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Sandbox: Common Spelling Errors
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The following is a list of words which are commonly misused in writing. The list originates from a (still-incomplete) document of advice for amateur writers which troper-and-paid-author Looney Toons has been composing on and off since early 2007; it has since been expanding by Wiki Magic.
New entries should be inserted into the list alphabetically.
Many of the misspellings on this list are eggcorns. "Eggcorns" are words or phrases that a person has only ever heard and never seen written, which when that person needs to write them down get written the way they sound to him. The term comes from the transcription someone once made of the word "acorn", which they had somehow gotten through their life without once seeing in print. The eggcorn is the half-sibling of the mondegreen.
An excellent guide to known eggcorns can be found here.
Related to the eggcorn is "eye dialect". This is a term for the writer's device of spelling words as they sound in order to give a sense of a speaker with a foreign accent, an odd dialect, or poor education. For example, using "gonna" for "going to". In general, this is a deliberate stylistic choice made by a writer, but on this page it's used also to reflect a variety of eggcorn that is caused by poor literacy skills — the key example would be writing the contraction "'ve" as " of" (as in "could of", "would of") out of simple incomprehension that the words in question are a contraction.
The original core set of examples here were primarily collected from Fan Fics (mostly for anime, at least at first). As a result, you will occasionally find specific references (though not links) to the fics in question; this is to allow the reader the opportunity to view the errors in their native environment, should they so choose.
The list:
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A
- "A" for "I" (the word denoting first person singular, not the character).
- "abject" (pitiful) for "object" (thing, goal; to voice disagreement with).
- "abjure" (to renounce or abandon) vs. "adjure" (to solemnly command).
- "absorb/absorbent" vs. "adsorb/adsorption": The latter are technical terms used in chemistry; the difference between "absorb" and "adsorb" is explained here
- "absorbent" (able to soak up liquid) for "exorbitant" (over-priced): Nabiki's prices don't soak up water, they soak up money.
- "accept" (agree to the existence of) vs. "except" (other than): I accept your apology, except the bit about me being a douchebag.
- "access" (permission, liberty or ability to enter) for "excess" (surplus).
- "accuracy" vs. "precision" vs. "resolution": If a series of tests are done with an instrument and in each case the result which should have been obtained is subtracted from that which was obtained, giving a set of error terms, the accuracy of the instrument is given by the arithmetic mean of those terms, and the precision by the standard deviation. The resolution is the smallest possible difference between measurements.
Here is an illustration of the difference: fire a gun at a target repeatedly. Your precision is the size of the cluster of holes, your accuracy is how close those holes are to the bullseye, and the resolution is the size of the rings on the target.
- "achieve" (to win) vs. archive (an institution for preserving important records; the holdings of said institution; or the act of preserving such records): I somehow achieved the disclosing of important documents from the library archives.
- "acetic" (related to vinegar) vs. "aesthetic" (having to do with the fine arts or appreciation of same) vs. "ascetic" (following a strict discipline of self-control and denying oneself excess and luxuries) vs. "atheistic" (not believing in God).
- IGN's guide to The Movies probably did not mean to say that "[s]creen fades are purely atheistic".
- The classic instance of the error aesthetic/ascetic error showed up in an early Dungeons & Dragons rulebook in the description of the Monk character class.
- "acronym" as a synonym of "initialism" (or, worse, "abbreviation"): An acronym is a new word formed from the initials of a phrase (such as laser); a phrase contrived to form an already-existing word, or the word thus formed, is an acrostic (such as MIME); and a bunch of initials which can't be pronounced as a word is just an initialism (such as HTML). Note also that while an initialism is an abbreviation, an abbreviation isn't necessarily an initialism (for example, the British English "mash" for "mashed potatoes"). NASA (NASS-uh) is an acronym; NSA (enn-ess-ay) is not.
- "adapt" (change to fit the circumstances) vs. "adept" (competent, skilled) vs. "adopt" (take as one's own).
- "addictive" (causing a physical dependence) for "habituative" (causing a psychological dependence): Alcohol, marijuana, LSD, Doom and TV Tropes are all powerfully habituative, but (except in rare cases) none of them are clinically addictive.
- "admits" (owns up to) for "amidst" (among) — although this could be a simple typo.
- "adverse" (bad, negative, unpleasant) vs. "averse" (opposed): I am strongly averse to adverse consequences.
- "affect" (to act on, produce a change; a technical term in psychology) vs. "effect" (result, consequence; to bring about): They are not interchangeable. To affect something is to effect a change. Usually (but not always), "affect" is a verb and "effect" is a noun: He affected the mannerisms of Solid Snake, which had quite an effect on his date.
- "afterward" (in the time following an event) vs. "afterwords" (author's notes at the end of the book).
- "agnostic/agnosticism" (believing there is insufficient evidence to decide whether a god exists or not) vs. "atheist/atheism" (not believing in the existence of a god): While it is possible to be both, it's also possible to be one or the other.
- "aid" for "aide": The first is not just the verb "to aid" but also can mean any inanimate object that helps with something; the second is a person who provides help of one sort or another.
