A couple of the many confusing things about the English language is that words with the same spelling can be pronounced differently (there are so many of these that there is a special name for them: homographs), and also that words with different spellings can be pronounced the
‘She was raring to get out today.’ Cora adjusted her hat over her short crop of salt-and-pepper hair … ‘We’ll have them back in a couple of hours. I’m raring myself. It’s been a while since we rode around the property.’ —Nora Roberts, Come Sundown Like go to whoa and champing at the bit, ‘rearing
It can be hard remember which of these two pairs of words means what. A compliment is an appreciative remark; something nice that you say about someone else without any need to do so. A complement is something that pairs with something else to make it whole or complete. While both of these nouns can
The difference between these two words is simple to remember: dependant is a noun and dependent is an adjective. The dependent calf relies on its mother for food and protection. Official forms often ask how many dependants you have. One way to remember the difference is to be confident that (like confident, silent, diligent and
This is a fairly straightforward one. A suffragist is someone who supports the extension of voting rights: whether to working-class men, to women, to Indigenous people, to anyone who is excluded from the voting process. It generally also means by peaceful means, such as petitions and similar campaigns. Here are some suffragists who were ‘early
There is a significant difference between discrete and discreet. Discrete means separate, like the individual frames that make up a movie. Discreet means unobtrusive, blending in and not standing out; it is sometimes used to mean secretive but that is not quite accurate. A discreet person is one who does not reveal too much about
Disinterested or uninterested? There was a furore late in 2022 when an ABC journalist used uninterested when she meant disinterested. While many people use the words interchangeably, they do mean quite different things. Disinterested means impartial, even-handed, being fair to all involved. A disinterested person – like a judge or a sports umpire – may
Site A site is any location. The word site is both a noun (a site) and a verb (to be placed somewhere): There was a lot of activity at the building site. The new housing estate is sited close to transport. A site can be plain and ordinary, even unattractive, like a dump site, or
I know – it’s not really the first Monday of the month, but it is Cup Eve, so my annual horse-themed commonly confused words, and my Cup tips, come to you today. These commonly confused words are actually quite straightforward to remember: chomping means to eat (as it does for humans). Champing at the bit
I think it reveals something about the background of many Australian writers and probably also their editors and publishers that they do not know the difference between concrete and cement. When I was a child, I often said things like ‘The floor was made of cement’. My father used to sigh at such statements, and