Don’t be koi! We must flea! Homonyms are a tacking the city!
Homophones are words that sound the same but are different in meaning or spelling. Homographs are spelled the same, but differ in meaning or pronunciation. Homonyms can be either or even both. When you use them wrong, readers aren’t shore what you mean.
A core tenet is a fundamental belief. A core tenant would be…your best renter?
We covered this in June 2024. ”Diffuse” is an adjective for less concentrated (“diffuse scent.”) You defuse a bomb. The “fuse” part is a clue.
When sake complements the meal, you should compliment the chef.
You say your piece. (Also, who’s Eve Fiance? We suspect they meant Eve’s fiancé.)
An impressive trifecta. The old in route/en route goof. Plus an apostrophe where it shouldn’t be, and a required one that’s not there. What a grammar route. Err, rout.
But wait! There’s more!
We all are feeling the pain from rising egg prices. But this place has instituted a surcharge of just a half penny.
This says, “If you’re thinking about drinking the milk and then returning it for a refund, don’t!“ Surely the writer meant, “Don’t drink; return for refund.” (“And don’t call me Shirley!”)
First of all, “shock waves” is two words. More importantly, this is a brutal cliche!
Correct. Two words. Still a brutal cliche.
Of course, this is redundant. Everyone is aging. Even babies. The only time seniors aren’t aging is…Oh. Never mind.
Items before the Assizes:
Oyez, Oyez, Oyez! On the docket:
The Horribly Wrong team has asserted many times that impact is not a verb, and we will die on that hill (cliché.) On Jan. 12, 2025, we revisited (repeated) a 2021 segment that dealt with the issue. That prompted longtime reader and occasional contributor Robert Kleinberg to move for a ruling:
“If the dictionary added the word impact as a verb, why do you say it’s not? Didn’t all of the rules of language that changed over the centuries inform the rules we now follow?”
The Rules Committee (Lou Ann) opines:
“Just because a word is in the dictionary doesn’t mean it’s good writing. ‘Impact’ as a transitive verb has been around for hundreds of years, but in the interest of good usage, clear usage, it should be kept out of professional writing. Oddly enough, the stylebook (the Associated Press style book, one of our bibles), doesn’t address it, other than in a Q&A reference in which the AP editor says ‘effect’ is preferred.”
CONTINUED for further debate.
And we go to the video archives for Segment 85: Just the facts.
Readers: "Something Went Horribly Wrong" features samples of bad writing we see nearly every day. You can participate! Be our duly deputized “grammar police.” Your motto: “To protect and correct.” Send in your photos of store signs, street signs, menus, TV news graphics, newspaper headlines, tweets, and so on. It doesn’t have to be a grammatical error. It can be just what we call “cowardly writing.” Include your name and home town so we can credit you properly. You're free to add a comment, although we reserve the right to edit or omit. Now get out there! Send to Eliot@eliotkleinberg.com
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NOTE: Eliot and Lou Ann are available for speaking engagements, and can travel. Reach us through the comments section. Just think of all of your employees getting back to work on a Monday, their heads filled with all the ways we’ve shown them to be better communicators!