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Common Errors in English Usage and More Common Errors in English Usage

More Errors

People send me quite a few word confusions which don’t seem worth writing up but which are nevertheless entertaining or interesting. I simply list a number of these below for your amusement. Many of them are discussed on the Eggcorn Database site.

Note: if you don’t find what you’re looking for below, please be aware that this is only a supplementary page to a much more extensive site that begins here.

What was said What was meant
a stigmatism astigmatism
abolishment abolition
abraded upbraided
acrosst across
ad homonym ad hominem
aerobic numbers Arabic numbers
affidavid affidavit
alphabeticalize alphabetize
alsome, allsome awesome
altercations alterations
alterior ulterior
anachronism acronym
ambliance ambulance
anticlimatic anticlimactic
anchors away anchors aweigh
ancy antsy
aperpo à propos
apples and organs apples and oranges
arm’s way harm’s way
artical article
as a pose to as opposed to
ashfault asphalt
assessible accessible
assumably presumably
at leased at least
authoritarian source authoritative source
back round background
balling out bawling out
based around based on
batter an eyelid bat an eyelid
bear the blunt bear the brunt
beautify a saint beatify a saint
beckon call beck and call
begs belief beggars belief
besiege beseech
beyond approach beyond reproach
bids well bids fair, bodes well
binded bound
Bladerunner (film title) Blade Runner
bled like a stuffed pig bled like a stuck pig
blessing in the sky blessing in disguise
blindsighted blindsided
blow a casket blow a gasket
a board of director a member of a board of directors
boom to the economy boon to the economy
bonafied bona fide
bored of bored with
bottles the mind boggles the mind
bowl in a china shop bull in a china shop
bran new brand new
built off of built on or upon
BVD player DVD player
by in large or enlarge by and large
Cadillac converter catalytic converter
card shark cardsharp
carport tunnel carpal tunnel
case and point case in point
cease and decease cease and desist
cease the day seize the day
chalked full chock-full
cheap at half the price cheap at twice the price
chester drawers chest of drawers
chicken pops chicken pox
chomp at the bit champ at the bit
chow ciao
circus sized circumcised
clearified clarified
cohabitate cohabit
collaborating evidence corroborating evidence
component opponent
conversate converse
conservative effort concerted effort
copywrite copyright
copywritten copyrighted
coronated crowned
coronet cornet
cortage cortege
coruscating excoriating
a couple guys a couple of guys
coup de gras coup de grace
cream de mint creme de menthe
crimp my style cramp my style
crossified crucified
the crutch of the matter the crux of the matter
culvert sack cul de sac
cumberbun cummerbund
cursing through his veins coursing through his veins
cut to the chaff cut to the chase
dappled in dabbled in
darkest before the storm darkest before the dawn
dead wringer dead ringer
debockle debacle
decidated dedicated
deformation of character defamation of character
deja vous deja vu
Samuel R. Delaney Samuel R. Delany
detrius detritus
diabolically opposed diametrically opposed
dialate dilate
differ payment defer payment
die heart diehard
diswraught distraught
do diligence due diligence
do to due to
documentated documented
doggy dog world dog-eat-dog world
dottering doddering
down the pipe down the pike
dresser draw dresser drawer
drownded drowned
drownding drowning
drudged up dredged up
dry reach dry retch
electorial college electoral college
end justifies the meaning end justifies the means
enervate energize
Episcopalian church Episcopal church
escape goat scapegoat
esculate escalate
exasperated exacerbated
excape escape
exhilarator accelerator
expecially especially
expeculation speculation
expediate expedite
exuberant price exorbitant price
exulted status exalted status
eyesaw, eye soar eyesore
face the piper face the music, pay the piper
fair to midland fair to middling
far and few between few and far between
fathom a guess hazard a guess
fast majority vast majority
fate accompli fait accompli
Federal Drug Administration Food and Drug Administration
final throws final throes
first come, first serve first come, first served
flamingo dancer flamenco dancer
flustrated frustrated
focus like a razor focus like a laser
foilage foliage
foul swoop fell swoop
four-stair heating forced-air heating
Franklin Delanor Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt
frentic frantic or frenetic
front in center front and center
full ball full bore
garner wages garnish wages
gave me slack gave me flak
gentile manners genteel manners
gentlelady gentlewoman
genuses genera
glaucomole glaucoma
glaze over gloss over
gleam glean
godforsaken right God-given right
gone array gone awry
gorilla warfare guerilla warfare
got my dandruff up got my dander up
grant it granted
greatfruit grapefruit
harbringer harbinger
heared heard
harps back harks back
hearst hearse
heart-rendering heart-rending
Heineken remover Heimlich maneuver
here on end here on in
hewn cry hue and cry
High Iraqi hierarchy
hobbiest hobbyist
hold down the fort hold the fort
hurtles to overcome hurdles to overcome
howsomever however
I seen I saw or I’ve seen
ice tea iced tea
imbedded embedded
flaw in the ointment fly in the ointment
hare’s breath hair’s breadth
high dungeon high dudgeon
hit a high bar clear a high bar
ideallic ideal or idyllic
immaculate degeneration macular degeneration
impaling doom impending doom
imput input
in another words in other words
in lieu of in light of
in loo of in lieu of
in mass en masse
if I don’t say so myself if I do say so myself
in sink in synch
in the same vane or vain in the same vein
incredulous incredible
indiscrepancy discrepancy
insinnuendo insinuation or innuendo
insuremountable insurmountable
in tact intact
interduce introduce
internally grateful eternally grateful
International Workers of the World Industrial Workers of the World
