I keep seeing these two words being used incorrectly and it’s frustrating! Lose and loose aren’t even homophones (two or more words pronounced alike, yet are different in spelling, derivation, or meaning such as their, there, and they’re).

So, just for the record, here are two quick definitions for lose and loose.

Lose – to not win, to misplace something

Loose – the opposite of tight

I just wanted to put that out there. With such a drastic increase in the use of social media by people everywhere, it’s important to LOOK at what you are typing and make sure it accurately reflects the message you are trying to convey!

In the past couple of days (perhaps a bit longer), I have come across two interesting words that I want to delve into a bit more here in the blog. They are:

Brooches (commonly misspelled as ‘broaches’)
Lavalier

Both of these words are used in the jewelry industry. However, lavalier is mostly associated with microphones these days.

Anyhow, for some reason they are of interest to me at the moment. So, I’m going to do a little research in the coming days and hopefully post the etymologies for these two words.

If you have any cool information about either word, please feel free to share it and I’ll include it in the follow up article. It should be interesting (I hope).

Gauche: awkward or clumsy, lacking social graces

“His attempts at humor weren’t funny; they were gauche.”

In modern French, the word gauche means “left” which derived indirectly from the Latin word “sinistra” meaning left-handed.

This is an intriguing word to me for several reasons:

1. I’m left handed. I don’t think I’m awkward, clumsy, or lacking in social graces though.
2. The negative historical implications of being left handed are very obvious by looking at the root words. Evidently the French didn’t (don’t?) appreciate those folks who are left handed.
3. The Latin root “sinistra” is also the root for sinister. There is a clear association between being left handed and being looked upon as a sinister person.

Anyhow, it’s an interesting word with an interesting history! (He says with a sinister look in his eye while his left hand firmly grips a pencil.) Hehehe…

English is a quirky language. However, it often lends itself to interesting discoveries because of the diversity it contains. While I was in college, I took a course entitled, “The History of the English Language.” Yes, on the surface it may sound dull and boring but it was really quite the opposite. I enjoyed learning about our words. Etymology (the study of words and their origins) is really interesting at times. Plus, it gives you lots of good conversation material when you’re with your friends!

Have you ever wondered why we say some of the words and phrases used in modern English? Occasionally I want to feature a word or words that, at times, make us stop and wonder why we say them. I have a lengthy list of words that I can pull from over time and post here. However, I’d like to see if anyone has a certain word or phrase that they would like to offer up for consideration. Let me know!

I made a list of my favorite words, so I thought I’d do the same with my least favorite words and phrases.

1. Taxes. Not much explanation needed.
2. Insurance
3. Credit. As in credit cards. I hate them.
4. Politics
5. Consequences. If you choose poorly, you have to deal with the consequences.
6. Practice. Practice makes perfect? No. Perfect practice makes perfect.
7. Sin
8. Garbage
9. Litter
10. Telemarketers. They are probably nice people; I just don’t want them calling me.
11. Pre-authorization. Oh, the woes of the healthcare industry.
12. Diet
13. Debt
14. Misspellings
15. Cursing
16. Abortion
17. Selfishness
18. Impatience.
19. Certified. A word that has lost its meaning.
20. Vegetables. Only a few of them are good in my opinion.
21. Vomit. It’s what vegetables make me do…just kidding.
22. Sleeplessness
23. Slacks. What is the origin of this word? Here’s another thought…why is it plural? But then again, why do we refer to what we wear on our legs as “a pair of pants”? I digress though…perhaps I should cover that in another post, haha.
24. Representative. He/She is working in whose best interest? Mine?! Nah…
25. Senator. Ditto the above.
26. Citation. a.k.a. ‘ticket’
27. Road Construction Ahead
28. Political correctness
29. I forgot
30. He hit me first…
31. I didn’t do it
32. Annual Percentage Rate (If it’s my money, it’s always a low rate. If I borrowed money, the sky is the limit.)
33. Mortgage
34. Racism
35. Suit and tie
36. Dentist appointment
37. Cavity
38. “10 easy steps to…”
39. Out of order
40. Satan
41. Monday
42. Hackensack. It probably is a nice little town in NJ. It just sounds like something someone coughed up. Not my favorite name for a town.
43. Cough Syrup. It tasted gross when I was a kid and it still does.
44. Not Me… Apparently I have a 5^th child whose name is Not Me. He sure does get blamed for a lot of stuff…
45. Cialis, Viagra, Levitra and every other name for this junk. Can we please stop advertising it everywhere?!
46. Jughandles. This is a torturous East Coast, but primarily New Jersey traffic phenomenon.
47. Smog
48. Humidity
49. Time. I’m always running out of it.
50. Speed Limit. Where I live now, I’d be thrilled if people would at least drive as fast as the posted speed limit. I’ve never lived in a place where people drive so slowly, until now.

Everyone has words/phrases that they dislike…what’s on your list of the words or phrases that drives you crazy?

There, their, they’re

Your, you’re

Here, hear

We, wee

Add, ad

Tea, tee

Ate, eight

Seas, sees, seize

Mall, maul

Awl, all

Aye, eye, I

Flair, flare

Lone, loan

Sail, sale

Stair, stare

Minor, miner

Tacks, tax

Tale, tail

Heel, heal, he’ll

Hymn, him

Heroin, heroine

Sole, soul

Write, right, rite

Medal, Metal, Meddle

Seam, seem

Principle, principal

The list goes on and on. The mistakes people make with them seems endless too.

If you simply rely on your computer’s spell checker to edit your work, then you are most likely making quite a few mistakes in your writing. You cannot trust your spell checker as the sole editor for your writing. You need to look at the words you have written and make sure they are used in their proper context. Sometimes it is a good idea to print out your work and look at it on paper. Read your content in reverse. It gives you a different perspective than simply staring at your screen. This forces you to look at each word, giving you a chance to check its spelling along with its placement and usage. Just because all of the words are spelled correctly doesn’t mean that your writing is properly formatted. Make sure you are using the correct word! As an example, there is a huge difference in the words ‘their’ and ‘they’re.’ It’s a simple mistake, yet it can alter the context of your writing immensely.

The English language is quirky. It’s easy to mess it up. Homophones are a common problem for many people. Hopefully these easy suggestions will help you avoid a few of the potential pitfalls that surround word selection and usage. Of course, it’s always wise to seek the assistance of a good proofreader to review your content too (ahem…hint, hint).

If you feel like adding more homophones to the list, please feel free to list them in the comments. I think it would be fun to create a very large, encompassing list.

**Update:

Canon, Cannon (see this post: http://www.mcwriters.com/2008/06/18/i-found-another-bad-sign/).

Manner, manor (recently read ‘manor’ on a competitor’s website when they meant to say ‘manner’!)

Ensure, Insure