Misuse of words

I JUST CAME ACROSS another web site about misused words, and I really agree with the writer on the use of less and fewer. You can use less gasoline, and you can use fewer gallons of gas. You can't use less gallons of gas, but people say that all the time.

Here's another site that offers the differences between words. And there are tons of words here. There appears to be a lot of other stuff on the site as well.

Bartleby.com also has a nice section on misused words.

One word that bothers me is brilliant. On ESPN, they say that the infielder made a brilliant play at shortstop. I'd used "outstanding" or "superb" rather than "brilliant." Albert Einstein was brilliant, but he probably couldn't have fielded a grounder.

I probably couldn't, either.

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More on misused words...

OR IS THAT MORON misused words?

I recently did a blog entry on misused words and said that it's not all right to use alright. In a comment, someone asked when to use alright. Never. All right is correct.

I just found a nice blog entry on misused words for you to check out. This guy gives an extensive list, much longer than my own list. The writer also offers a nice movie quote about misused words:

"You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means." - Inigo Montoya, The Princess Bride

Contact: Reach me at tgilli52@gmail.com or nc3022@yahoo.com.

More EDITOR@WORK blog entries

• You really DO need an editor

• Reminders for would-be novelists

• What I do when I'm editing

• What I charge (it's a deal) and what I edit

• Slogging through the Internet

• J-school: More eyes on your stories

• J-school: Go out and learn

• Rookie mistakes for magazine writers

Entries from The Dog Blog

• Katie cried

• Growl and pull

• 10 years with Lady

• ... said the spider to ...

• The Dog Diary (2014)

• YIP! YIP! The stereo-sound huskies

• What Lady and Michael Jackson had in common

Blog entries from The Auto Racing Journal

• Angel in Black: Remembering Dale Earnhardt Sr.

(a book of great stories about the Intimidator)

• Then Junior Said to Jeff...

(the book of great NASCAR stories)

• My best day as a sports writer

• Jeff Gordon's milk toast to Dale Earnhardt

• Wayne Auton: A life in racing

More blog entries by Tom Gillispie

• Resume for a writer and editor

• An editor's views on powerful writing

• Advice for be and would-be novelists

• Links to TG's stories online

• Favorite quotes

• What I do when I'm editing

Anecdotes by Tom Gillispie

• Wipeout at Death Valley

• Days with rainbows

• A desperate writer working in the dark

• Yer outta there!