On Words: Writing Tips

Writing Tip 419: “Unorganized” vs. “Disorganized”

“Unorganized” vs. “Disorganized” books — Unorganized? Disorganized? Maybe the owner would say neither. Maybe she knows exactly where every single title is. Maybe you just don’t understand her system. What’s your reaction?

So close yet oh so far away once again, eh, English language? I think you enjoy keeping us on our toes, but we’re ready for you. We know “unorganized” and “disorganized” are near-synonyms but not exact matches, but what’s the difference between these two words? And what do their different pre-fixes accomplish? What can history tell us?

Oh, yeah, let’s go there.

Will this conversation be messy? With these two adjectives, it’s entirely possible, but we’ll make it through.

"Conscious" vs. "conscience" - zen rocks — If all of this has you thinking about nirvana, I have an entirely different question for you about the word “nevermind” (or is it “never mind”)? A special shout-out to those who see the connection!

We should perhaps be conscious of listening to our conscience. There’s mindfulness, integrity, and so much more as a part of this conversation, right?

What’s always fascinated me, though, is that a “conscience” is not necessarily the most science-focused of ideas. It’s not quite research-based, and the idea of “con-science” sounds a bit like “fake truth,” so that’s definitely not helpful either.

So many questions:

How can you tell “conscious” vs. “conscience” apart?

How is “conscience” related to “science”?

And how is “conscientious” related to these terms?

“Want” vs. “Wont” - dandelion seed wishes — Are you wont to want to make wishes?

You can want for nothing or be found wanting; you can endure on your quest to understand the English language, as I might be wont to do, or just throw up your hands, as might be your wont. No matter the case, won’t you join me in this discussion of “want” vs. “wont” so we can finally all get this one right?

Hint: “wont” is not a typo.

Here’s what you need to know:

“Forbid” vs. “Forebode” (& “Verboten”) - old house — Even if entering this house is forbidden, a brave kid on a mission might dare to defy the rules (Story prompt? Go for it.) But if it’s verboten, that kid might not dare. They might have an adventure getting to the source of why it’s verboten without actually going in. (Ooh, there’s another story prompt for you!)

If something is foreboding, there’s something a bit ominous about it. Maybe that foreboding place is also forbidden. Maybe it’s verboten. That word raises the stakes a bit, doesn’t it? Do you know the difference?

First things first, yes, these are all English words, though if you want to argue “verboten” is German, you would also be correct. Like “angst” and “doppelganger,” “verboten” is a borrowed word; however, it has been in English dictionaries for over one hundred years. The English language is indeed full of borrowed words normalized over time. That’s one way it’s ~~troublesome~~ fascinating, right?

But back to today’s discussion…

“marvelous” vs. ”marvellous” - grand-canyon — What do you think about when you hear the word “Marvelous”/”Marvellous”?

I don’t know about you, but I’m trying to think positive thoughts these days, positive thoughts like peace, unity, health, and the pursuit of happiness. And today, all this leads me to a very important question:

What is the correct spelling of “marvelous”/”marvellous”?

Well, it depends on who you ask.

Writing Tip 414: “Comradery” vs. “Camaraderie”

“Comradery” vs. “Camaraderie” 0 flower offerenig What the world needs now is love, sweet love. Yes, it does seem to be the thing that there’s just too little of, especially these days. Thank you for the reminder, Jackie DeShannon hit of 1965.

We don’t need to all hold hands and sing around a campfire, but a bit more comradery and/or camaraderie would be a good thing these days. Step one of this mission: figure out how to spell this word!

Hint: if you’re simply sounding it out, unfortunately, you’ll likely be wrong.

Writing Tip 413: “Cache” vs. “Cachet”

“Cache” vs. “Cachet” - cookies One can have cookies in their cache, or if they are a celebrity chef, maybe their cookies have cachet. But what does this all mean? Let’s dive in. (Hint: they are not pronounced the same way.)

While “cache” and “cachet” are two unique words, they do come from the same French root. They are hardly alone in this etymological phenomenon. There are many word pairs that share the same root, some of which are obvious when you think about it, like “flour” and “flower,” which both come from the French fleur; some of which are surprising, like “ticket” and “etiquette,” which both come from the same French origin as well.

“Disparate” vs. “Desperate” - Tree scene — Does this image make you feel “desperate” or think about the “disparity” on the different sides of the river bank? There are so many ways to talk about these two words.

Sometimes, one word feels like another, just spoken with an accent. Add a Southern drawl to “desperate” and it sounds like “disparate,” right? But that doesn’t help our situation much—and hey, I’m from the American South, so it’s not a knock on Southerners, y’all.

Here’s what you need to know when spellcheck simply refuses to help you:

“Linchpin” or “Lynchpin”? — What are we looking at here? A “linchpin” or “lynchpin”?

When you have something that holds your entire argument (or carriage) together, spelling it wrong certainly doesn’t help your cause. How do you spell “lynchpin”/”linchpin”?

This one’s tricky. Just because you’ve seen it written one way doesn’t mean that all uses are standard, and much like “acknowledgements” and “acknowledgments,” both “lynchpin” and “linchpin” can be commonly found online. But the correct answer is…

Wait for it…

Writing Tip 410: Is it “quote unquote” or “quote end quote”?

newspaper - Is it “quote unquote” or “quote end quote”? Let’s talk journalism, where precision and accuracy with language is essential. As is truth. As is integrity … Oh, wait, I’m getting distracted. (If anyone wants to help me with that revolution, let me know.)