DESERT/DESSERT Perhaps these two words are confused partly because “dessert” is one of the few words in English with a double “S” pronounced like “Z" "brassiere” is another.. The word in
Trang 1DEPRECIATE/DEPRECATE
To depreciate something is to actually make it worse, whereas to deprecate something is simply to speak or think of it in a manner that demonstrates your low opinion of it
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Trang 2DESERT/DESSERT
Perhaps these two words are confused partly because “dessert” is one of the few words in English with a double “S” pronounced like “Z" ("brassiere” is another) That impoverished stretch of sand called a desert can only afford one “S.” In contrast, that rich gooey extra thing at the end of the meal called a dessert indulges in two of them The word in the phrase “he got his just deserts” is
confusingly pronounced just like “desserts.”
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Trang 3DEVICE/DEVISE
“Device” is a noun A can-opener is a device “Devise” is a verb You can devise a plan for opening a can with a sharp rock instead Only in law is “devise” properly used as a noun, meaning something deeded in a will
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Trang 4DIALOGUE
DISCUSS
“Dialogue” as a verb in sentences like “the Math Department will dialogue with the Dean about funding” is commonly used jargon in business and education settings; but abhorred by traditionalists Say "have a dialogue” or “discuss” instead
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Trang 5DIETIES
DEITIES
This one is always good for a laugh The gods are deities, after the Latin deus, meaning “god.”
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Trang 6DIFFER/VARY
“Vary” can mean “differ,” but saying “our opinions vary” makes it sound as if they were changing all the time when what you really mean is “our opinions differ.” Pay attention to context when choosing one of these words
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Trang 7DIFFERENT THAN
DIFFERENT FROM/TO
Americans say “Scuba-diving is different from snorkeling,” the British sometimes say “different to” and those who don’t know any better say “different than.” However, though conservatives object, you can usually get away with “different than” if a full clause ollows: “Your pashmina shawl looks
different than it used to since the cat slept on it.”
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Trang 8DILEMMA
DIFFICULTY
A dilemma is a difficult choice, not just any difficulty or problem Whether to invite your son’s mother to his high school graduation when your current wife hates her is a dilemma Cleaning up after a hurricane is just a problem, though a difficult one
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Trang 9dire straights
DIRE STRAIGHTS
DIRE STRAITS
When you are threading your way through troubles as if you were traversing a dangerously narrow passage you are in “dire straits.” The expression and the band by that name are often transformed by those who don’t understand the word “strait” into “dire straights."
See also straightjacket/straitjacket
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Trang 10DISBURSE/DISPERSE
You disburse money by taking it out of your purse (French “bourse”) and distributing it If you refuse
to hand out any money, the eager mob of beggars before you may disperse (scatter)
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Trang 11DISC
DISK
“Compact disc” is spelled with a “C” because that’s how its inventors decided it should be rendered; but a computer disk is spelled with a “K” (unless
it’s a CD-ROM, of course) The New York Times insisted for many years on the spelling “compact disk” in its editorial pages, often incongruously next
to ads containing the patented spelling “disc”; but now even it has given in
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file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/disc.html03/09/2005 15:37:38