intragul integral
Issac Isaac
it’s beggars belief it beggars belief
ivy tower ivory tower
jack of all traits jack of all trades
jaundra genre
just assume just as soon
key fab key fob
kindly kind of
kit gloves kid gloves
klu klux klan ku klux klan
lacksadaisical lackadaisical
lamblasted, landblasted lambasted
land up end up, land
landlover landlubber
lapse into a comma lapse into a coma
larnyx larynx
laxidaisical lackadaisical
lively hood livelihood
love nuts lug nuts
love one and other love one another
low and behold lo and behold
ludicrust ludicrous
Lex Luther Lex Luthor
Martin Luthor King Martin Luther King
Lykert scale Likert scale
magnate school magnet school
make ends meat make ends meet
make head or tale make head or tail
marquis marquee
masonary masonry
mean time meantime
memorized mesmerized
menestrate menstruate
meter out justice mete out justice
misconscrew misconstrue
Mississippi Marsala Mississippi Masala
mister meaner misdemeanor
mix words mince words
momento memento
muncho man macho man
muriel mural
myocardial infraction myocardial infarction
new leash on life new lease on life
neck in neck neck and neck
needles to say needless to say
nitch niche
no holes barred, no bars held no holds barred
Nobel lariat Nobel laureate
notary republic notary public
notch it up a bit take it up a notch
odiferous odoriferous
odviously obviously
oject d’art objet d’art
off my own back off my own bat
off the deep edge off the deep end, over the edge
on mass en masse
on the same hand on the other hand, by the same token
once and a while once in a while
one pony-trick one-trick pony
orthoscopic arthroscopic
overhauls overalls
overjealous overzealous
pacific specific
paddle lock padlock
pain-staking painstaking
pair of parenthesis pair of parentheses
palatable feeling palpable feeling
pantent patent
parody of virtue paragon of virtue
part in parcel part and parcel
partying gift parting gift
pastorial pastoral
patriarticle patriarchal
permiscuous promiscuous
peacemeal piecemeal
peak of health pink of health
pedastool pedestal
pension penchant
pentacle of his career pinnacle of his career
peon of praise paean
periphial peripheral
perk up its ears prick up its ears
perscription prescription
Peruvian interest prurient interest
perverbial proverbial
phantom fathom
pick fun poke fun or pick on
piece of mind peace of mind
pigment of his imagination figment of his imagination
pillow to post pillar to post
pin a finger pin the blame on, point a finger at
plain around playing around
play it by year play it by ear
plentitude plenitude
plural pneumonia double pneumonia, pleural pneumonia
poison ivory poison ivy
portentious portentous
poseable thumbs opposable thumbs
pot-bellied politics pork-barrel politics
poultrygeist poltergeist
predominately predominantly
pratfall pitfall
present company accepted present company excepted
prevaricate procrastinate
prevert pervert
prolong the inevitable delay the inevitable
protagonist proponent
punkin, pumkin pumpkin
radical chick radical chic
radioactive increase retroactive increase
ramsack ransack
ranking file rank and file
readdress the balance redress the balance
rebel rouser rabble rouser
recluse recuse
recreate the wheel reinvent the wheel
repel rappel
repungent repugnant
roiling boil rolling boil
rotating rumors circulating rumors
rubble rousing rabble rousing
rockweiler rottweiler
ruffled grouse ruffed grouse
run rapid run rampant
schrap metal scrap metal or shrapnel
screed door screen door
seizure salad Caesar salad
self-defacing self-effacing
sense of false security false sense of security
sequences sequins
set a president set a precedent
shock ways shockwaves
short sided shortsighted
should’ve went should’ve gone
shutter to think shudder to think
side by each side by side
similiar or simular similar
six and a half of one,
a dozen of the other
six of one,
half a dozen of the other
skewer the results skew the results
skiddish skittish
skun your knee skinned your knee
sleep acnea sleep apnea
slither of cake sliver of cake
smack dad smack dab
smashed potatoes mashed potatoes
smoking mirrors smoke and mirrors
smothered onions smothered with onions
soak and wet soaking wet
something or rather something or other
somulent somnolent
sorted past or story sordid past or story
St. John’s wart St. John’s wort
stain glass stained glass
stainless teal stainless steel
stolled stole
strident stringent
strum up support drum up support
subsiding on subsisting on
substantative substantive
sufficive to say it suffices to say
supremist supremacist
tactile squad tactical squad
terminity temerity
thankyou thank you
techknowledgy technology
Theolonius Monk Thelonious Monk
time and memorial time immemorial
time and time and again time and time again
thread a fine line tread a fine line
Tiajuana Tijuana
tie me over tide me over
times the number multiply the number
tittering on the brink teetering on the brink
to eaches own to each his own
took it for granite took it for granted
tooth and tong tooth and nail, hammer and tongs
trader to the cause traitor to the cause
turpentime turpentine
two sense worth two cents’ worth
tyrannical yolk tyrannical yoke
unchartered territory uncharted territory
ungangly ungainly
unloosen loosen
udderly utterly
underlying contest underlying context
up and adam up and at ’em
upgraded upbraided
valevictorian valedictorian
Valentimes Valentines
vaulted vaunted
verbage verbiage
very close veins varicose veins
viadock viaduct
visa versa vice versa
vocal chords vocal cords
voiceterous boisterous
vunerable vulnerable
wait ago way to go
weary wary
wetted to the idea wedded to the idea
wheedle down whittle down
whelp welt
Wimbleton Wimbledon
wideth width
windshield factor wind chill factor
witch which
without further adieu without further ado
wither in agony writhe in agony
withering around writhing around
world-renown world-renowned
worldwind whirlwind
working progress work in progress
worse case scenario worst-case scenario
worth its weight in salt worth its salt or worth its weight in gold
worth wild worthwhile