Monday Muddle – Page 17 – LC Plaunt, M.Ed.

Monday Muddle: celery, salary

LC October 18, 2021 Monday Muddle

Monday Muddle: celery: (noun) a plant with long, dense, curved stalks and small leaves; part of the parsley family; a low-calorie food that can be eaten raw or cooked salary: (noun) compensation paid to an employee by an employer for work done; wages for a job that are paid at a fixed rate and a fixed time, often monthly; pay that is not based on an hourly wage

I’d rather work for a salary than celery. How about you?

Monday Muddle: rein, reign, rain

LC October 11, 2021 Monday Muddle

Monday Muddle: rein: (noun) a long, narrow strap typically used in the plural to guide a horse and metaphorically used to guide people or situations; (verb) to guide; to keep under control (used with adverbs like in and back) Part of the expression “free rein”. reign: (noun) the period in which someone holds power; (verb) to rule as king, queen, or other authority figure NOT part of the expression “free rein”. rain: (noun) condensed atmospheric moisture; (verb) to precipitate said moisture NOT part of the expression “free rein”.

The expression “free rein” originated with horsemanship, and literally meant that the horse was free from the control of the reins. Use in broader senses followed. “Free reign” became a common substitution, I expect because people weren’t familiar with horsemanship. I’m not sure what “free reign” would really mean. I don’t think royalty pays for the privilege of ruling a kingdom. “Free rain”, well, I think rain is free for everyone.

“To rein in” means to subdue or to control or to limit. “To reign in” would be followed by a place where royals reside and hold power. “To rain in” might be used in a weather report if you are about to say, for example, that precipitation is beginning in a particular place. It is beginning to rain in London.

“To take over the reins” means to take over the leadership of something, but not necessarily the royal throne. “To take over the reigns” would require more than one royal to die or abdicate and leave an empty throne to be filled. “To take over the rains”—I don’t think that’s a thing.

Monday Muddle: cheque, check

LC October 4, 2021 Monday Muddle

Monday Muddle: cheque: (British English)(noun) a written order to a bank to pay a specified sum of money to a specified person check: (American English)(noun) a written order to a bank to pay a specified sum of money to a specified person check: (both BE and AE)(noun) a test or examination for quality or accuracy; a stop to progress; control or restraint; a chess move; (verb) to test or examine for quality or accuracy; to verify; to stop or slow progress; to mark an item or a form ✅

If you are American, or if you use some sort of electronic payment system, you may never have to worry about “cheque”. But it’s still good for you to know in case you see it in someone else’s writing.

Monday Muddle: ladder, latter

LC September 27, 2021 Monday Muddle

Some people accept the use of "latter" with more than two choices, but purists don't. The terms "last" or "last-mentioned" are preferred.

If someone asks if you want to take the stairs or the elevator, saying you’ll take the ladder will probably confuse them.

The term “ladder” can also be used metaphorically–to climb the corporate ladder or the ladder to success, for example. Whereas a physical ladder allows one to climb up and down, most people don’t want to go down a metaphorical ladder.

Monday Muddle: rap, wrap

LC September 20, 2021 Monday Muddle2 Comments

Both these words can also be used as verbs and adjectives.

If you take the rap, you take the blame or the responsibility for an undesired, possibly illegal, activity. If you beat the rap, that undesired activity still happened, but you didn’t have any consequences from it.

To get a bad rap means to get punishment or consequences that you didn’t deserve. To get a bad wrap probably means that your tortilla was filled with things that were not to your liking.

Bubble wrap is a protective packing material made of plastic with air sealed into it in small compartments.

Bubble rap might be a new version of rap music, or possibly having a casual conversation through soap bubbles. Neither has made it to mainstream popularity levels yet, so I’m just speculating.

Monday Muddle: rap: (noun) a sharp knock or hit; type of music; informal talk, chat; blame, responsibility, consequences, punishment Used in the expression "to get a bad rap". wrap: (noun) wrapping paper; an outer garment; sandwich filling rolled in a tortilla; the end of a filming or recording session NOT used in the expression "to get a bad rap".

Monday Muddle: discreet, discrete

LC September 13, 2021 Monday Muddle

The trick I use to remember whether to use discreet or discrete is based on the placement of the Es. In discreet, which is used for keeping things quiet, the two Es are close together as if they are whispering in each other’s ears telling a secret. In discrete, which is used for things that are separate, the two Es are separated by a T. Let me know if that also helps you remember which is which.