souls being "ravished" by intense spiritual or esthetic experiences. Thus we speak of a "ravishing woman" (the term is rarely applied to men) today not because she literally rapes men who look at her but because her devastating beauty penetrates their hearts in an almost violent fashion. Despite contemporary society's heightened sensitivity about rape, we still remain (perhaps fortunately) unconscious of many of the transformations of the root meaning in words with positive connotations such as "rapturous."

Originally, "raven" as a verb was synonymous with "ravish" in the sense of "to steal by force." One of its specialized meanings became "devour," as in "the lion ravened her prey." By analogy, hungry people became "ravenous" (as hungry as beasts), and that remains the only common use of the word today.

If a woman smashes your apartment up, she ravages it. If she looks stunningly beautiful, she is ravishing. If she eats the whole platter of hors d'oeuvres you've set out for the party before the other guests

come, she's ravenous.

REACTIONARY/REACTIVE

Many people incorrectly use "reactionary" to mean "acting in response to some outside stimulus." That's "reactive." "Reactionary" actually has a very narrow meaning; it is a noun or adjective describing a form of looking backward that goes beyond conservatism (wanting to prevent change and maintain present conditions) to reaction­­wanting to recreate a lost past. The advocates of restoring Czarist rule in Russia are reactionaries. While we're on the subject, the term "proactive" formed by analogy with "reactive" seems superfluous to many of us. Use "active," "assertive," or "positive" whenever you can instead.

READABLY/READILY

Some people mistakenly say of something easily available that it is "readably available." The original expression has nothing to do with reading; it is "readily available," ready at hand.

REAL/REALLY

The correct adverbial form is "really" rather than "real"; but even that form is generally confined to casual speech, as in "When you complimented me on my speech I felt really great!" To say "real great" instead moves the speaker several steps downscale socially. However "really" is a feeble qualifier. "Wonderful" is an acceptable substitute for "really great" and you can give a definite upscale slant to your speech by adopting the British "really quite wonderful." Usually, however, it is better to replace the expression altogether with something more precise: "almost seven feet tall" is better than "really tall." To strive for intensity by repeating "really" as in "that dessert you made was really, really good" demonstrates an impoverished vocabulary.

REALTOR

For some reason, this word is often mispronounced as "real­a­ter" instead of the proper "ree­ul­ter." Incidentally, realtors insist that this is a term originally trademarked by the National Association of Real Estate Boards (now renamed the "National Association of Realtors"), that it must be capitalized, and that all non­members of that association are mere "real estate associates." Common usage, however, calls both "real estate agents," despite their protests.

REAP WHAT YOU SEW/REAP WHAT YOU SOW

When you plant seeds you sow them. Galatians 6:7 says "A man reaps what he sows" (harvests what he plants, gets what he deserves). This agricultural metaphor gets mangled frequently into you "you reap what you sew." At best, you might rip what you sew; but you probably wouldn't want to tell people about it.

REASON BECAUSE

We often hear people say things like, "the reason there's a hole in the screen door is because I tripped over the cat on my way out." The phrase "is because" should be "is that." If you wanted to use "because," the sentence should be phrased, "There's a hole in the screen door because I tripped over the cat." U. "The reason being is" should be simply "the reason being."

The similarly redundant common expression "the reason why" is generally regarded as standard now, although some people still object to it.

REBELLING/REVOLTING

Even though "rebel" and "revolt" mean more or less the same thing, people who are revolting are disgusting, not taking up arms against the government.

REBUT/REFUTE

When you rebut someone's argument you argue against it. To refute someone's argument is to prove it incorrect. Unless you are certain you have achieved success, use "rebut."

RECENT/RESENT

There are actually three words to distinguish here. "Recent," always pronounced with an unvoiced hissy S and with the accent on the first syllable, means "not long ago," as in, " I appreciated your recent encouragement." "Resent" has two different meanings with two different pronunciations, both with the accent on the second syllable. In the most common case, where "resent" means "feel annoyed at," the word is pronounced with a voiced Z sound: "I resent your implication that I gave you the chocolates only because I was hoping you'd share them with me." In the less common case, the word means "to send again," and is pronounced with an unvoiced hissy S sound: "The e­mail message bounced, so I resent it." So say the intended word aloud. If the accent is on the second syllable, "resent" is the spelling you need.

RECOGNIZE

In sloppy speech, this often comes out "reck­uh­nize." Sound the "G."

RECREATE/REINVENT

The expression "no need to reinvent the wheel" loses much of its wit when "recreate" is substituted for the original verb. While we're at it, "recreate" does not mean "to engage in recreation." If you play basketball, you may be exercising, but you're not recreating.

