January 24, 2010

Confusion Say...

Here are some things I find confusing.

Mimosa, Samosa, Samoa

Spicy filled pastry, champagne cocktail, or country/Girl Scout Cookie? I always have to think carefully to make sure I get these sorted out. :) You would think it’s a good thing that these words don’t regularly come up in conversation, but I think that’s the source of the problem. ** “Could/Should/Would of/have”**

I’m aware that “Could of/have” is a common grammatical mistake and will generally recognize it when I’m writing. Yet somehow I can never be 100% certain which is correct. So I hit up Google every single time. :-P I shouldn’t even bother given all the grammatical mistakes I don’t catch. ** Regardless/Irregardless**

I at least can remember which is correct. That doesn’t mean I won’t say the wrong one before it’s too late. (Hint: “Irrespective” is the source of the confusion.)

Words that I only read

More an embarrassment than a confusion, there are certain words that only seem to show up in what I read but are never spoken or heard…until that fateful day when it fits perfectly into a conversation and I mangle the pronunciation. When I was younger I have been burned by “genre” (I pronounced it “Gen-Air” ), “superfluous” (“SUPER-flu-us!” ), “timbre” (is not what a lumberjack says), “Euler Angle” (it should be spelled “Oiler” ), and “Bezier Curve”. The last, I have heard botched worse than I have managed myself (e.g. “brassiere” ).

Tornado Warning / Tornado Watch

Is it a WARNING that conditions are ripe for tornadoes and we’re currently WATCHing a live tornado or is it a WARNING that a tornado has touched down and we’re WATCHING out for the possibility of them forming? I can never keep it straight. So if you find me wrapped around a tree branch, you’ll know what happened.

Now I could make up some clever mnemonic to avoid confusion, but even those can cause trouble. :)