Confusable words Archives

June 24, 2014 dbward

An incumbent recumbent, riding toward re-election

Elections often draw unusual write-in candidates. Strike that. Elections always draw unusual candidates, but the write-ins are sometimes the most unusual. Strike that again. Elections always draw unusual candidates, but

June 2, 2013 dbward

When a blog isn’t a blog, and how I got burned by assumptions

Just when I thought I knew what a word meant, I find myself lost in confusion. Or maybe at the turn of the century.

November 16, 2012 dbward

Affect, effect and the peril of snakebites

Homophones slither through writing like hungry snakes, striking hard and fast when disturbed and leaving a painful mark behind. Affect and effect are among the slipperiest homophones. Much of the

July 10, 2012 dbward

A lesson about ‘refute’ from the NYT crossword puzzle

Lessons often come from unexpected places. Yesterday, it was the New York Times crossword puzzle. Clues for the crossword often push the boundaries of obscurity (that’s what makes the puzzles

July 9, 2012 dbward

Laying down the principles of ‘lay’ and ‘lie’

Two Associated Press leads from Sunday’s newspaper sent up a signal flare. They reminded me that it was time to talk again about “lay” and “lie,” if only to remind