RECUPERATE/RECOUP

If you are getting over an illness, you are recuperating; but if you insist on remaining at the roulette table when your luck has been running against you, you are seeking to recoup your losses.

REDICULOUS/RIDICULOUS

You may ridicule ideas because you find them ridiculous, but not rediculous.

REDO IT OVER/REDO IT, DO IT OVER

"Redo it over" is redundant; say either "redo it" or "do it over." The only time this phrase makes sense is in the phrase "redo it over and over again."

REDUNDANCIES

There are many examples of redundancies in these pages: phrases which say twice what needs to be said only once, like "past history." Advertisers are particularly liable to redundancy in hyping their offers: "as an added bonus" (as a bonus), "preplan" (plan), and "free gift" (but look out for the shipping charges!). Two other common redundancies which are clearly errors are "and plus" (plus) and "end result" (result). But some other redundancies are contained in phrases sanctioned by tradition: "safe haven," "hot water heater," "new beginning," and "tuna fish."

REEKING HAVOC/WREAKING HAVOC

"Reeking" means "smelling strongly," so that can't be right. The phrase simply means "working great destruction." "Havoc" has always referred to general destruction in English, but one very old phrase incorporating the word was "cry havoc," which meant to give an army the signal for pillage. To "play havoc with" means the same thing as to "wreak havoc." Avoid as well the mistaken "wreck havoc."

REFRAIN/RESTRAIN

"Restrain" is a transitive verb: it needs an object. Although "refrain" was once a synonym for "restrain" it is now an intransitive verb: it should not have an object. Here are examples of correct modern usage: "When I pass the doughnut shop I have to restrain myself" ("myself" is the object). "When I feel like throwing something at my boss, I usually refrain from doing so." You can't refrain yourself or anyone else.

REFRIDGERATOR/REFRIGERATOR

Although "fridge" is short for "refrigerator," there is no "D" in the longer word.

REFUTE/REJECT

To refute someone's argument is to prove it incorrect. If you attempt no such proof but simply disagree with an argument the word you want is "reject."

REGARD/REGARDS

Business English is deadly enough without scrambling it. "As regards your downsizing plan . . ." is acceptable, if stiff. "In regard to" "and "with regard to" are also correct. But "in regards to" is nonstandard. You can also convey the same idea with "in respect to" or "with respect to."

REGRETFULLY/REGRETTABLY

Either word can be used as an adverb to introduce an expression of regret, though conservatives prefer "regrettably" in sentences like "Regrettably, it rained on the 4th of July." Within the body of a sentence, however, "regretfully" may be used only to describe the manner in which someone does something: "John had to regretfully decline his beloved's invitation to go hang­gliding because he was terrified of heights." If no specified person in the sentence is doing the regretting, but the speaker is simply asserting "it is to be regretted," the word is "regrettably": "Their boss is regrettably stubborn."

REIGN/REIN

A king or queen reigns, but you rein in a horse. The expression "to give rein" means to give in to an impulse as a spirited horse gives in to its impulse to gallop when you slacken the reins. Similarly, the correct expression is "free rein," not "free reign."

REKNOWN/RENOWN

When you won the national spelling bee you achieved great renown (fame). Now you are a renowned speller (notice the ­ed ending on the adjectival form).

Many people mistakenly suppose that because "renown" has to do with being well known the word should be spelled "reknown," but in fact it is derived from the French word nom and has to do with gaining a name. In French, fame is renomee.

RELIGION

Protestants often refer to "the Catholic religion." Catholicism is a faith or a church. (Only Protestants belong to "denominations.") Both Catholics and Protestants follow the Christian religion.

RELIGION BELIEVES/RELIGION TEACHES

People often write things like "Buddhism believes" when they mean to say "Buddhism teaches," or "Buddhists believe." Religions do not believe, they are the objects of belief.

RELIGIOSITY/PIETY

The main modern use of "religiosity" is to describe exaggerated or ostentatious showing off of one's religiousness. A better word to label

the quality of being truly religious is "piety."

RELUCTANT/RETICENT

"Reticent" denotes only reluctance to speak; do not use it for any other form of reluctance.

REMOTELY CLOSE

"Not even remotely close" is a fine example of an oxymoron. An idea can be "not even remotely correct," but closeness and remoteness are opposites; it doesn't make sense to have one modify the other. There are lots of lists of oxymorons on the Web, but they mostly mix jokey editorializing ("military intelligence" and "Microsoft Works") with true oxymorons. Good for a laugh, but not providing much guidance to writers. If there's a truly helpful oxymoron site you know of, I'd like to hear about it.

REMUNERATION/RENUMERATION

Although "remuneration" looks as if it might mean "repayment" it usually means simply "payment." In speech it is often confused with "renumeration," which would mean re­counting (counting again).

