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That Doesn't Mean What You Think It Means

The 150 Most Commonly Misused Words and Their Tangled Histories

Author Ross Petras, Kathryn Petras
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Ebook
Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed | Ten Speed Press
On sale Sep 04, 2018 | 208 Pages | 9780399581281
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An entertaining and informative guide to the most common 150 words even smart people use incorrectly, along with pithy forays into their fascinating etymologies and tangled histories of use and misuse.
 
Even the most erudite among us use words like apocryphal, facetious, ironic, meteorite, moot, redundant, and unique incorrectly every day. Don’t be one of them. Using examples of misuse from leading newspapers, prominent public figures and famous writers, among others, language gurus Ross Petras and Kathryn Petras explain how to avoid these perilous pitfalls in the English language. Each entry also includes short histories of how and why these mistake have happened, some of the (often surprisingly nasty) debates about which uses are (and are not) mistakes, and finally, how to use these words correctly … or why to not use them at all.  By the end of this book, every literati will be able to confidently, casually, and correctly toss in an “a priori” or a “limns” without hesitation.
INTRODUCTION 

Words bounce. Words, if you let them, will do what they want to do and what they have to do.
—ANNE CARSON, AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF RED

This book is about words that aren’t doing what they want to do because we’re not letting them. It’s really a word liberation book—letting those words be the words they were meant to be.

It’s about how we misuse the English language and use the wrong words that don’t mean what we think they mean. It’s not only about mistakes, but about correcting those mistakes, and discussing if they’re even mistakes at all. In short, it’s about the 150 most commonly confused, abused, questioned, and misused words and phrases in the English language, according to surveys, dictionaries like Merriam-Webster’s, usage panels like the American Heritage panel, and top word experts like Steven Pinker and Bryan Garner. Each entry includes examples of word misuse from the media along with short histories of how and why these mistakes have happened, as well as some of the (often surprisingly nasty) debates about which uses are mistakes, which aren’t, and, finally, how to use these words correctly.

These are the words that educated people most often misuse, are embarrassed about misusing, and want to use correctly. Some of them are what are sometimes called bubble words— words of which you are sure you know the meaning, but you actually don’t. Others are homophones —members of the always confusing sound-alike- but- mean- different group. Still others are paronyms, or what some people more colloquially call “confusables” because,
yes, they’re confusing on account of they sound similar (like mitigate  and militate  or discomfit  and discomfort) but yet again mean different things.

These are all different forms of catachresis —the technical term for saying something that doesn’t mean what you think it means.

***
Copyright © 2018 by Ross Petras and Kathryn Petras. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Ross Petras is half of a sibling writing team, along with his sister, Kathy Petras, with over 4.8 million copies of their work in print—including popular “word nerd” books such as the New York Times bestseller You’re Saying It Wrong, That Doesn’t Mean What You Think It Means, Very Bad Poetry, and Awkword Moments. The duo host the podcast “You’re Saying It Wrong” with NPR affiliate KMUW. 
 
The Petras's work has been featured in diverse media outlets including the New York Times, the Chicago Tribune, the Wall Street Journal, Cosmopolitan, The Washington Post, Huffington Post, Bustle, the Atlantic Monthly, the London Times, and McSweeney’s. They have also been guests on hundreds of radio shows as well as television shows and networks, including NPR's Here and Now, Good Morning America, CNN, and Fox & Friends. View titles by Ross Petras
Kathryn Petras is half of a sibling writing team, along with her brother, Ross Petras, with over 4.8 million copies of their work in print—including popular “word nerd” books such as the New York Timesbestseller You’re Saying It Wrong, That Doesn’t Mean What You Think It Means, Very Bad Poetry, and Awkword Moments. The duo host the podcast “You’re Saying It Wrong” with NPR affiliate KMUW. 
 
The Petras's work has been featured in, diverse media outlets including the New York Times, the Chicago Tribune, the Wall Street Journal, Cosmopolitan, The Washington Post, Huffington Post, Bustle, the Atlantic Monthly, the London Times, and McSweeney’s. They have also been guests on hundreds of radio shows as well as television shows and networks, including NPR's Here and Now, Good Morning America, CNN, and Fox & Friends. View titles by Kathryn Petras

About

An entertaining and informative guide to the most common 150 words even smart people use incorrectly, along with pithy forays into their fascinating etymologies and tangled histories of use and misuse.
 
