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And few people are tempted to write “hi’s,” though the equally erroneous “her’s” is fairly common, as are “our’s” and “their’s—all wrong, wrong, wrong.. The problem with avoiding “it’s”

ITCH/SCRATCH

Strictly speaking, you scratch an itch If you’re trying to get rid of a tingly feeling on your back scratch it, don’t itch it

List of errors

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ITS/IT’S

The exception to the general rule that one should use an apostrophe to indicate possession is in

possessive pronouns Some of them are not a problem “Mine” has no misleading “s” at the end to invite an apostrophe And few people are tempted to write “hi’s,” though the equally erroneous

“her’s” is fairly common, as are “our’s” and “their’s—all wrong, wrong, wrong The problem with avoiding “it’s” as a possessive is that this spelling is perfectly correct as a contraction meaning “it is.” Just remember two points and you’ll never make this mistake again (1) “it’s” always means “it is” or

“it has” and nothing else (2) Try changing the “its” in your sentence to “his” and if it doesn’t make sense, then go with “it’s.”

See also apostrophes

List of errors

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JERRY-BUILT/JURY-RIGGED

Although their etymologies are obscure and their meanings overlap, these are two distinct

expressions Something poorly built is “jerry-built.” Something rigged up temporarily in a makeshift manner with materials at hand, often in an ingenious manner, is “jury-rigged.” “Jerry-built” always has a negative connotation, whereas one can be impressed by the cleverness of a jury-rigged solution Many people cross-pollinate these two expressions and mistakenly say “jerry-rigged” or “jury-built.” List of errors

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JEW/JEWISH

“Jew” as an adjective (“Jew lawyer”) is an ethnic insult; the word is “Jewish.” But people who object

to “Jew” as a noun are being oversensitive Most Jews are proud to be called Jews The expression

“to Jew someone down"—an expression meaning “to bargain for a lower price”—reflects a grossly insulting stereotype and should be avoided in all contexts

List of errors

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JEWELRY

Often mispronounced “joolereee.” To remember the standard pronunciation, just say “jewel” and add

“-ree” on the end The British spelling is much fancier: “jewellery.”

List of errors

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John Henry/John Hancock

JOHN HENRY

JOHN HANCOCK

John Hancock signed the Declaration of Independence so flamboyantly that his name became a synonym for “signature.” Don’t mix him up with John Henry, who was a steel-drivin’ man

List of errors

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JUDGEMENT

JUDGMENT

In Great Britain and many of its former colonies, “judgement” is still the correct spelling; but ever since Noah Webster decreed the first E superfluous,

Americans have omitted it Many of Webster’s crotchets have faded away (each year fewer people use the spelling “theater,” for instance); but even the

producers of Terminator 2: Judgment Day, chose the traditional American spelling If you write “judgement” you should also write “colour” and “tyre.”

Jeremy Smith’s American/British—British/American Dictionary

List of errors

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KICK-START

JUMP-START

You revive a dead battery by jolting it to life with a jumper cable: an extraordinary measure used in an emergency So if you hope to stimulate a foundering economy, you want to jump-start it Kick-starting is just the normal way of getting a motorcycle going

List of errors

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koala bear

KOALA BEAR

KOALA

A koala is not a bear People who know their marsupials refer to them simply as “koalas.” Recent research, however, indicates that pandas are related to other bears.

List of errors

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LAISSEZ-FAIRE

The mispronunciation “lazy-fare” is almost irresistible in English, but this is a French expression meaning “let it be” or, more precisely, “the economic doctrine of avoiding state regulation of the

economy,” and it has retained its French pronunciation (though with an English R): “lessay fare.” It is

most properly used as an adjective, as in “laissez-faire capitalism,” but is also commonly used as if it were a noun phrase: “the Republican party advocates laissez-faire.”

List of errors

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LARGE

IMPORTANT

In colloquial speech it’s perfectly normal to refer to something as a “big problem,” but when people create analogous expressions in writing, the result is awkward Don’t write “this is a large issue for our firm” when what you mean is “this is an important issue for our firm.” Size and intensity are not synonymous.

List of errors

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