a criteria for a criterion Criterion is the singular,
criteria the plural - it's a standard for measuring quality.
a phenomena for a phenomenon Phenomenon is the singular,
phenomena the plural. One phenomenon, two phenomena.
abject lesson for object lesson Guardian April 16, 2004
Abject means pitiful; an object lesson was a Victorian lesson that took an
object such as a pin as a starting point.
abjure for adjure abjuring a workman ... to please put
his feet back on the platform ... Lionel Shriver Guardian Mar 21 06 Abjure
means renounce; adjure means command.
Achilles heal for Achilles heel The Greek hero Achilles had one vulnerable spot: his heel. (It's a long story.) To defeat him you
had to know where to attack.
ad nauseum for ad nauseam It means "to the point of
nausea".
adage for cliché An adage isn't just a hackneyed
collection of words, it also points a moral, eg "Curiosity killed the
cat". Shakespeare referred to his feline as "the poor cat in the
adage".
aegis for function Thereby negating their original aegis
as social housing. Guardian newsblog July 2 08 In Greek mythology, an aegis was
something like a badge of authority.
aesthetic for ascetic The Guardian Jan. 19 08 referred to
people carrying on an "aesthetic form of Christianity" in a cave in
the desert. Aesthetic means concerned with beauty; if you're ascetic you're
self-denying; and something acetic is acid. And that's before we've got onto
acerbic and ascorbic.
affectionado or officionado for aficionado There's no
such word as affectionado (or officionado), but the person who coined it was on
the right lines. Aficionado is Spanish for fan.
aghast for amazed If you're aghast you're horrified as
well as amazed.
all matter of junk for all manner of All manner of means
every kind of.
allegations for allegiances Allegations are assertions;
allegiance means loyalty.
all-rounded for all-round “An all-rounded winner!” Creative labs
allusion top, sleeves for illusion An allusion is a
reference; illusion sleeves are see-through.
alma martyr for alma mater A martyr gives his life for a
cause; your alma mater is your old university, or "nourishing mother"
in Latin.
amaranthine for rich For some people the most exciting
thing about YouTube, the internet digital video repository, is not so much the
posterity it gives to such an amaranthine parade of "clips" of varying
quality uploaded by the public. Observer Dec 17 2006 Amaranthine means
"undying" or "red".
ambient for atmospheric What
an ambient shot! Ambient means surrounding. If you say something’s
“atmospheric” you mean it calls up ideas and feelings of mystery or menace or
the uncanny.
ameture for amateur An amateur is the opposite of a
professional. Confusion with armature (metal skeleton of a clay sculpture)?
amicable for amenable or perhaps comfortable But now the
new factories were providing goods and implements by which people could live
more amicable lives." (Web) Amicable means friendly; amenable means
willing.
an attempt to blacken X's achievements You blacken
somebody's name, or reputation. You could disparage, denigrate or deny their
achievements.
anachronism for solecism or incongruity An anachronism is incongruously modern, like a Biblical epic extra wearing
a watch; a solecism is a social bloomer or grammatical howler; an incongruity
sticks out like a sore thumb.
ancestor for descendant and vice versa Your
grandparents' grandparents are your ancestors; you are their descendant.
and cetera for etcetera Et cetera is Latin for "and
the rest", so this is not exactly wrong.
androgenous for androgynous An
androgynous person is a boyish (andro) girl (gyn) or girlish boy.
annunciation for enunciation When the Angel Gabriel gave Mary the news that she would give birth to Jesus, that was the
Annunciation; enunciation is a way of speaking. BBC announcers enunciate carefully.
anthropomorphic for anthropocentric Simon Hoggart Feb 23
08 Guardian Something anthropomorphic is human (anthropos) shaped (morphe);
anthropocentric means man-centred.
antidisestablishmentarianism for disestablishmentarianism
Disestablishmentarians think the Church of England should cease to be
"established" as the UK's official religion; antidisestablishmentarians take the opposite view.
antidotal for anecdotal If you take
poison, you need an antidote; an anecdote is an often-repeated, unfunny and
probably untrue story.
antisocial for unsociable Antisocial acts are bad for
society; an unsociable person is unfriendly.
aperçu for anachronism Even the contemporary apercus
don't seem to matter that much, Derek Malcolm on Marie Antoinette The Evening
Standard Oct 06 An aperçu is an observation; an anachronism is incongruously
modern.
aphrodistra for aspidistra Aspidistras are indoor plants
popular circa 1900.
apocryphal for anachronistic An apocryphal tale is a
legend; an anachronism is incongruously modern.
apocryphal for apocalyptic "Hell now seems funnier
and less apocryphal." Time Out Dec 03 An apocryphal tale is a legend; an
apocalyptic event is catastrophic.
apotheosis for epitome Someone who undergoes an
apotheosis ascends to heaven as a god; an epitome is an exemplar.
arcata for arcana Arcana are magical secrets. Madame Arcati is a character in Noel Coward's play Blithe Spirit.
argue for dispute Few can argue that Oscar Wilde was one
of the greatest wits of the 19th century. Times October 15, 2007 If you argue
something, you propose it; but if you dispute it, you deny it.
ariel for aerial "ariel ground plans" Guardian April 5,
2006 An ariel is a metal spike you receive radio programmes through; aerial
means of or from the air.
arrayed for displayed Euclid and Pythagoras are arrayed
with the Virgin on the West Front of Chartres. Guardian 28 Feb 09 If you're
gorgeously arrayed you're grandly dressed; if you display something you put it
on show.
ascendancy for ancestry If a group is in the ascendancy
it's in control; your ancestry are your forebears (parents, grandparents,
great-grandparents).
ascerbic or ascorbic for acerbic An acerbic remark is
unpleasant. It's from a Latin word meaning bitter. Ascorbic acid is Vitamin C.
assay for essay Some of the characters assayed by the
Little Britain team... Gordon Brown has been assayed by a surprising number of actors G
May 12
10 Guardian
February 3, 2005 You assay yellow metal to see if it's gold; if you essay
something you're attempting it.
astronaughts for astronauts
(Web)
asunder for off The second they appear they are instantly torn asunder. Julie Bindel Guardian Aug 10 (she means “torn off”)
auspices for auguries The auspices seemed promising).
Auspices are protection; auguries are omens. It all goes back to the ancient
Greeks. Why not stick to the present?
avant garde for blasé After a few days, we got quite
avant garde about it! Avant garde art is forward-looking; blasé means careless.
avatar for doyen "Avatars of the French nouveau roman"
Guardian Aug 6 05 An avatar is an incarnation; doyens are top in their field.
Howlers
