In a timely finding on my local news station, this was one of their headline stories. Unfortunately, a lunar eclipse is when the earth sits between the sun and the moon while a solar eclipse is when the moon sits between the Earth and the sun. Today’s event (which the station has talked about all week) is a SOLAR eclipse.
A friend sent me this from an article she was reading. This is something spellcheck wouldn’t catch, and is probably something the author read knowing what it was supposed to say, so that’s what the author saw. Perhaps taking a step away for some time would have helped the author read what it actually said.
It’s time for “Confusing Words of the Week” where I take a set of two or three words that get confused and give you definitions and try to give you a memory trick to help you remember when to use which word. If you have words that confuse you, use Ask PTB or send an email to proofthatblog@gmail.com and they may appear here soon!
This week’s words:
Wangle – to get by devious means
Wrangle – to bicker; to herd horses
Tip to help remember–Wrangle (with an “R”) means to “bickeR” or to “heRd hoRses.” The definition of “wangle” does not contain an “R.”
A friend sent this to me. They got it right in one place, but obviously not in the other. Maybe they should be hiring a proofreader instead.
If it were actually testing while walking, I might fail. Sometimes I have trouble walking. However, as you see by the second circled word, they meant TEXTING while walking. #azfamily #proofread #proofthatblog
Question: Is it his case number 30-100 or his Case Number 30-100?
Answer: First, thanks for asking the question. According to Gregg, a noun followed by a number or letter that indicates sequence is capitalized. I think since you are describing a specific case with the sequenced number, it is capitalized. If it just said “his case,” then it wouldn’t be capitalized, but it is like saying “his Mercedes Benz” rather than “his car.”
I hope that helps! And if any readers have questions, check out the Ask PTB page on the website proofthatblog.com.
It’s time for “Confusing Words of the Week” where I take a set of two or three words that get confused and give you definitions and try to give you a memory trick to help you remember when to use which word. If you have words that confuse you, use Ask PTB or send an email to proofthatblog@gmail.com and they may appear here soon!
This week’s words:
Loose: not bound; to release
Lose: to suffer the loss of; to part with unintentionally
Loss: something lost
This was in a document received in my office. The worst part is that they were attempting to bring attention to the fact that important language was underlined and instead they brought attention to the fact that they can’t spell underlining. An underling would be the lowly associate who probably drafted the document. This is a great example of your brain thinking it knows what it is supposed to say so you see that, even though that’s not what it actually says.
My news station seems to have had trouble last week and used an apostrophe to make a proper noun plural rather than to show ownership (which would require an apostrophe). #azfamily #proofread #grammargiggle #proofthat
It’s time for our new feature called “Confusing Words of the Week” where I take a set of two or three words that get confused and give you definitions and try to give you a memory trick to help you remember when to use which word. If you have words that confuse you, use Ask PTB or send an email to proofthatblog@gmail.com and they may appear here soon!
This week’s words:
Ensure – to make certain
Insure – To protect against loss
Assure – to give confidence to someone
A tip to help remember the difference is that insurance is a policy you buy to protect against loss, so if it is something you are protecting, it is insure.
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