We (Edith Hope Fine and Judith Josephson) are the Grammar Patrol. Both of us taught for years and are now writers, with thirty plus books between us, including our two popular grammar guides, Nitty-Gritty Grammar and More Nitty-Gritty Grammar. For close to twenty years, we taught writing and grammar basics and now we blog about grammar for writers.
Word mix-ups can flummox even people who work with words daily.
Long ago Judith interviewed news anchor Allison Ross. Were it not for a last-minute word check, Judith might have called Ross’s on-air presence “enervating” (wearying), rather than “energetic” (lively).
Later, in her children’s biography about detective Allan Pinkerton, she almost had Pinkerton charging with Union troops at Antietam with the “calvary” (hill near Jerusalem), not the “cavalry” (soldiers on horseback).
Edith had to triple-check her weekly columns for your/you’re bloopers caused by flying fingers. And once, reporting on a cool field trip to a water treatment plant, she wrote about “effluent,” which a well-meaning, but dictionary-impaired, copy editor changed multiple times to “affluent.”
A Baker’s Dozen of Word Mix-ups
1. nauseous/nauseated
“I feel nauseous,” complained Buffy, after a garlic-laden dinner.
Whoops! Buffy is making others “feel sick or disgusted.”
If you feel unwell, use nauseated.
2. lend/loan
Did you lend or loan your sister your chartreuse pumps?
No matter which word you used, it was an ill-advised move, since Sis stepped in a mud puddle while wearing them.
Banks lend (verb) money. But if you buy a house, you apply for a loan (noun).