- "aides" for "AIDS". Just see the South Park episode with Jared from Subway in it for this one.
- "a lot" (correct spelling) vs. "alot" (which is a misspelling) vs. "allot" (to distribute): "A lot" is two words.
- "already" (happening quickly) vs. "all ready" (completely prepared): "We're all ready to go!" his cheerful family told him in chorus. Christ! Less than ten minutes in, and his new Stepford family was already getting on his nerves.
- "all for not" when what was meant was "all for naught".
- "allay" (to calm, put at ease) vs. "alley" (narrow little street) vs. "alloy" (a mixture of two metals*
Strictly speaking, a homogeneous mixture or metallic solid solution composed of two or more elements. ) vs. "ally" (someone on your side).
- "And just like that, Neville knew that he had uncovered an alley in the Slytherin House" from "Longbottom's Army" by kerrymdb.
- There are also fics where someone "goes down an ally", which is either unintentionally sexual, or just improbable.
- "allowed" (permitted) vs. "aloud" (audibly).
- "alright" for "all right": Using 'alright' in formal writing is generally a big no-no. It's debated whether it's acceptable in less formal writing.
- "altar" (sacrificial table) vs. "alter" (change): The Lady's Guild at the church altered the altar cloth.
- "altitude" (flight height) for "attitude" (personality trait): This one has been intentionally used as a pun. People have been known to tell someone who has their head in the clouds that they "don't like your altitude" on purpose.
- "altogether" (to do something in an encompassing fashion) vs. "all together" (to do something collectively as a group).
- "amateur" (a non-professional) vs. "amature" (misspelling) vs. "armature" (a wire frame, esp. for clay sculpture).
- "amateur" (one who engages in an activity for the love of it) vs. "novice" (a beginner or a n00b): Not all amateurs are novices; to the contrary, amateur is related to the Latin amour, to love, so amateurs can be experts in their field. The opposite of "amateur" is "professional" (also not necessarily an expert). However, "amateur" usually carries the implication of being a dilettante or lacking in professional training.
- "amenable" (agreeable) vs. "amendable" (easily modified).
- "amuse/amusement" (to cause mirth) vs. "bemuse/bemusement" (to confuse): If your joke bemuses your audience, then they will be scratching their heads in puzzlement, not laughing.
- "anal" vs. "annal": "Annals" are year-by-year chronologies. "Anal" is what you are when you're way too picky about your year-to-year chronologies.
- "analyst" (someone who analyzes) vs. "annalist" (someone who compiles annals).
- "ancestors" (members of prior generations of one's family) vs. "descendants" (members of subsequent generations). It's amazing they could be confused, but it's a quite frequent mistake.
- "Anchors away" is not a proper nautical term, but could mean the the anchor is dropped. The proper term is "anchors aweigh," which means the opposite of the former — the anchor is raised and the ship is about to leave.
- "and" for "an" — usually a typo.
- "and" vs. "or": A common error (especially on signs) is to use the wrong conjunction, particularly "and" (intersection) when "or" (union) is the intended meaning. For instance, "Do not consume food and drink in this shop," meaning that it's all right to consume one or the other as long as you're not consuming both. To clarify:
- "A and B" — both of them at once.
- "A or B" — either (or both) of them.
- "Either A or B" — either (but not both) of them. In computer languages this case is called "A xor B" (eXclusive OR).
- "angel" (heavenly being) vs. "angle" (not straight).
- "anomalous" (at odds with its surroundings or companions) vs. "anonymous" (nameless or unknown).
- "anticlimatic" (not a real word, but would mean "against the weather") vs. "anticlimactic" (the adjective form of Anti-Climax).
- "anyway" (however, whatever) vs. "any way" (an indeterminate direction).
- "apidimy" for "epitome", a spelling error from the Internet.
- "area" (a general location) vs. "arena" (a space for sports or shows): A fighting arena should be around this area.
- "artic" (short for "articulated", hinged in the middle, especially of a vehicle and particularly a truck) for "Arctic" (the region surrounding the North Pole). Even worse is the eggcorn "Antartic" (against the truck?) for "Antarctic" (of the South Pole).
- "artist" (one who creates) vs. "artiste" (one who performs). This error is far too common; for instance, it's embedded in the ID3 tag system.
- "ascent" (an upward motion) vs. "assent" (agreement).
- "asinine" is not spelled with two "s"s, however much the word "ass" (with which it is admittedly cognate) might be in the mind of the person typing it.
- "athiesm" for "atheism".
- "Attorney Generals" is not the plural of "Attorney General." The proper plural form is "Attorneys General".
- Likewise the plural of "Surgeon General" is "Surgeons General".
- And the plural of "court martial" is "courts martial".
- And it's "passers-by", not "passer-bys".
- Also, for Brits, it's "Trades Union" not "Trade Unions".
- This is a general rule; since only nouns and verbs can be plural (adjectives cannot be), to obtain the plural of a compound noun of the form noun-adjective, one pluralises the noun-part. Another example is "bureaux de change".
- "aught" (nothing) vs. "ought" (should): You ought to do aught that is harmful.