Even the most erudite among us use words like apocryphal, facetious, ironic, meteorite, moot, redundant, and unique incorrectly every day. Don’t be one of them. Using examples of misuse from leading newspapers, prominent public figures and famous writers, among others, language gurus Ross Petras and Kathryn Petras explain how to avoid these perilous pitfalls in the English language. Each entry also includes short histories of how and why these mistake have happened, some of the (often surprisingly nasty) debates about which uses are (and are not) mistakes, and finally, how to use these words correctly … or why to not use them at all.  By the end of this book, every literati will be able to confidently, casually, and correctly toss in an “a priori” or a “limns” without hesitation.

Excerpt

INTRODUCTION 

Words bounce. Words, if you let them, will do what they want to do and what they have to do.
—ANNE CARSON, AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF RED

This book is about words that aren’t doing what they want to do because we’re not letting them. It’s really a word liberation book—letting those words be the words they were meant to be.

It’s about how we misuse the English language and use the wrong words that don’t mean what we think they mean. It’s not only about mistakes, but about correcting those mistakes, and discussing if they’re even mistakes at all. In short, it’s about the 150 most commonly confused, abused, questioned, and misused words and phrases in the English language, according to surveys, dictionaries like Merriam-Webster’s, usage panels like the American Heritage panel, and top word experts like Steven Pinker and Bryan Garner. Each entry includes examples of word misuse from the media along with short histories of how and why these mistakes have happened, as well as some of the (often surprisingly nasty) debates about which uses are mistakes, which aren’t, and, finally, how to use these words correctly.

These are the words that educated people most often misuse, are embarrassed about misusing, and want to use correctly. Some of them are what are sometimes called bubble words— words of which you are sure you know the meaning, but you actually don’t. Others are homophones —members of the always confusing sound-alike- but- mean- different group. Still others are paronyms, or what some people more colloquially call “confusables” because,
yes, they’re confusing on account of they sound similar (like mitigate  and militate  or discomfit  and discomfort) but yet again mean different things.

These are all different forms of catachresis —the technical term for saying something that doesn’t mean what you think it means.

***
Copyright © 2018 by Ross Petras and Kathryn Petras. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

Author

Ross Petras is half of a sibling writing team, along with his sister, Kathy Petras, with over 4.8 million copies of their work in print—including popular “word nerd” books such as the New York Times bestseller You’re Saying It Wrong, That Doesn’t Mean What You Think It Means, Very Bad Poetry, and Awkword Moments. The duo host the podcast “You’re Saying It Wrong” with NPR affiliate KMUW. 
 
The Petras's work has been featured in diverse media outlets including the New York Times, the Chicago Tribune, the Wall Street Journal, Cosmopolitan, The Washington Post, Huffington Post, Bustle, the Atlantic Monthly, the London Times, and McSweeney’s. They have also been guests on hundreds of radio shows as well as television shows and networks, including NPR's Here and Now, Good Morning America, CNN, and Fox & Friends. View titles by Ross Petras
Kathryn Petras is half of a sibling writing team, along with her brother, Ross Petras, with over 4.8 million copies of their work in print—including popular “word nerd” books such as the New York Timesbestseller You’re Saying It Wrong, That Doesn’t Mean What You Think It Means, Very Bad Poetry, and Awkword Moments. The duo host the podcast “You’re Saying It Wrong” with NPR affiliate KMUW. 
 
The Petras's work has been featured in, diverse media outlets including the New York Times, the Chicago Tribune, the Wall Street Journal, Cosmopolitan, The Washington Post, Huffington Post, Bustle, the Atlantic Monthly, the London Times, and McSweeney’s. They have also been guests on hundreds of radio shows as well as television shows and networks, including NPR's Here and Now, Good Morning America, CNN, and Fox & Friends. View titles by Kathryn Petras

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