10 word mix-ups to avoid, presented by bunnies

[Brian G Turner]

A fun way to differentiate words:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/emmyf/10-word-mix-ups-to-avoid-presented-by-bunnies

Most are obvious, but now I'm left wondering if I ever confuse discrete with discreet!

The bunnies have the answer.

 

[Juliana]

D'awww... bunnies!

I don't think I'd confuse discreet and discrete, but also I don't think I've ever had a reason to actually use the word discrete in a sentence before, so you never know!

What I do get mixed up all the time is US and UK spelling; brought up on UK spelling but most of my translation clients want US so it's all mashed up in my head now.

 

[Mouse]

Ha! I knew Juliana would be the first to comment on a bunny thread. (Isn't one of those pics just a pug dressed as a bunny?)

 

[Juliana]

Rabbits and rhetoric!

 

[TheDustyZebra]

I have to deal with "pixelated" all the time at work, but I don't think I even knew "pixilated" was a word -- presumably from pixies? Although that "mentally unbalanced" thing might be construed as an insult to the small ones....

 

[Tecdavid]

Is "Pixilated" said at all, these days? Since "Pixelated" is so common, you'd think it would only cause confusion.
Some of the examples were pretty helpful (I used to have such trouble with "Waist" and "Waste", for some reason!), but come on - does anyone actually get err/air/heir mixed up?

(Just ran them through MS Word, and apparantly, it doesn't consider Pixelated or Pixilated to be real words...)

 

[nightdreamer]

I mixed up vise and vice a few days ago, but corrected myself fairly quickly.

 

[MistingWolf]

Oh, so cute!

Okay, so when to use "alright" and "all right"?

 

[chrispenycate]

Why don't they have the ones that come up all the time (like "past/passed" that we did here some time back, or "there/their/they're"?

Okay, so when to use "alright" and "all right"?

"There is no logical reason for insisting that "all right" remain as two words when other contractions such as "altogether" have long been accepted. Nevertheless, though widely found, "alright" remains nonstandard"

So, use in informal situations where you might use slang, but never in anything that is going to be analysed by a pedant (although I would only correct one in a very formal piece).

 

[The Judge]

I mixed up vise and vice a few days ago, but corrected myself fairly quickly.

Ah, the advantage of being British -- no vises here, fortunately. Though advice and advise is another problem!

I'd also have thought affect/effect was a much more common mistake than some of those it mentions, and flout/flaunt is another one I've come across in books.


Juliana -- discrete is a great word to slip in as a synonym for separate or distinct. Give it a go!

 

[MistingWolf]

So, use in informal situations where you might use slang, but never in anything that is going to be analysed by a pedant (although I would only correct one in a very formal piece).

Ah, thanks. I tend to use both versions, depending on the situation. Such as:
"Are you all right?"
or
"Alright, let's go!"

Is this kind of interchanging okay, or should I stick to one or the other? Keeping in mind that Iris, from our world, is very informal while Keiro, from another world, is formal. Keiro will always use "all right," but for Iris, I interchange, as the example above....

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

You should be consistent throughout the story -- unless the characters are writing to each other.

It's not whether the characters are speaking informally or not, because they're actually saying the same thing. It's a style issue and which to use depends on whether the writing is meant to be formal or not. If you are writing to a friend, or posting something here, then you could spell it either way. If you are writing a business document or a paper for school, that would definitely call for the standard spelling. With a piece of fiction, it might depend on the overall tone, but even then "alright" would be questionable.




.

 

[BetaWolf]

Just started reading The Hunger Games. I'm wondering why the capital district is called the Capitol instead of the Capital. Since a capitol is the building in a capital as I've always understood it.

 

[The Judge]

Not read the book, but I imagine it's simply an extension of the idea that this is the place of power, or even reverting back to the original, as the Capitol was the Capitoline hill in Rome, ie the district as a whole, as well as the temple there.