Ooh, you’re savvy with your words, but do certain pairings like this still trip you up? And how on earth am I relating this to peanut butter? No worries, wordsmiths. You’ve got this, and stay tuned for that second answer. Here’s what you need to know about “collaborate” vs. “corroborate” once and for all:
We’re not talking pronunciation differences à la “tomato”/”to-mah-to” or “potato”/“po-tah-to.” We’re not talking regional differences. There is a distinction worth knowing when using “cocoa” vs. “cacao”; however, do you know what it is? And when I say “using ‘cocoa’ vs. ‘cacao,’” I suppose I could be talking about usages in a recipe or in a sentence. Subtleties matter here in both circumstances. Chocolate fans, listen up. Here’s what you need to know:
Whether you want to blame Ben Franklin or Noah Webster, sometimes, the English language seems unnecessarily complicated, doesn’t it? The spelling of “gray” vs. “grey” is another such case. But, wait, there is an answer to your question. You just need to specify which gray/grey you’re looking for.
Are you imagining laundry hanging up to dry or a bit too much of a celebration? Or if you know where I’m going, here’s your next question: how many sheets to the wind are we talking about? In 1737, Benjamin Franklin published The Drinker’s Dictionary, a list of 228 “round-about phrases” to describe drunkenness. (More on that coming soon). Admittedly, no version of “sheets to the wind” or “sheets in the wind” (a possible older version) appeared on this list, but as you know (or might have guessed by this point), we’re talking about one more colorful expression to describe […]