#word correction

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The height of curiosity

Hello, my friends! I apologize for the delay in posting. Life™ has a habit of dropping crap on me by the metric ton, so I’ve been swamped. Welcome to 2020, right? So! Let’s talk about peeking at peaks that pique!!!

Example: That just peaked her curiosity. (I have also seen peek used, instead.)

Correct word choice: pique

Definition and example: peak - n. the pointed top of a mountain; v. reach a highest point, either of a specified value or at a specified time; adj. greatest; maximum. They made it to the peak of the mountain, fittingly named Pike’s Peak. or “He was at the peak of his career before the knee injury took him out of the game for rest of the season,” the man remarked.

Definition and example: peek - n. a quick or furtive look; v. look quickly, typically in a furtive manner. He took a quick peek at her phone screen and blushed when he saw what she was looking at.

Definition and example: pique - v. 1) stimulate (interest or curiosity); 2) feel irritated or resentful; n. a feeling of irritation or resentment resulting from a slight, especially to one's pride. The professor was so passionate that she piqued my curiosity and I delved deeper into the subject. or That bratty girl didn’t get her way for once, and she stormed from the room in a fit of pique.

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PSA: Caring vs Not Caring

What’s happening, friends? Happy Sunday! Today we’re going to discuss how much you care. Or rather, how much you don’t care. 

Today’s offering is couldn’t care less. “Weird” Al Yankovic touched on sayings like this in Word Crimes, but for those who don’t know the wonder that is That Man, here you go in text form! 

If you couldn’t care less, it means exactly that. You COULD NOT care less. Because couldn’t is actually a contraction for could not. However! If you say that you could care less, it doesn’t mean you couldn’t. I means you still care, and can actually care less than you do now. So please, care more about how little you care.

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To pore, or not to pour

Hey there, friends! Let’s talk about books! Specifically, let’s talk about reading books and maybe how to keep them dry. Well, one way to do that is to not pour over them. Surefire way to ruin your book, and if you’re that invested in it, it’s either rare, expensive, or sentimental. So! Why don’t we look at what you’re saying versus what you actually mean! I’ve seen this come across my dash today, so I figured it was Direct Quote™ time! And while I mostly agree with the sentiment, well...

Direct quote: to be sitting near the sea during a storm, pouring over an old text of disputable origin.

Correct word choice: poring

Definition and example: pouring v. cause (a liquid) to flow from a container in a steady stream by holding the container at an angle. I watched as the rain came pouring down, drenching everything in sight.

Definition and example: poring v. be absorbed in the reading or study of. They pored over every single interaction they could recall, yet neither could recall ever meeting this gentleman.

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Visual citations in physical spaces

It’s Monday, glorious Monday! Today on Words Gone Wild, we’re going for some more scholarly pursuits. When you’re writing papers and reports and the like, your teachers expect you to tell them where you found the information. This is called the Works Cited page. You cite what site you visually sighted the information on. So let’s look at those words. This is one I do see a lot of misuse in fanfic, as well. Cite, site, and sight are often used interchangeably, yet none of them are actually interchangeable words.

Example: What sight were you at?

Example: Where did you site your sources?

Correct word choices: site and cite

Definition and example: site -  an area of ground on which a town, building, or monument is constructed; a website. “He walked around the site of his future home, where they had just broken ground for construction earlier that day.” ““I found the thing on the one site you sent me,” she said.”

Definition and example: cite -  quote (a passage, book, or author) as evidence for or justification of an argument or statement, especially in a scholarly work;  praise (someone, typically a member of the armed forces) for a courageous act in an official dispatch; a citation. “She cited so many books and sites in her report that her works cited page was two pages long!”

Definition and example: sight -  the faculty or power of seeing;  a thing that one sees or that can be seen. “Hoo-ee! You sure are a sight for sore eyes!”

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Solid punishment

‘Ello! Today is all about wee ghosties. Harry Potter is a fandom I love, and a lot of spooky things can be found in it. Or patronuses. Patroni. Patronii? Anyway. One thing, apparently, is punishment of said patronus. Many folks, I’ve found, use corporal when trying to tell the reader that the patronus (or spirit or whatever the specific thing is) is solid. No. Corporeal is solid. I solemnly swear it is so. 

Example: Harry’s patronus was as corporal as a vaporous mist could get.

Correct word choice: corporeal

Definition and example: corporeal -  relating to a person's body, especially as opposed to their spirit; having a body; consisting of material objects; tangible. “The spirit was glad to finally have a corporeal body again.”

Definition and example: corporal -  of the human body; bodily; physical. “Chains and manacles were lovely accoutrements when engaging in corporal punishments.”

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Up or Upper? It is of utmost importance to know!

Hi hi hi! We’re back with another segment of writing gone rogue. Today’s choices concern what is the utmost, uppermost thought in my mind. Seriously. This one happens a lot. I’ll toss in a free definition and example, too. 

Example: He did the work to his upmost ability. 

Correct word choice: utmost

Definition and example: utmost -  most extreme; greatest. “The new playground is of utmost importance for the neighborhood children to have a place to play.”

Definition and example: uppermost -  highest in place, rank, or importance. “I can’t concentrate on my writing because my aunt is hospitalized and her health is uppermost in my thoughts.”

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Pain or Pleasure or Wasting Away

Hello again! Today we’ll be looking at a very common word substitution used in reference to both pain and pleasure. Sadly, the word never evokes either of those things. The word is wither. I will use examples of both versions of the proper word, as well as what withering really makes a reader think of when you’re writing it. Trust me, it’s not what you want us to think. 

Direct example: He loved watching her wither on the bed in pleasure. 

Correct word choice: writhe

Definition and example: wither -  to shrivel; fade; decay. “Because it was not watered, the plant withered in the pot.” “Without food, a body will wither away to skin and bones; ultimately to death.”

Definition and example: writhe -  make continual twisting, squirming movements or contortions of the body. “I want her to writhe in pleasure under my touch.” “She writhed in pain as the electricity flowed through her body before she slumped, unconscious.”

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Regarding Ir-

Hi hello! This is just another PSA for writers. I don’t see this as much anymore, thankfully, but I figured I’d tackle the dreaded ir-. Ir- is a wonderful prefix that means without. Irreplaceable. Without the ability to replace. Irregular. Without being regular. Irresponsible. [Acting] without responsibility. But there is one word that often gets that ir- prefix tacked on when it absolutely does not belong. 

Irregardless. This is actually not a word. And it is definitely not the word you were looking for, padawan. Because people use it to mean without regard. But regardless already means without regard. To be -less is to be without. Regardless. Needless. Homeless. Friendless. Helpless. 

I hope this helps those who were uncertain!