Via ProofreadNOW, a grip of words to take to the Thanksgiving table to kickstart your night-long family argument. While some are obvious, there are a few in here that are genuinely informative. (I admit it; I never realized “fazed” was a legitimate word.)
- The turkey got his just desserts/deserts for eating up our supply of seeds!
- Don’t like creamed peas with your mashed potatoes? Grin and bare/bear it just the same.
- All awaited the arrival of Grandmother and Grandfather with baited/bated breath.
- His eloquent toast to the Pilgrims struck a responsive chord/cord in his guests’ minds.
- Standish disembarked with a full complement/compliment of settlers.
- Praying/Preying mantises are good for your garden, because they eat lots of aphids.
- Their leader wasn’t fazed/phased by the uprising of ill will.
- Extreme weather tested the Pilgrims’ medal/meddle/metal/mettle.
- The settlers paid rapt/rapped/wrapped attention to Squanto’s directions for growing corn.
- After all, a friend in need is a friend in deed/indeed.
- The smoke in the distance peaked/peeked/piqued their interest.
- The Mayflower got underway/under way in 1620.
- Use a clean compress to stanch/staunch the flow of blood.
- Their faith was a matter of principal/principle.
- Once given free reign/rein over their own destinies, their economy flourished.
- You better toe/tow the line or you’re back on the boat to England!
- The soup kitchen just off Capitol/Capital Hill has a great Thanksgiving feast for homeless people.
- Squanto had been taken to Europe, but was now back in his old stamping/stomping grounds.
- Stop! Or I’ll sic/sick my attack turkey on you!
- William Bradford and his shipmates pored/poured over the Mayflower Compact for days before signing it.
- He flaunted/flouted every rule in the book and every piece of good advice.
- The ship floundered/foundered in the storm, and the entire crew was lost.
- Chief Massasoit spoke pidgin/pigeon English at best, and relied on Squanto to translate for him.
- Global warming will (or won’t) wreck/wreak havoc on the American economy.
Answers:
- deserts; only one s in the middle…you get what you deserve, and rarely does that include cake and ice cream
- bear; carry the load
- bated
- chord; but vocal cord, electrical cord, spinal cord
- complement; because it’s complete
- praying; because of how their front legs fold
- fazed
- mettle; quality of temperament or disposition
- rapt; wholly absorbed (from rapere to seize)
- indeed
- piqued
- under way; use the one word underway only as an adjective before a noun
- stanch; to check or stop the flowing of
- principle; the principal is your pal
- rein; let go of the reins and let the horse wander
- toe; “put your toes up to the line”
- capitol; mnemonic: the o in dome; but: Reno is the capital of Nevada.
- stomping; or stamping, take your pick; stamping is the more classic use
- sic; alteration of seek
- pored; to gaze intently
- flouted; actually, from playing the flute; M-W says confusion with flaunt is not necessarily substandard, though
- foundered; founder means to sink; flounder means to thrash about wildly
- pidgin; derives from business in Chinese
- wreak; funny thing, though…wreak‘s alternate pronunciation is identical to that of wreck
Source: Merriam-Webster 11th Collegiate Dictionary
Comments on this entry are closed.