Don’t Move My Stationary – A Wordo Alert
By: Prof. Wordo | Posted: 29th December 2006
What is any more common than a Type B Wordo? (If this is your first Wordo Alert, there’s a definition of a wordo at the end of this article.) Like Type A Wordos, this is a mistake your spell checker won’t catch because it sees nothing wrong with, “The doctor said I must be in a lot of pane.” The word’s spelled right. It’s just the wrong word. A change in spelling, like gambol instead of gamble can mess up your meaning even when the word is spelled correctly.
One time, at a place I used to work, I rearranged some things in the office storage closet to make some more room. Later in the day, I got an angry note that said, “Stop moving my stationary!” I immediately wrote back, “Stop moving your stationary what?” My co-worker’s ire might have had more impact if she’d used the right word. I simply didn’t know that her stationery was supposed to be stationary.
Now, I can’t fault her too much, because hardly anyone I know can keep those two words straight (Yes, including me) unless they’ve got a good reference book handy or have learned the trick. What’s the trick, you ask? It’s this: You write a letter on stationery. The only vowel in letter is e, so you know it’s stationery with an e instead of stationary with an a.
Another single-letter trap is our old friends principal and principle. Right in the school paper at a place I once taught, a story about the history of the school had the line: One of the first and best principles our school had was Vernon Bradley. Now, I had no reason to believe that Mr. Bradley was not a fine, upstanding fellow, but I did suspected that he was not a basic truth or tenet of belief. So, I could only assume that the neophyte Pulitzer winner meant to write principal. But, here too, a handy trick will save you. Remember being told that the guy who runs the school is the principal because he’s you pal? No, I didn’t believe it either. In fact, I recall thinking that the real reason he couldn’t be the principle was because he didn’t have any. Either way will help you keep the words straight.
Speaking of principles and close-held beliefs, the notice on some off-campus housing that announced “Tenets wanted” made me wonder whether the owners were looking to rent the place or to develop a set of beliefs. Beliefs are nice, but you can usually make more money from tenants. Sorry, I don’t have a trick for this. If you do, I’d be glad to hear it.
One of the most egregious examples of wordoisms was on a poster created by a high school student in the class of one Mr. Eldon Hamm. The headline read: Clime the Latter of Success. When I suggested to Eldon that the young man’s grasp of the finer points of the language seemed to be at best tenuous, I was told, “But you knew what he meant.” I’m sorry, Mr. Hamm, but for those of us who see writing as an honorable profession, “You knew what he meant” just isn’t good enough.
wordo (wûrd•ō) n. Related to a typo but without a spelling or typographical error. Results from a choice of the wrong word from among similar or related words.
Type A: a choice of the wrong form of related words, e.g., its vs. it’s and their vs. there;
Type B: a wrong choice from among homophones, e.g., site vs. sight and principal vs. principle.
Type C: a wrong choice between words with similar or overlapping meanings, e.g. strategy vs. tactics and aggravate vs. annoy.
[poss. British English ]
About the Author
Prof. Wordo (aka Bill Moore) is available to present onsite training in improving professional writing skills and entertaining lectures on many aspects of language history, development, and use. For more information, send email to AskProfWordo@WriteRiteRight.com and visit him at http//wordo.blogspot.com. Bill is the author of Write Rite Right: A Compendium Of Homonyms, Homophones, & Frequently Misapplied Words. He is a writer, instructional designer, and trainer with over 30 years professional experience. For writing services, contact him at moore_words@comcast.net. Visit his Website at http://www.WriteRiteRight.com
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Tags: mistake, spelling, principle, spell checker, belief, real reason, stationery, co worker, old friends, tenet, reference book, vowel, type b, office storage