Monday Muddle: gnu, new, knew

gnu: (noun) large animal; African antelope; wildebeest new: (adjective) recently made or discovered; not previously owned or known knew: (verb, past tense of know) perceived; recognized; understood Have you ever wondered if it should be Happy New Year, Happy New Years, or Happy New Year’s? If you want to wish …

Monday Muddle: born, borne

born: (past participle of the verb ‘to bear’) was brought from the womb; resulted from; having qualities from birth (e.g. I am Canadian born.) borne: (past participle of the verb ‘to bear’) given birth to; carried; endured;produced; brought aboutUsed in all cases when followed by ‘by’. Both “born” and “borne” …

Monday Muddle: marry, merry

marry: (verb) join together; combine; form a partnership merry: (adjective) happy; joyous; cheerful To all those who celebrate: Merry Christmas! If you have trouble remembering how to spell “merry”, you could say “Happy Christmas!” as my British friends do.

Monday Muddle: mouse, moose, mousse

If you are making desserts for holiday gatherings, please make mousse rather than either of the other two. mouse: (noun) rodent; small animal moose: (noun) ungulate; large animal mousse: (noun) foamy substance; hair product; light and delicious dessert

Monday Muddle: cymbal, symbol

My husband is a drummer, and yesterday his band played their Christmas concert, so I thought this would be a good time to share this muddle. I first saw these words mixed up in a post about John Cougar. He lost his temper one day and threw his drum kit …

Monday Muddle: faze, phase

faze: (verb) to disturb; to worry; to fluster Part of the expression “That doesn’t faze me.” phase: (noun) a stage or period of development; (verb) to order by stages NOT part of the expression “That doesn’t faze me.”

Monday Muddle: copywrite, copyright

copywrite: (verb, nonstandard) to write copy (generally for business or advertising) (rare back-formation from copywriter) copyright: (noun) the authority to copy creative content (aka intellectual property); (verb) to register the copyright of creative content If you find this content helpful and you would like the opportunity to discuss word choice …

Monday Muddle: peek, peak

peek: (noun) a quick look or glance; (verb) to take a quick look or glance, often secretively Used in the expression “a sneak peek”. peak: (noun) the summit; pointed top; highest level; (verb) to reach the highest level NOT used in the expression “a sneak peek”. A sneak peak is …