If your buddy is “lit,” he’s either drunk or he’s wearing a light-up Christmas sweater. If he’s “lighted,” I suppose you know intoxication is out of the question, but is there a difference otherwise? Should you be worried about flares of flame?
The difference between “lighted” and “lit” is a question that comes up fairly frequently, and people are always looking for the simple answer.
When it comes to the English language, it’s easy to get things mixed up, but this time, I’m asking you to “mince” it up.
Why, you ask?
No, I’m not making mincemeat pies, nor am I apprenticing with a butcher. I say this because there is a difference between “mixing words” and “mincing words,” and I’ve seen this expression terribly muddled.
Remember:
Thus telling someone not to mix their words is a fabulous example of someone mixing their words. Not that you’d ever do this though, right?
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Uh, oh. Did I just make you question how you wrote that last email? Or did you just talk yourself into a difference concerning magical staffs versus the staff of your office? It’s not that simple, folks.
Here’s an example of a subject-verb pairing you might write fairly frequently if you’re in the business world, and I’m sorry to say that the “staff is” vs. “staff are” choice isn’t a matter of wizardry vs. human resources—though, maybe if you really get into a conversation about jobs at the Ministry of Magic, it might get a tad more complicated.
If your mom has ever told you she couldn’t be more proud, maybe she said it because it was true. But before you start feeling all the warm fuzzies, maybe it was just a matter of linguistics. “More proud” isn’t really a thing. She couldn’t be “more proud,” because that combination of words isn’t technically correct.
I feel like I might have just broken some hearts. Don’t worry. I’m sure your mom couldn’t be prouder of you. (That’s the correct form of the sentiment.)
It’s time to get schooled on a “school of fish” vs. “shoal of fish.” Here’s your hint: one of them shoals, and one of them “schools.” Did that help? What do you mean “No”?
This is a tip designed to make you look savvy, since most people aren’t aware of a difference.
I have good news for you. Contrary to what you might have heard, there’s no such thing as a “poisonous” snake. (Well, almost no such thing. We’ll get back to this.*)
But here’s the bad news, this doesn’t make your next romp through leaf piles in the woods any safer.
If you’re talking ‘bout the birds and the bees and the flowers and the trees and the moon up above, you might be tackling this thing called “love,” but here’s a hint: if you’re writing about a lover ravaging another, it’s not a happy love story.
To take it up a notch—and maybe a few decades forward—let’s talk about what’s happening when it’s getting hot in here.
If this expression brings to mind a great heave-ho of a rope, you might be thinking about (and spelling) this expression incorrectly.
Reminder: The idiom meaning “to do what is expected” or “to follow the established rules” is correctly spelled “toe the line.”
I’m just saying, folks, there are a lot of butts where they shouldn’t be. And I’m not talking about politics or seating arrangements.
Just like “nip it in the bud,” the expression “buck naked” is often misspoken and mistyped with a reference to the buttocks that simply isn’t there.
Are you guilty of this communication