Whup has long been a variant of whip, and the Oxford English Dictionary has examples of its use from as long ago as the 16th century (though the word was never widespread until the late 19th century). In modern usage, it’s a chiefly American colloquialism meaning to defeat overwhelmingly. Your spell check might disapprove of it (ours does, at least), but it’s a good word. [Read more...]
Cue vs. queue
A cue is (1) a signal prompting an event or action, especially in a performance; and (2) the long stick used to strike the cue ball in billiards and pool. The word also works as a verb meaning give a cue. A queue is (1) a line of people waiting for something, and (2) a hair braid worn down the back of the neck. As a verb, queue means get in line or place in line. [Read more...]
Classic vs. classical
Classical has a few narrow definitions, including (1) of or relating to the ancient Greeks or Romans, (2) of or relating to a peak stage of a civilization, and (3) of or relating to European orchestral music of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. These aren’t the only definitions of classical. What’s important is that the term usually relates to fairly well defined historical periods of culture and science. [Read more...]
Firing line vs. line of fire
In their literal senses, line of fire refers to the path or potential path of a projectile, and firing line refers to (1) a row of shooters directing fire at a target, or (2) a row of soldiers at the front of an assault. [Read more...]
Achilles’ heel
In Greek mythology, Achilles is a powerful warrior whose only weak spot is his heel. This is the origin of the modern phrase Achilles’ heel, which refers to the lone point of vulnerability in an otherwise powerful or self-assured person or thing. [Read more...]
Hippopotami, hippopotamuses, hippos
The word hippopotamus, denoting the large, gray mammal, comes from Latin, and its Latin plural is hippopotami. But hippopotamus is an English word when English speakers use it, so we pluralize it in our own manner. Some dictionaries list hippopotami as a secondary form, but every dictionary we checked lists hippopotamuses as the primary or only plural. [Read more...]
Stank
The verb stink is traditionally inflected stank in the past tense and stunk in the perfect tenses. So, for example, one might write, I don’t stink today, but I stank yesterday, and I have stunk for many years. [Read more...]
Idle, idol, idyll
Idol is only a noun. It means an object of worship. Idle works as an adjective, a verb, and a noun. A few of its many definitions are (1) inactive, (2) to pass time without doing work, (3) to run (a motor vehicle) while out of gear or not in motion, (4) to make inactive, and (5) a state of idling. [Read more...]
Teeth vs. teethe
Teeth is the plural of tooth. It’s only a noun. Teethe, with that third e, is a verb meaning to grow teeth. Teethe’s inflected forms are teething, teethed, and teethes. [Read more...]
Cover all the bases
The idiom cover all the bases means to prepare for every possibility. It comes from baseball, where to cover all the bases is to have a defensive player positioned near each base. [Read more...]
Bear market, bull market, bearish, bullish
In investing, a bull market is one in which trends are positive and most investors are optimistic. A bear market is the opposite—a time of downward trends and pessimism. The corresponding adjectives, bearish and bullish, describe either market conditions (falling or rising, respectively) or investors’ attitudes toward the market or certain investments. [Read more...]
People vs. persons
In modern English, people is the de facto plural of person. The words have separate Latin origins, and they came to English at different times by different paths, but there are examples of people used as a plural of person from as early as the 14th century. Persons was the original plural, and it is possible to find examples of its use in all types of writing up to the present, but it prevails only in a few contexts, most notably law and law enforcement, and in a few set phrases (e.g., persons of interest, displaced persons, missing persons). [Read more...]
Wander vs. wonder
To wander is to move about with no destination or purpose. It is a physical activity, though the word is sometimes used figuratively for nonphysical actions that are aimless (e.g., a movie or a conversation might wander). To wonder is to feel curiosity, to be in doubt, or to have a feeling of admiration. It is a mental activity. [Read more...]
Interpretative vs. interpretive
In English-language news publications that publish online, interpretive is about three times as common as interpretative. The longer form has the edge in British publications. The shorter form prevails everywhere else. [Read more...]
Humus vs. hummus
Hummus is the creamy, chickpea-based dip. The word has a few alternative spellings, including houmous, hommus, and houmos, but these are rare. Humus is fully decomposed organic matter. It’s sometimes used in gardening to improve the fertility of soil. [Read more...]