Skip to main content Skip to navigation

crucifiction / crucifixion

One might suppose that this common misspelling was a product of skepticism were it not for the fact that it most often occurs in the writings of believers. The word should make clear that Jesus was affixed to the cross, not imply that his killing is regarded as a fiction.

Back to list of errors

 

Common Errors front cover

BUY THE BOOK!

crowbar / wrecking bar

A crowbar is a straight bar with one end only slightly bent and sharpened into a beak. Often the beak is split, giving the tool its name from its resemblance to a crow’s foot.

The tool with the much more pronounced hook on the end—designed for prying loose boards and drawing nails— may be considered a type of crowbar, but among people in construction and the hardware trade it is called a “wrecking bar.”

Back to list of errors

 

Common Errors front cover

BUY THE BOOK!

couple

Instead of “she went with a couple sleazy guys before she met me,” write “a couple of guys” if you are trying to sound a bit more formal. Leaving the “of” out is a casual, slangy pattern.

Back to list of errors

 

Common Errors front cover

BUY THE BOOK!

crackerjacks

“Crackerjack” is an old slang expression meaning “excellent,” and the official name of the popcorn confection is also singular: “Cracker Jack.” People don’t pluralize its rival Poppycock as “Poppycocks,” but they seem to think of the individual popped kernels as the “jacks.” A similarly named candy is “Good and Plenty.” All three have descriptive names describing qualities and shouldn’t be pluralized. A way to remember this: in “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” “Cracker Jack” rhymes with “back.”

Back to list of errors

 

Common Errors front cover

BUY THE BOOK!

crafts

When referring to vehicles, “craft” is both singular and plural. Two aircraft, many watercraft, etc. Do not add an “S.”

But when referring to hobbies and skills such as “woodcrafts” or “arts and crafts” adding an “S” in the plural form is standard.

Back to list of errors

 

Common Errors front cover

BUY THE BOOK!

cowtow

You can tow a cow to water, but you can’t make it drink. But the word that means bowing worshipfully before someone comes from the Chinese words for knocking one’s head on the ground, and is spelled kowtow.

Back to list of errors

 

Common Errors front cover

BUY THE BOOK!

croissant

The fanciful legend which attributes the creation of the croissant to Christian bakers celebrating a 17th-century victory over the Turks is widely recounted but almost certainly untrue, since there is no trace of the pastry until a century later. Although its form was probably not influenced by the Islamic crescent, the word croissant most definitely is French for “crescent.” Pastries formed from the same dough into different shapes should not be called “croissants.” If a customer in your bakery asks for a pain au chocolat (PAN oh-show-co-LA), reach for that rectangular pastry usually mislabeled in the US a “chocolate croissant.”

Back to list of errors

 

Common Errors front cover

BUY THE BOOK!

crochet / crotchet / crochety

Although all of these words derive from a common ancestor meaning “hook” and are related to “crook,” they have taken on different meanings in modern English. Those who do needlework with a crochet hook crochet. Your peculiar notions are your crotchets. And a crabby old person like Bob Cratchit’s boss is crotchety. There are various other technical uses for “crotchet,” but people who use them usually know the correct spelling. Just remember that “crochet” goes only with goods made with a crochet hook.

Back to list of errors

 

Common Errors front cover

BUY THE BOOK!