The guy who does your hair is a “coiffeur,” just as the person who drives a car is a “chauffeur,” and a restaurant owner is a “restaurateur.” The -eursuffix occurs regularly in occupation names which we have borrowed from the French. In French all of these would be male, though Americans often refer to female restaurateurs and chauffeurs. But it’s less acceptable to refer to a female hairdresser as a coiffeur.

When the coiffeur has finished, the end product—your hairdo—is your “coiffure.”

Hey kids, here’s a chance to catch your English teacher in a redundancy! To compare two things is to note their similarities and their differences. There’s no need to add “and contrast.”

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A critique is a detailed evaluation of something. The formal way to request one is “give me your critique,” though people often say informally “critique this”—meaning “evaluate it thoroughly.” But “critique” as a verb is not synonymous with “criticize” and should not be routinely substituted for it. “Josh critiqued my backhand” means Josh evaluated your tennis technique but not necessarily that he found it lacking. “Josh criticized my backhand” means that he had a low opinion of it.

You can write criticism on a subject, but you don’t criticize on something, you just criticize it.

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A crucifix is a cross with an image of the crucified Christ affixed to it. Reporters often mistakenly refer to someone wearing a “crucifix” when the object involved is an empty cross. Crucifixes are most often associated with Catholics, empty crosses with Protestants.

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“Coffee klatsch” comes from German Kaffeeklatsch meaning “coffee chat.” This is a compound word of which only one element has been translated, with the other being left in its original German spelling.

Many people anglicize the spelling further to “coffee klatch” or “coffee clatch.” Either one is less sophisticated than “coffee klatsch,” but not too likely to cause raised eyebrows.

“Coffee clutch” is just a mistake except when used as a deliberate pun to label certain brands of coffee-cup sleeves or to name a cafe.

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One often hears young people say “That movie was so cliché!” The standard expression is clichéd.

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Although both are named after Columbus, the US capital is the District of Columbia, whereas the South American country is Colombia.

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A person deriving unearned benefits by being attached to another is riding on his or her coat tails. This expression derives from the long tails on men’s old-fashioned coats.

A person clinging to another’s apron strings is excessively dependent on him or her, like a smalll child hanging on to its mother’s clothing.

These two expressions are often mistakenly blended. The result is statements such as ”she hoped to succeed by clinging to her boss’s coat strings” and “he is still clinging to his mother’s coat strings.” Some coats have strings, but “coat strings” is not standard usage in either of these sorts of expressions.

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The literal meaning of a word is its denotation; the broader associations we have with a word are its connotations. People who depend on a thesaurus or a computer translation engine to find synonyms often choose a word with the right denotation but the wrong connotations.

“Determined” and “pig-headed” both denote stubbornness, but the first connotes a wise adherence to purpose and the second connotes foolish rigidity.

“Boss” and “Chief Executive Officer” (CEO) can refer to the same office, but the first is less admiring and likely to connote the view of employees lower down in the company—nobody wants to be thought of as “bossy.” Higher executives would be more likely to speak admiringly of a “CEO.”

I often write “insufficiently complex” at the bottom of student papers instead of “simple-minded.” Although they denote essentially the same quality, the connotations of the first are less insulting.

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People who work together on a project collaborate (share their labor); people who support your testimony as a witness corroborate (strengthen by confirming) it.

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