‘For sale: liter of puppies’
Hmm. What does a ‘liter’ of puppies go for these days?
We’ve all seen those signs with misspelled or misused words. They are hilarious. And the mistakes are understandable, considering the English language has up to a million words, and about 5,000 are added every year.
But errors are not so funny when they show up in our professional work. During the past 30 years of writing and editing, I have come across some doozies, such as:
The manual that advised people to “always wear shoes when climbing a bladder”
The request from a manager who asked me to write a speech using “self-defecating” humor
The slide deck that listed the speaker’s title as “ice president” instead of “vice president”
The list goes on.
To help you brush up on your editing skills, I’ve created a list of commonly misused words, delete-worthy words, and new words to know.
COMMONLY MISUSED WORDS
Titled/entitled
The word “titled” means the name of something, such as a speech, book, play, or song. Here’s an example: The speech was titled “How to fall in love after 60.”
“Entitled” means you deserve something: She worked seven days straight and is entitled to some time off.
E.g./i.e.
The abbreviation “e.g.” stands for exempli gratia and means “for example,” like this: You can choose anything you want on your hot dog (e.g., mustard, relish, onions, chili, or peanut butter).
The abbreviation “i.e.” stands for id est and means “that is” or “in other words.” We use the abbreviation to clarify something: I am a pescatarian (i.e., seafood is the only meat I eat).
Note: Both abbreviations often appear in parentheses and with a comma: (e.g.,).
Infamous
Although people use this word to describe someone who is very famous, the actual meaning is a bit different. “Infamous” refers to someone who is famous because (s)he did something bad. Serial killers are infamous.
Ensure/insure
The word “ensure” means to guarantee; “insure” has to do with insurance.
INCORRECT: I used the best fertilizer to insure my roses bloom.
CORRECT: I used the best fertilizer to ensure my roses bloom.
INCORRECT: The policy ensures all three vehicles.
CORRECT: The policy insures all three vehicles.
DELETE-WORTHY WORDS (and phrases)
Irregardless: This is not a word. Use “regardless” instead. Note: The word “irrespective” means the same thing as “regardless,” but few people use that word anymore.
Not for nothing: I’ve lived in Jersey for decades and hear this all the time—and I still have no idea what this phrase means.
Without further ado: I hear people use this phrase when they introduce a speaker or performer to indicate “without waiting any longer.” The phrase is correct but sounds archaic, bland, and lazy—in my opinion—so I vote to get rid of it.
Unbeknownst: Unless you want to sound like Charles Dickens, I suggest you stop using this word. Just stop it.
NEW-ISH WORDS TO KNOW
Amirite: This word is now on the dictionary and is slang for “am I right?”
GOAT: Used in all caps, this word means “greatest of all time.”
Ish: The dictionary defines this as “of, relating to, or being.” This handy little adjective suffix adds oomph to lots of other words.
Here’s an example of all three: This blog is GOAT and helpful-ish, amirite?
Happy editing!