For the distinctively flavored Mediterranean plant, its root, and candies and confections made from the root, North American English speakers use licorice. In Ireland and the U.K., liquorice is preferred. We find both spellings used about evenly in Australian and New Zealand publications. Other than the spelling, there is no difference between the words. [Read more...]
Raison d’etre
Raison d’etre is French for reason of being. In English, we use it to mean a reason for the existence of a person or thing. In reference to people, it often describes one’s driving passion. For example, if the reason you get up in the morning is to work in your garden, then gardening is your raison d’etre. [Read more...]
Whiny, whiney, whinny, Whinney
Whiny is an adjective meaning habitually complaining or of or like a whine. Whiney is the same as whiny, but it appears about a fourth as often. Whinny is the sound horses make. It’s synonymous with neigh. Whinney is (1) a surname, (2) an unusual spelling of the female first name usually spelled Winnie, and (3) a component of a few place names (e.g., Whinney Hill, Whinney Banks). [Read more...]
Gymnasia vs. gymnasiums
Gymnasium is a Latin word (with origins in Greek), and its plural in Latin is gymnasia. But gymnasium is an English word when English speakers use it, so we can pluralize it in the manner of our own language. Most writers understand this, and gymnasiums outnumbers gymnasia by a ratio of about 100 to one in current news sources. [Read more...]
Modus operandi (m.o, MO)
Modus operandi, often abbreviated m.o. or MO, is Latin for way of working. In English, the loanword is usually used to mean a way in which someone routinely does something, but it can also be used more generally to mean mode of operation. [Read more...]
Hoover vs. vacuum
We are American, so we use vacuum cleaner, or just vacuum, for the electrical appliance that cleans surfaces through suction, and we use vacuum as the verb. If we understand correctly, Britons use hoover as a verb meaning to clean with a vacuum cleaner. And by metaphorical extension, the word also means to consume completely. For the appliance itself, vacuum cleaner is preferred, though Hoover works if the machine is made by the Hoover company. [Read more...]
Object lesson
Dictionaries define the term object lesson as something that serves as a real-world example of an abstract idea or principle. But in actual use, the phrase’s definition is often closer to a concrete example of why something should or should not be done a certain way. Below, we’ll include a few examples of object lesson used both ways. [Read more...]
Lasagna vs. lasagne
For the flat, wide pasta and the dish made from such pasta, North American English speakers use lasagna. English speakers from outside North America use lasagne. Other than the spelling, there is no difference between the words in English. [Read more...]
E-book, ebook, eBook
As a term for books presented in electronic form, eBook is going out of style, at least in edited publications. Most American, Canadian, and Australian news publications that publish online are using the hyphenated form, e-book. Most web-friendly British publications are using the one-word ebook. [Read more...]
Canard
Canard is French for duck, but even in French it has another rare sense: an extravagant or absurd story used to take advantage of someone. This is the meaning canard takes in English, and it’s sometimes extended to mean, simply, an unfounded or false story or a groundless rumor. [Read more...]
Riffraff
Riffraff (sometimes hyphenated—riff-raff) is a derogatory term for people the speaker considers socially inferior or undesirable. It’s a centuries-old term, having come to English from French around 1500. In modern use, the word is usually humorous or ironic. [Read more...]
Peal vs. peel
A peal (1) a ringing of a set of bells, (2) a loud burst of noise. A peel is the skin or rind of a fruit or vegetable. So bananas and oranges have peels, and laughter and thunder sometimes come in peals. [Read more...]
Gases vs. gasses
The plural of gas is gases. Gasses is the simple-present verb. So, for instance, we might say that the more Bill gasses up his car, the more greenhouse gases he adds to the atmosphere. [Read more...]
Gambit
Gambit has changed. Its dictionary-approved definitions include (1) an opening chess move in which a piece is sacrificed in exchange for a favorable position, (2) an opening maneuver, and (3) a remark opening a conversation. So, because gambits are by definition opening, the phrase opening gambit would be a redundancy. [Read more...]
Elicit vs. illicit
Elicit is a verb meaning to give rise to or evoke. Illicit is an adjective meaning illegal or not approved by custom. The words are not quite homophones, but they’re similar enough in sound to engender occasional confusion. [Read more...]