CONCERTED EFFORT

One cannot make a “concerted effort” all by one’s self. To work “in concert” is to work together with others. One can, however, make a concentrated effort. The prefix “con-” means “with.”


CONFLICTED/CONFLICTING FEELINGS

Phrases like “conflicted feelings” or “I feel conflicted” are considered jargon by many, and out of place in formal writing. Use “I have conflicting feelings” instead, or write “I feel ambivalent.”


CONFUSIONISM/CONFUCIANISM

Confucius is the founder of Confucianism. His name is not spelled “Confucious,” and his philosophy is not called “Confusionism.” When you spot the confusion in the latter term, change it quickly to “Confucianism.”


CONGRADULATIONS/CONGRATULATIONS

I fear that all too many people are being “congradulated” for graduating from high school who don’t know that this word should be spelled “congratulations.” Try a search for this misspelling on your favorite Web search engine and be prepared to be astonished.


CONNOTE/DENOTE

The literal meaning of a word is its denotation; the broader associations we have with a word are its connotations. People who depend on a thesaurus or a computer translation engine to find synonyms often choose a word with the right denotation but the wrong connotations.

“Determined” denotes stubbornness; but it connotes a wise adherence to purpose.

“Boss” and “Chief Executive Officer” (CEO) can refer to the same office; but the first is less admiring and likely to connote the view of employees lower down in the company—nobody wants to be thought of as “bossy.” Higher executives would be more likely to speak admiringly of a “CEO.”

I often write “insufficiently complex” at the bottom of student papers instead of “simple-minded.” Although they denote essentially the same quality, the connotations of the first are less insulting.


CONSCIENCE, CONSCIOUS, CONSCIOUSNESS

Your conscience makes you feel guilty when you do bad things, but your consciousness is your awareness. If you are awake, you are conscious. Although it is possible to speak of your “conscious mind,” you can’t use “conscious” all by itself to mean “consciousness.”


CONSERVATIVISM/CONSERVATISM

The conservative spelling of this word is “conservatism.”


CONTAMINATES/CONTAMINANTS

When run-off from a chemical plant enters the river it contaminates the water; but the go itself consists of contaminants.


CONTINUAL/CONTINUOUS

“Continuous” refers to actions which are uninterrupted: “My upstairs neighbor played his stereo continuously from 6: 00 PM to 3:30 AM.” Continual actions, however, need not be uninterrupted, only repeated: “My father continually urges me to get a job.”


CONTRARY/CONTRAST

The phrases “on the contrary” and “to the contrary” are used to reply to an opposing point. Your friend tells you she is moving to New York and you express surprise because you thought she hated big cities. She replies, “On the contrary, I’ve always wanted to live in an urban area.”

When a distinction is being made that does not involve opposition of this sort, “in contrast” is appropriate. “In New York, you don’t need a car. In Los Angeles, in contrast, you can’t really get along without one, though you won’t need a snow shovel.”

Here’s a simple test: if you could possibly substitute “that’s wrong” the phrase you want is “on the contrary” or “to the contrary.” If not, then use “in contrast.”


CONTRASTS/CONTRASTS WITH

“With” must not be omitted in sentences like this: “Julia’s enthusiasm for rugby contrasts with Cheryl’s devotion to chess.”


CONVERSATE/CONVERSE

“Conversate” is what is called a “back-formation” based on the noun "conversation.” But the verb for this sort of thing is “converse.”


COPYWRITE/COPYRIGHT

You can copyright writing, but you can also copyright a photograph or song. The word has to do with securing rights. Thus, there is no such word as “copywritten”; it’s “copyrighted.”


CORE/CORPS/CORPSE

Apples have cores. A corps is an organization, like the Peace Corps. A corpse is a dead body, a carcass.


COSTUMER/CUSTOMER

Just what would a “costumer service” do? Supply extra-shiny spangles for a Broadway diva’s outfit? But this phrase is almost always a typographical error for “customer service,” and it appears on an enormous number of Web pages. Be careful not to swap the U and O when you type “customer.”


COULD CARE LESS/COULD NOT CARE LESS

Cliches are especially prone to scrambling because they become meaningless through overuse. In this case an expression which originally meant “it would be impossible for me to care less than I do because I do not care at all” is rendered senseless by being transformed into the now-common “I could care less.” Think about it: if you could care less, that means you care some. The original already drips sarcasm, so it’s pointless to argue that the newer version is “ironic.” People who misuse this phrase are just being careless.


COULD OF, SHOULD OF, WOULD OF/COULD HAVE, SHOULD HAVE, WOULD HAVE

This is one of those errors typically made by a person more familiar with the spoken than the written form of English. A sentence like “I would have gone if anyone had given me free tickets” is normally spoken in a slurred way so that the two words “would have” are not distinctly separated, but blended together into what is properly rendered “would’ve.” Seeing that “V” tips you off right away that “would’ve” is a contraction of “would have.” But many people hear “would of” and that’s how they write it. Wrong.

Note that “must of” is similarly an error for “must have.”


COUNCIL/COUNSEL/CONSUL

The first two words are pronounced the same but have distinct meanings. An official group that deliberates, like the Council on Foreign Relations, is a “council”; all the rest are “counsels”: your lawyer, advice, etc. A consul is a local representative of a foreign government.