REPUNGENT/REPUGNANT, PUNGENT

"Repungent" is an amusing mash­up of "repugnant" (disgusting) and "pungent" (strong, especially used of smells). It is used for repulsive smells; and though it is vivid, it's not standard English and may get you laughed at.

RIFFLE/RIFLE

To rifle something is to steal it. The word also originally had the sense of "to search thoroughly," often with intent to steal. But if you are casually flipping through some papers, you riffle through them. You never "rifle through" anything.

RONDEZVOUS/RENDEZVOUS

The first syllable of "rendezvous" rhymes with "pond" but is not spelled like it. It comes from a word related to English "render" and is hyphenated in French: "rendez­vous." In English the two elements are smooshed together into one: "rendezvous."

REOCCURRING/RECURRING

It might seem logical to form this word from "occurring" by simply adding a RE­ prefix­­logical, but wrong. The word is "recurring." The root form is "recur," not "reoccur." For some reason "recurrent" is seldom transformed into "reoccurrent."

REPEL/REPULSE

In most of their meanings these are synonyms, but if you are disgusted by someone, you are repelled, not repulsed. The confusion is compounded by the fact that "repellent" and "repulsive" mean the same thing. Go figure.

REPLETE/COMPLETE

"Replete" usually means "stuffed," "full to overflowing." After eating a complete ten­course meal, you are replete.

Although it has been used as a simple synonym for "complete," this is now an unusual usage, and it is better to stick with the more common word "complete" when you have a choice.

REPLY BACK/REPLY

"Reply back" is redundant because "reply" already conveys the idea of getting back to someone. The same is true of "answer back" except in the rather old­fashioned use of the phrase to describe the behavior of a lippy kid rudely refusing to submit to the wishes of parents or teachers.

REPORT INTO/REPORT ON

You can conduct an investigation into a matter, like a scandal or a crime; but the result is a report on or of the results. You don't make a report into anything. You could eliminate "into" altogether by using the simpler "investigate" instead.

REQUEST/ASK

If you want something you can request it or you can ask for it. Many people like "request" because it sounds more formal, more elegant; but to other people it just sounds pretentious. There are many instances in which plain old "ask" works better: "I'm asking my buddies to go camping with me." "She asked him to walk the dog." Except on wedding invitations, try to avoid "request" where "ask" will do as well.

RESIGNATE/RESONATE

When an idea gives you good vibes it resonates with you: "His call for better schools resonates with the voters." Not resignates­­resonates.

RESISTER/RESISTOR

A resistor is part of an electrical circuit; a person who resists something is a "resister."

RESPIRATORY

Even health professionals tend to mispronounce this word by smooshing the second and third syllables into one. This word has several possible pronunciations, but "resp­uh­tory." is not one of them. However you say it, try to at least hint at all five syllables.

RESPOND BACK/RESPOND, REPLY

It's possible that some people think they have to write "respond back" to distinguish a reply from other kinds of responses, like groaning and cursing, or chucking a request in the wastebasket; but most of the time the context makes perfectly clear that "respond" means "answer" and the "back" is redundant. Or you can just say "reply."

RESTIVE

"Restive" can mean "stubborn," "impatient," or "restless," but never "relaxed" or "rested."

RETCH/WRETCH

If you vomit, you retch; if you behave in a wretched manner or fall into wretched circumstances, you are a wretch.

RETROSPECTIVE/RETROACTIVE

"Retrospective" has to do with looking back, as is shown by the similarity of its middle syllable to words like "spectacles." A retrospective exhibit looks back at the earlier work of an artist.

"Retroactive," on the other hand, refers to actions, and is about making a current change applicable to the past, especially in law. Retroactive punishment is generally considered unjust. For instance, the city council can't pass an ordinance retroactively punishing you for having sung off­key in the karaoke bar on Main Street last Saturday night.

RETURN BACK/RETURN

"Return back" is a redundancy. Use just "return," unless you mean to say instead "turn back."

REVELANT/RELEVANT

"Revelant" is both spoken and written frequently when "relevant" is intended. The same is true of "revelance," a misspelling of "relevance."

REVERT/REPLY

The most common meaning of "revert" is "to return to an earlier condition, time, or subject." When Dr. Jekyll drank the potion he reverted to the brutish behavior of Mr. Hyde. But some pretentious people have begun to use it mistakenly instead of "reply," writing when they want you to get back to them about something, "revert to me at this address." This would literally mean they are asking you to become them.

REVOLVE/ROTATE

In ordinary speech these two words are often treated as interchangeable, though it's "revolving credit account" and "rotating crops." Scientists

make a sharp distinction between the two: the earth revolves (orbits) around the sun but rotates (spins) around its axis.

