One of the challenges of Canadian English is that it incorporates British English while simultaneously incorporating American English. This is particularly confusing when it comes to choosing which words to use. Take the words “practice” and “practise”, for example.
Category: Difference between
Difference between diffuse and defuse
While I was editing a client project the other day, I came across the word “defuse”, and I realized that it could be easy for people to confuse “diffuse” and “defuse”. Here’s the difference:
Difference between proceeding and preceding
I recently came across an oddly worded sentence that made me realize that some people apparently confuse the words “proceed” and “precede”. Although they sound similar when said quickly, they’re not homonyms. It’s easy to confuse them, but here are their meanings:
Difference between free reign and free rein
The other day, I came across the following headline on the website of a radio station in San Antonio in Texas: How to Reign in College Costs in TX? Just days later, I came across this one on the website of an Australian newspaper: Former Cowboy enjoys free reign at Jets Both of these examples are… Continue reading Difference between free reign and free rein
Difference between home and hone
Last week, while editing a client’s document, I came across the following phrase: “as I homed my skills”. That’s actually incorrect, and here’s why:
Difference between adieu and ado
Last week, a friend of mine posted on Facebook using the following phrase: “without further adieu”. It’s a phrase I’ve seen from time to time, and I wanted to highlight here why it’s wrong:
Difference between biding time and buying time
While editing a document for a client recently, I came across the phrase “buying time”. While the phrase is completely normal, in this context, it should’ve been “biding time”. So what’s the difference? Biding time To bide means to wait, so biding one’s time is just another way of saying “to wait” or “to be patient”.… Continue reading Difference between biding time and buying time
Difference between deep seeded and deep seated
Last week, I was editing a document for a client and came across the following phrase: a deep seeded confidence I hadn’t seen this usage before, but I thought it’d make a good blog post topic. The phrase should actually be “a deep seated confidence” despite “deep seeded” making sense, at least metaphorically. In this case,… Continue reading Difference between deep seeded and deep seated
Difference between everyday and every day
While editing a client document last week, I came across the term “everyday”. It stuck out to me because it was being used incorrectly. Here is an example of “everyday” being used wrong: I go to the store everyday. What should be used instead is “every day”. So what’s the difference between “every day” and… Continue reading Difference between everyday and every day
Difference between alternate and alternative
While editing a document for a client last week, I noticed their use of “alternate”, and it prompted me to write this post. Technically, the two words don’t mean the same thing, but that’s been changing recently.