Don't say Do Say Comment


A
acrossed across
It is easy to confuse "across" with "crossed" but better to keep them separate.

affidavid affidavit
Even if your lawyer's name is ''David,'' he issues affidavits.

Old-timer's disease Alzheimer's disease
While it is a disease of old-timers, it is named for the German neurologist, Dr. Alois Alzheimer.

Antartic Antarctic
Just think of an arc of ants (an ant arc) and that should help you keep the [c] in the pronunciation of this word.

Artic Arctic
Another hard-to-see [c]—but it is there.

aks ask
This mispronunciation has been around for so long (over 1,000 years) that linguist Mark Aronoff thinks we should cherish it as a part of our linguistic heritage. Most of us would give the axe to "aks."

athelete, atheletic athlete, athletic
Two syllables are enough for "athlete."

B
barbituate barbiturate
Don't forget this word contains three others: bar+bit+u+rate

bob wire barbed wire
No, this word wasn't named for anyone named ''Bob;'' it should be "barbed wire," although the suffix –ed, meaning ''having,'' is fading away in the U.S.

bidness business
The change of [s] to [d] before [n] is spreading throughout the US and when the unaccented [I] drops from this word the [s] finds itself in the same environment as in "isn't" and "wasn't."

a blessing in the skies a blessing in disguise
This phrase is no blessing if it comes from the skies. (Pronounce it correctly and help maintain the disguise.)

C
Calvary cavalry
It isn't clear why we say, ''Mind your Ps and Qs'' when we have more difficulty keeping up with our Ls and Rs. Had there been a cavalry in Jesus' time, perhaps Calvary would not have been so tragic.

cannidate candidate
You aren't being canny to drop the [d] in this word. Remember, it is the same as "candy date." (This should help guys remember how to prepare for dates, too.)

card shark cardsharp
Cardsharps probably won't eat you alive, though they are adept at cutting your purse strings.

Carpool tunnel syndrome Carpal tunnel syndrome
This one is mispronounced (and misspelled) several different ways; we just picked the funniest. Carpal means ''pertaining to the wrist.''

caucaphony cacophony
There is no greater cacophony [kæ'kafêni] to the ears than to hear the vowels switched in the pronunciation of this word.

The Caucases The Caucasus
Although there are more than one mountain in this chain, their name is not a plural noun.
chester drawers chest of drawers The drawers of Chester is a typical way of looking at these chests down South but it misses the point.

chomp at the bit champ at the bit
"Chomp" has probably replaced "champ" in the U.S. but we thought you might like to be reminded that the vowel should be [æ] not [o].

close clothes
The [th] is a very soft sound likely to be overlooked. Show your linguistic sensitivity and always pronounce it.

coronet cornet
Playing a crown (coronet) will make you about as popular as wearing a trumpet (cornet) on your head—reason enough to keep these two words straight.

D
dialate dilate
The [i] in this word is so long there is time for another vowel but don't succumb to the temptation.

diptheria diphtheria
The ''ph'' in this word is pronounced [f], not [p].

doggy dog world dog-eat-dog world
The world is even worse than you think if you think it merely a "doggy-dog world." Sorry to be the bearer of such bad news.

drownd drown
You add the [d] only to the past tense and past participle.

E
elec'toral e'lectoral
The accent is on the second, not the third, syllable and there is no [i] in it—not "electorial." (By the way, the same applies to "mayoral" and "pastoral.")

excape escape
The good news is, if you say "excape," you've mastered the prefix ex- because its meaning does fit this word. The bad news is, you don't use this prefix on "escape."

expresso espresso
While I can't express my love for espresso enough, this word was borrowed from Italian well after the Latin prefix