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.)

1. The turkey got his just desserts/deserts for eating up our supply of seeds!
2. Don’t like creamed peas with your mashed potatoes? Grin and bare/bear it just the same.
3. All awaited the arrival of Grandmother and Grandfather with baited/bated breath.
4. His eloquent toast to the Pilgrims struck a responsive chord/cord in his guests’ minds.
5. Standish disembarked with a full complement/compliment of settlers.
6. Praying/Preying mantises are good for your garden, because they eat lots of aphids.
7. Their leader wasn’t fazed/phased by the uprising of ill will.
8. Extreme weather tested the Pilgrims’ medal/meddle/metal/mettle.
9. The settlers paid rapt/rapped/wrapped attention to Squanto’s directions for growing corn.
10. After all, a friend in need is a friend in deed/indeed.
11. The smoke in the distance peaked/peeked/piqued their interest.
12. The Mayflower got underway/under way in 1620.
13. Use a clean compress to stanch/staunch the flow of blood.
14. Their faith was a matter of principal/principle.
15. Once given free reign/rein over their own destinies, their economy flourished.
16. You better toe/tow the line or you’re back on the boat to England!
17. The soup kitchen just off Capitol/Capital Hill has a great Thanksgiving feast for homeless people.
18. Squanto had been taken to Europe, but was now back in his old stamping/stomping grounds.
19. Stop! Or I’ll sic/sick my attack turkey on you!
20. William Bradford and his shipmates pored/poured over the Mayflower Compact for days before signing it.
21. He flaunted/flouted every rule in the book and every piece of good advice.
22. The ship floundered/foundered in the storm, and the entire crew was lost.
23. Chief Massasoit spoke pidgin/pigeon English at best, and relied on Squanto to translate for him.
24. Global warming will (or won’t) wreck/wreak havoc on the American economy.

Answers:

1. deserts; only one s in the middle…you get what you deserve, and rarely does that include cake and ice cream
2. bear; carry the load
3. bated
4. chord; but vocal cord, electrical cord, spinal cord
5. complement; because it’s complete
6. praying; because of how their front legs fold
7. fazed
8. mettle; quality of temperament or disposition
9. rapt; wholly absorbed (from rapere to seize)
10. indeed
11. piqued
12. under way; use the one word underway only as an adjective before a noun
13. stanch; to check or stop the flowing of
14. principle; the principal is your pal
15. rein; let go of the reins and let the horse wander
16. toe; “put your toes up to the line”
17. capitol; mnemonic: the o in dome; but: Reno is the capital of Nevada.
18. stomping; or stamping, take your pick; stamping is the more classic use
19. sic; alteration of seek
20. pored; to gaze intently
21. flouted; actually, from playing the flute; M-W says confusion with flaunt is not necessarily substandard, though
22. foundered; founder means to sink; flounder means to thrash about wildly
23. pidgin; derives from business in Chinese
24. wreak; funny thing, though…wreak‘s alternate pronunciation is identical to that of wreck

Source: Merriam-Webster 11th Collegiate Dictionary

“I never said all actors are cattle; what I said was all actors should be treated like cattle.”
— Alfred Hitchcock

You may have received a version of an email with a list of companies that have recently filed for bankruptcy, intended to be a warning against purchasing gift cards that will be worthless by January 1st. Depending on the specific flavor of your email, it’s probably partly true.

The following companies have filed for Chapter 11 per Snopes.com and its sources. While you may find some sweet deals in the next few weeks from these stores, don’t bother buying gift certificates for your liked ones.

— Hollywood Video
— Levitz
— Sharper Image*
— Linens ‘n Things
— Circuit City

*Which reminds me, I’ve probably got a few Sharper Images gift certificates buried in in the sofa cushions that I need to dig up and use before I get stuck with them forever.

Rolling up north in a few hours to the Mammoth Film Festival for the weekend. Too bad about the weather. Can’t win ’em all. We’ll just have find a way to think positive and look on the bright side.

→ A complete email conversation that a guy claims he had with a utility company chasing payment of an overdue bill.

I was just pondering all the English words we use for the definition of “path upon which travel occurs”, especially those used in proper names. Sunset Boulevard, Park Avenue, Main Street, and so forth. Nothing new; I’ve thought about this stuff since as far back as I can remember.

I could probably spend a weekend studying it, but here are a few thoughts off the top of my head. For the purpose of this analysis, I’ll leave out path and trail (in which case the former is ahead of you, the latter is behind you) as well as the larger routes that fall outside of this discussion: highway, freeway, expressway, thoroughfare, interstate, turnpike, etc.

OK, here goes. While there are blurry lines all over the place, with many pairs of these terms practically synonymous, I’m going by first thoughts and word associations. I’ll also list them in what I’d loosely consider to be a descending list, considering traffic. Totally up for debate, my initial thoughts:

Boulevard: Urban. High traffic, two-way flow, usually four lanes or more. Traffic signals, with sidewalks. Usually in a business district.

Avenue: Urban. High traffic, perhaps one-way flow. Usually two lanes or more. Traffic signals, with sidewalks. Business or residential.

Street: Urban. Paved when compared to “road”. May not have traffic signals. Business or residential.

Drive: Indicates scenery; a visually appealing route to travel. Can be one-way, two-way, urban, or rural.

Road: Need not be paved. Perhaps the oldest term in the bunch.

Lane: By definition, a single lane street or road. Be careful not to get into a head-on collision. Another oldie.

Way: Indicates a certain popularity or convenience in its utilization. Not necessarily high traffic, but well-traveled from one heavily populated location to another. Often through hills, perhaps requiring tunnels or other excavation work in order to construct. If studied, a way was often constructed as a solution, alternate or not.

Terrace: Suggests a vertical orientation that is relatively higher, as well as perhaps lower, than an adjacent one similar to it. Usually low traffic, but not necessarily.

Place: Indicates a destination, particularly residential, with minimum through traffic. Could be a cul-de-sac.

Circle: Exactly that figuratively, and perhaps even literally. Describes a design that considers one-way traffic flow. Ideally offers a way in and out without requiring a three-point turn. A cul-de-sac, if large enough, and especially with a centralized foliage area, could be considered a circle.

Court: Also a destination, with the added visual of the pavement itself. Bricks and tiles aren’t uncommon. A court could also be a circle, but is often on private property, particularly in a organized community. A glorified driveway for more than one residence or business.