REVUE/REVIEW

You can attend a musical revue in a theatre, but when you write up your reactions for a newspaper, you're writing a review.

RHETORICAL QUESTIONS

A rhetorical question implies its own answer; it's a way of making a point. Examples: "Aren't you ashamed of yourself?" "What business is it of yours?" "How did that idiot ever get elected?" "What is so rare as a day in June?" These aren't questions in the usual sense, but statements in the form of a question.

Many people mistakenly suppose that any nonsensical question, or one which cannot be answered, can be called a rhetorical question. The following are not proper rhetorical questions: "What was the best thing before sliced bread?" "If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it, does it make a sound?" "Who let the dogs out?"

Sometimes speakers ask questions so they can then proceed to answer them: "Do we have enough troops to win the war? It all depends on how you define victory." The speaker is engaging in rhetoric, but the question asked is not a rhetorical question in the technical sense. Instead this is a mock­dialogue, with the speaker taking both roles.

RIGHT OF PASSAGE/RITE OF PASSAGE

The more common phrase is "rite of passage"­­a ritual one goes through to move on to the next stage of life. Learning how to work the combination on a locker is a rite of passage for many entering middle school students. A "right of passage" would be the right to travel through a certain territory, but you are unlikely to have any use for the phrase.

RING ITS NECK/WRING ITS NECK

Wring the chicken's neck; and after you've cooked it, ring the dinner bell.

RIO GRANDE RIVER/RIO GRANDE

Rio is Spanish for "river," so "Rio Grande River" is a redundancy. Just write "Rio Grande." Non­Hispanic Americans have traditionally failed to pronounce the final "E" in "Grande", but they" ve learned to do it to designate the large size of latte, so perhaps it's time to start saying it the proper Spanish way: "REE­oh GRAHN­day." Or to be really international we could switch to the Mexican name: "Rio Bravo."

RISKY/RISQUE

People unfamiliar with the French­derived word "risque" ("slightly indecent") often write "risky" by mistake. Bungee­jumping is risky, but nude bungee­jumping is risque.

ROAD TO HOE/ROW TO HOE

Out in the cotton patch you have a tough row to hoe. This saying has nothing to do with road construction.

ROLE/ROLL

An actor plays a role. Bill Gates is the entrepreneur's role model. But you eat a sausage on a roll and roll out the barrel. To take attendance, you call the roll.

ROLLOVER/ROLL OVER

A rollover used to be only a serious highway accident, but in the computer world this spelling has also been used to label a feature on a Web page which reacts in some way when you roll the ball inside a mouse or a trackball over it without having to click. It also became an adjective, as in "rollover feature." However, when giving users instructions, the correct verb form is "roll over"­­two words: "roll over the photo of our dog to see his name pop up."

Since most people now use either optical mice or trackpads the term "rollover" has become technically obsolete, but it persists.

ROMANTIC

If you are studying the arts, it's important to know that the word "romantic" is used in such contexts to mean much more than "having to do with romantic love." It originated in the Middle Ages to label sensational narratives written in romance languages­­rather than Latin­­depicting events like the fall of King Arthur's Round Table (in French, novels are still called "romans" whether they depict love affairs or not). In literature and art it often refers to materials that are horrifying, exotic, enthralling, or otherwise emotionally stimulating to an extreme degree. A romantic art song is as likely to be about death as about love.

ROOT/ROUT/ROUTE

You can root for your team (cheer them on) and hope that they utterly smash their opponents (create a rout), then come back in triumph on Route 27 (a road).

ROUGE/ROGUE

You can create an artificial blush by using rouge; but a scoundrel who deserves to be called a rogue is unlikely to blush naturally.

RUBBAGE

Although the generally obsolete form "rubbage" persists in some dialects, many people will assume if you use it that you are confusing "rubbish" with "garbage."

RUEBEN/REUBEN

Diner owners who put "Rueben sandwiches" on their menus may rue the day they did so when they encounter a customer who cares about the correct spelling of this classic American concoction of corned beef, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese and Russian dressing on rye bread. Although the origin of the sandwich is obscure, being credited to several different restaurateurs, all of them spelled their name "Reuben," with the E before the U.

RUFF/ROUGH

The slangy spelling "ruff" for "rough" is not appropriate in formal writing, but your spelling­checker won't flag it because "ruff" has a traditional meaning of its own, denoting a frilled collar.

RYE/WRY

"Wry" means "bent, twisted." Even if you don't have a wry sense of humor you may crack a wry smile. No rye is involved.

(Common Errors in English by Paul Brians)