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Breath or Breathe?

A surprising number of writers confuse the words breath and breathe. Quite a few years ago, a colleague of mine worked with an author who adamantly refused to change the last line of her book, which...

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Chauffeur or Chauffer?

Not long ago, I edited a book in which several characters were driven around by a chauffer. I confess my eye skipped over chauffer the first time I read it. I caught it the second time, though, got all...

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Fluorescent or Florescent?

Bill just hated florescent lights; they gave him such awful headaches. Oh, I’m with Bill. Florescent lights drive me nuts, but not for the same reason fluorescent lights do. Florescent lights drive me...

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Affect vs. Effect

These two words are very commonly confused, and while there are many accurate online explanations of the distinctions between them, most of those explanations tell only part of the story. The part that...

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Team vs. Teem

Writers often use the word team when the word they really want is teem. What’s the difference? Team can be a noun, adjective, or verb. As a noun, team refers generally to a number of individuals acting...

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Passed vs. Past

Passed and Past are homophones; they sound alike but have different spellings and meanings. It’s easy to mix them up, and writers often do. What’s the difference? Past can be an adjective, noun, or...

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Defuse vs. Diffuse

Situation: Your two best friends have gotten into an argument over whose turn it is to buy beer (or Ensure, for those of you who are perhaps a little older and more health conscious). They go back and...

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Discreet vs. Discrete

From the Commonly Confused Words file: Discreet means “showing good judgment; capable of observing prudent silence.” Suddenly realizing she was at the wrong funeral, Laura made a discreet but hasty...

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Hangar vs. Hanger

One wrong keystroke is enough to substitute one of these words for the other, and the mistake is not always easy to spot. It is worthwhile to double-check your hangars and hangers, because the words...

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Waiver vs. Waver

A few days ago I spotted waiver used in place of waver in the best-selling crime novel I am currently enjoying, so I thought this would be a good time to review the difference between these two...

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Historic or Historical?

Confused about whether to use historic or historical to describe an event, place, or object? You are not alone. Historic is used to describe something “famous or important in history” or “having great...

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