Lexical Vexations
throne n. a fancy chair for royalty.
thrown v. (past participle of to throw) propelled by force through the air.
Words in the Wild: Not even the fear of being thrown out of it could keep Marie Antoinette’s Pomeranian from sitting on her throne when she wasn’t there.
Still vexed? You can find a complete list of the Word Blog’s lexical vexations here.
Lexical Vexations
discreet adj. unobtrusive; judicious.
discrete adj. separate, distinct.
Words in the Wild: Stephanie and Sanjay were separating the incoming resumes into discrete “interview” and “maybe” piles as they were submitted. But, unbeknownst to the applicants, they were also discreetly tossing the “definitely nots” directly into the recycling bin.
If you have trouble keeping these words straight, you can use this handy mnemonic: the Es in discrete are separate from one another, the Es in discreet are huddled together to be less noticeable.
Still vexed? You can find a complete list of the Word Blog’s lexical vexations here.
Lexical Vexations
medal n. an award, especially one composed of a stamped, coin-like piece of metal.
meddle v. to interfere in others’ plans.
metal n. an opaque and often shiny material that is composed of one or more of the metallic elements in the periodic table of elements.
mettle n. the quality of strength or stamina in a person or thing.
Words in the Wild: After reading an impressive stack of Superman comics, young Hans decided that he should test his mettle by bending metal with his bare hands. He waited until his meddlesome sister left the room before trying to bend the medal he’d won in last summer’s badminton tournament, but it was to no avail. Dejected, he decided to see if he could jump over a dog house in a single bound.
Still vexed? You can find a complete list of the Word Blog’s lexical vexations here.
Lexical Vexations
feat n. an accomplishment.
feet n. appendages that protude from the bottoms of a person’s legs.
Words in the Wild: That Rocky could stay on his feet for five rounds against Mr. Fabulous was an incredible feat.
Okay, I won’t lie. These two words are very seldom mistaken for one another, but when they are, it’s pretty embarrassing. I mean, you don’t want to have blisters on your feat or congratulate a friend on her amazing feet (unless she’s recently been to the spa, in which case you might…). In any case, it’s a good idea to watch out for this occasionally tricky pair.
Still vexed? You can find a complete list of the Word Blog’s lexical vexations here.
Lexical Vexations
faze v. to cause embarrassment or social distress.
phase n. a regular part of a cycle or progression (a phase of the moon, a phase of early childhood development; v. to make gradual changes (phase in the new inventory control system).
Words in the Wild: Having been warned in advance about Leopold’s excentricities, Marlene wasn’t at all fazed when he began talking to her about spiralling happiness phases and the exorbitant prices he paid for crystal pendants.
Still vexed? You can find a complete list of the Word Blog’s lexical vexations here.
Lexical Vexations
mantel n. the shelf above a fireplace.
mantle n. a cloak.
Words in the Wild: Wilhelmina was so chilled on that November evening that she gathered her ermine mantle around her shoulders and spent the whole of the night in conversation near the mantel.
I most often see these two words mixed up when I’m reading historical fiction. So if you’ve noticed that your writing has a lot of earls and corsets and hansom cabs in it, you’ll want to keep your eyes peeled for this tricky pair.
The contributor of the photo of the mantelpiece is Melissa. The photograph is copyrighted but also licenced for further reuse.
Still vexed? You can find a complete list of the Word Blog’s lexical vexations here.
Lexical Vexations
addition n. the process of adding numbers; a thing that has been added.
edition n. an issue of a newspaper or periodical; the form a publication takes (a hardcover edition).
Words in the Wild: There was no doubt about it—Anna was a packrat. Among other things, she had a collection of broken coffeemakers, a stash of flattened cardboard boxes, and every edition of the past year’s Globe & Mail piled in the dining room. If she kept it up, she’d soon need to build an addition on the house!
I’ve often come across “cute, burbling editions to the family” and the like while editing. And though a baby is, after a fashion, the latest edition of the family periodical, it’s probably best to dust off addition for this kind of use.
Still vexed? You can find a complete list of the Word Blog’s lexical vexations here.
Lexical Vexations
vice n. a bad habit; immoral or criminal behaviour.
vise n. a device that uses two adjustable surfaces to firmly pinch an object in place.
Words in the Wild: Henry couldn’t see how spending all his weekends in the workshop was such a vice. After all, he enjoyed the smell of sawdust and the company of his drill press, lathe, and vise, and it wasn’t like he was hurting anyone.
These words like to swap places when you’re not paying attention, so you’ll want to keep a sharp eye out for them. And the only mnemonic I can give you kinda sucks, but here it is anyway: a vice with a c isn’t a device . Hope that helps!
Still vexed? You can find a complete list of the Word Blog’s lexical vexations here.
Lexical Vexations
altar n. a table on which sacrificial offerings are placed.
alter v. to change a thing into something different or new.
Words in the Wild: His experience worshipping at the altar of the ruined St. Luke’s Chapel had somehow changed him, altered him in ways he couldn’t verbalize.
This week I saw these words confused twice, once in a romance novel and once in a academic paper, so I decided it was time to include them here. In both cases the writer had intended to make reference to a metaphorical altar, but instead wrote “_____ worshipped at the alter of _____.” It’s an easy mistake to make, so you’ll want to watch out for it, too.
The contributor of the photo of the ruined St. Luke’s Chapel is Val Ghose. The photo is copyrighted but also licenced for further reuse.
Still vexed? You can find a complete list of the Word Blog’s lexical vexations here.
