History Main / TheBigListOfBooboosAndBlunders

* "faucet" (plumbing fixture which dispenses water) for "facet" (any of the flat surfaces of a gem, alternately any of the details or aspects of an object or situation)

*** And neither meaning of "tamper" should be confused with "temper" (a bad mood, a measure of how easily someone gets aggravated, or a verb meaning "to mitigate").

* "shear" (to slice or cut) for "sheer" (translucent, almost transparent). "Sheer" is sometimes used in the sense of "pure" or "solid", as in "sheer force of will"; there's also a usage in the sense of a "sheer cliff face". "Shear force of will" is a meaningless phrase (although it might be turned into the name of a [[KiManipulation ki attack]] by a sufficiently clever [[strike:author]] Airbender). Although some good writer could dream up something about applying a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shear_force shear force]] to someone's will. The result might interest a psychiatrist.

* "{{Telekinesis}}" (the ability to move things with ones mind") verus "{{Telepathy}}" (the ability to read minds or communicate directly through thoughts.) These often get confused, likely because they are both stock PsychicPowers and both start with "tele-".

* "{{Telekinesis}}" (the ability to move things with ones mind") verus "Telepathy" (the ability to read minds or communicate directly through thoughts.) These often get confused, likely because they are both stock PsychicPowers and both start with "tele-".

** It's a ''factoid''. A factoid isn't a small fact, it's something that resembles a fact but isn't.

** There was here an example of a sports writer who used "marquis" when apparently intending "marquee"—but he used it as an adjective implying a team was especially notable, i.e. (probably) "worthy of being billed on a marquee". It's not clear whether this adjectival form is grammatically correct. "Marque" with a single 'e' is a designation.

* It's "Martial Law" when the military is put in place of civil government; Marshal Law is a comic book character.

* Speaking of lounging, the borrowed-from-French term for a long chair is "chaise longue", not "chaise lounge".

* "provincial" (having to do a province; also small-minded or parochial) vs. "provisional" (temporary, evaluative) vs. "provencale" (more properly "provençale", a style of cooking).

* "provincial" (having to do a province; also small-minded or parochial) vs. "provisional" (temporary, evaluative).

* It's "grammar", not "grammer". An easy typo, yes, but all too easy to misinterpret. "Is it a typo of "grammar", or "gramme", I wonder?"

** There is also "tare weight", which is the weight of an empty container or unladen vehicle, often subtracted at weigh stations from the gross weight of said container to find the weight of its contents (the "net weight").

* "Self-deprecating" ([[SelfDeprecation making fun of one's own self]]) vs "self-depreciating" (making oneself go down in value, presumably). Likely a misreading, particularily since the word "deprecate" (to show disapproval) hardly ever appears on its own, except in technical senses.

* "Fortunate" (lucky) vs "Fortuitous" (coincidental). A fortunate event may also be a fortunate one, but the words are not synonymous.

* "ravish" (traditionally, to rape [[note]]contemporary romantic novels and art reviews use it to mean something more like "insistently thrill"[[/note]]) vs. "ravage" (to destroy, devastate). As in "Smaug then flew away to ravish a town of men". [[note]]which is a positively odd image if you read too many romantic novels[[/note]] Thank you, Lin Carter. Even Creator/FritzLeiber got this wrong once, too, stating that [[Literature/FafhrdAndTheGrayMouser the Gray Mouser]] "began to ravage" a pretty girl. (She'd just made a completely unprovoked murderous attack on him, so the Mouser no doubt felt he had cause, but still...)

* "aroused" (sexually attracted) vs. "roused" (awakened, usually by jostling).

* "dire rear" for "diarrhea"—a hilariously apt eggcorn, but an eggcorn nonetheless. ([[VideoGame/SouthParkTheStickOfTruth "You know what a dire rear is, don't you?]])

* "dissemble" (obfuscate, lie) for "disassemble" (take apart)

* 'parsimonious' means 'miserly', and is not a synonym for 'concise'.

* You don't replace X ''by'' Y. You replace X ''with'' Y.

* "viola"/"wa-la" when meaning the French word "voila" (literally, "look there", colloquially "check this out!"), which is pronounced "vwah-lah". "Wa-la" is just an spelling error, while a "viola" is a stringed instrument, the next step up in size from a violin, but not nearly as big as a cello. Also incorrect: "wallah" (Hindi, someone who is associated with a particular activity, selling or carrying something), "wallah!" (Arabic, w-Allah, "By God"), or "Walla" (half the name of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walla_Walla,_Washington a city in eastern Washington State]]).