- "avatar" (a physical embodiment of a god, especially in Hinduism, or an icon used to represent a user on a computer system) vs. "aviator" (a pilot).
B
- "bacteria" is the plural of "bacterium". If you say "bacteria is", then the Biology Police will hunt you down and place your figgin upon a spike.
- "baited" (to lure in) vs. "bated" (to restrain, to diminish): You can wait for something with bated breath; but only a mosquito, irresistibly drawn by the carbon dioxide in the air we exhale, may possibly know what a "baited breath" is supposed to mean.
- "banzai" (an exclamation of excitement or success) vs. "bonsai" (the art of carefully growing and sculpting miniature trees): "Banzai!" screamed the samurai as he set about the tiny bonsai tree with his katana.
- "bare" (to reveal or strip nude) vs. "bear" (to carry; to give birth to; large, dangerous omnivore): "Bear with me," said the shop assistant. "Bare with me," said the prostitute. "Bear's with me," said the zookeeper.
- "barely" (almost, by a narrow margin) vs. "barley" (a grain, used to make beer and soups).
- "barrow" (peddler's wheeled cart, or a large burial mound) vs. "borrow" (temporarily take or make use of something owned by another person).
- "Barry" (a proper name) vs. "berry" (a class of fruits) vs. "bury" (to cover): Barry Manilow took one sip of his berry-flavored cocktail, and immediately wanted to bury it. Yuck.
- "base" (a bottom support; a jumping off point; to found) vs. "bass" (the lowest vocal range; a type of fish): The string bass player wasn't very good; in fact, his jazz technique was entirely off-base.
- "Beatle" (an extremely popular band, or a member thereof) vs. "beetle" (a type of insect, or the long-running model of Volkswagen).
- "beck and call", not "beckon call".
- "begging the question": It does not mean "raising the question"; it is a logical fallacy wherein at least one of the premises presupposes the conclusion.
- "below" (underneath) vs. "bellow" (yell, shout).
- "bespeckled" (having speckles) for "bespectacled" (wearing glasses): Megane wears glasses, but isn't freckled or otherwise spotted.
- "bias" (prejudice) vs. "biased" (having bias): Bias is an intangible concept. A person cannot be "bias" any more than they can be "anger" or "happiness". They may, however, be biased, and possess bias.
- "blond" vs. "blonde": In French, "blond" is masculine (and therefore used for men) and "blonde" feminine (and used for women). In English, you won't be making a mistake if you follow that rule. Or you can simplify and use "blond" for both (and lose the opportunity for wordplay). Hair, no matter whose, is always "blond". "Blonde guy" is either a linguistic abomination or someone in dire need of gender reassignment therapy.
- "board" (wooden plank) vs. "bored" (uninterested; past tense of "bore": to drill through) vs. "broad" (wide): I was really bored with what was written on the teacher's broad whiteboard, so I bored a hole in the floor board to escape.
- "boarder" (someone who rents a room from you, or someone who is attacking your ship, as in the phrase "repel boarders") vs. "border" (the edge of a country or other political unit).
- "bollocks" (British slang meaning "testicles") vs. "bullocks" (young male cattle): "Cutting off your bullocks" simply means you're no longer providing those calves with financial support.
- "born" (begin living as an independent organism) vs. "borne" (carried) vs. "bourne" (a small river): The child was borne in her womb for nine months before it was born.
- "bosom" (breasts) vs. "boson" (subatomic particle) vs. "bosun" (short for boatswain: a supervisory position on a ship similar to that of a sergeant on land)
- "bosoms" when referring to a a single person: "Bosom" means the upper chest, the breasts, or (figuratively) the heart; a woman has breasts, but only one bosom.
- "bought" (purchased) vs. "brought" (carried along): I bought a new hat and brought it with me
- "bowel" (intestine) vs. "bowl" (open container): If your bowels are not moving regularly, have a bowl of high-fiber cereal.
- "brakes" (devices for stopping a vehicle) vs. "breaks" (fractures, turns of fortune).
- "brassiere" (female underwear, usually shortened to "bra") vs. "brazier" (a pan for lighting fires in).
- "breach" (to break into) vs. "breech" (pants): The soldier burst into the room to tell his captain that the enemy had breached the outer wall, only to find him woefully lacking in the breech department.
- "breadth" (width) vs. "breath" (noun: air in the lungs) vs. "breathe" (verb: to take breaths): I can hear your breath even across the breadth of the room. I like to sit and watch you breathe.
- "break" (to come apart or stop working) vs. "brake" (to stop via a mechanism): If a car fails to brake in time, it will break against the wall.
- "Briton" (a person from Britain) vs. "Britain" (the country).
- "broach" (to make a hole in, or the hole itself, or to open a subject for conversation) vs. "brooch" (piece of jewelry): "What happened to that old diamond brooch of yours?" asked Rose's grandchildren, broaching the subject of the Titanic once again.
H
- "a hare's breath" (the respiration of a large lagomorph) vs. "a hair's breadth" (a tiny distance).
L
- "lemonade" (a drink made from lemons) vs. "lemonaid" (something that helps lemons) vs. "lemonaide" (someone who helps lemons).
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