CRACKER JACKS/CRACKER JACK

“Crackerjack” is an old slang expression meaning “excellent,” and the official name of the popcorn confection is also singular: “Cracker Jack.” People don’t pluralize its rival Poppycock as “Poppycocks,” but they seem to think of the individual popped kernels as the “jacks.” A similarly named candy is “Good and Plenty.” All three have descriptive names describing qualities and shouldn’t be pluralized.


CRAFTS

When referring to vehicles, “craft” is both singular and plural. Two aircraft, many watercraft, etc. Do not add an “S.”

But when referring to hobbies and skills such as “woodcrafts” or “arts and crafts” adding an “S” in the plural form is standard.


CREDIBLE/CREDULOUS

"Credible” means “believable” or “trustworthy.” It is also used in a more abstract sense, meaning something like “worthy”: “She made a credible lyric soprano.” Don’t confuse “credible” with “credulous,” a much rarer word which means “gullible.” “He was incredulous” means “he didn’t believe it” whereas “he was incredible” means “he was wonderful” (but use the latter expression only in casual speech).


CRESCENDO/CLIMAX

When something is growing louder or more intense, it is going through a crescendo (from an Italian word meaning “growing”). Traditionalists object to its use when you mean “climax.” A crescendo of cheers by an enthusiastic audience grows until it reaches a climax, or peak. “Crescendo” as a verb is common, but also disapproved of by many authorities. Instead of “the orchestra crescendos,” write “the orchestra plays a crescendo.”


CREVICE/CREVASSE

Crevices are by definition tiny, like that little crevice between your teeth where the popcorn hulls always get caught. A huge crack in a glacier is given the French spelling: crevasse.


CRICK/CREEK

The dialectical pronunciation and spelling of “creek” as “crick” is very popular in some parts of the US, but the standard pronunciation of the word is the same as that of “creak.”


CRITERIA/CRITERION

There are several words with Latin or Greek roots whose plural forms ending in A are constantly mistaken for singular ones. See, for instance, data and media. You can have one criterion or many criteria. Don’t confuse them.


CRITICISM

Beginning literature or art history students are often surprised to learn that in such contexts “criticism” can be a neutral term meaning simply “evaluating a work of literature or art.” A critical article about The Color Purple can be entirely positive about Alice Walker’s novel. Movie critics write about films they like as well as about films they dislike: writing of both kinds is called “criticism.”


CRITIQUE/CRITICIZE

A critique is a detailed evaluation of something. The formal way to request one is “give me your critique,” though people often say informally “critique this"—meaning “evaluate it thoroughly.” But "critique” as a verb is not synonymous with “criticize” and should not be routinely substituted for it. “Josh critiqued my backhand” means Josh evaluated your tennis technique but not necessarily that he found it lacking. “Josh criticized my backhand” means that he had a low opinion of it.

You can write criticism on a subject, but you don’t criticize on something, you just criticize it.


CROWBAR/WRECKING BAR

A crowbar is a straight bar with one end only slightly bent and sharpened into a beak. This beak gave the tool its name, originally just a “crow.”

The tool with the much more pronounced hook on the end—designed for prying loose boards and drawing nails—is properly called a “wrecking bar.”


CRUCIFIX/CROSS

A crucifix is a cross with an image of the crucified Christ affixed to it. Reporters often mistakenly refer to someone wearing a “crucifix” when the object involved is an empty cross. Crucifixes are most often associated with Catholics, empty crosses with Protestants.

CURRANT/CURRENT

“Current” is an adjective having to do with the present time, and can also be a noun naming a thing that, like time, flows: electrical current, currents of public opinion. “Currant” refers only to little fruits.


CURVE YOUR APPETITE/CURB YOUR APPETITE

A “curb” was originally a device used to control an unruly horse. Already in the 18th century people were speaking by analogy of controlling their appetites as “curbing” them. You do not “curve” your hunger, appetite, desires, etc. You curb them.


CURSING THROUGH VEINS/COURSING THROUGH VEINS

To course is to run. The most familiar use of this meaning of the word is in “racecourse”: a place where races are run. When the blood runs strongly through your veins, it courses through them. Metaphorically we speak of strong emotions like fear, exhilaration, and passion as coursing through our veins.

Some people mistakenly substitute “curse” and think these feelings are cursing through their veins. This might make some sort of sense with negative emotions, but note that the expression is also used of positive ones. Stick with coursing.


CUT AND DRY/CUT AND DRIED

Many people mishear the standard expression meaning “set,” “not open to change,” as “cut and dry.” Although this form is listed in the Oxford English Dictionary, it is definitely less common in sophisticated writing. The dominant modern usage is “cut and dried.” When used to modify a noun, it must be hyphenated: “cut-and-dried plan.”


CUT AND PASTE/COPY AND PASTE

Because “cut and paste” is a familiar phrase, many people say it when they mean “copy and paste” in a computer context. This can lead to disastrous results if followed literally by an inexpert person. If you mean to tell someone to duplicate something rather than move it, say "copy.” And when you are moving bits of computer information from one place to another the safest sequence is often to copy the original, paste the copy elsewhere, and only then delete (cut) the original.

__________________
Marwatone.