How many of you had plum pudding for Christmas? Was it plum plum pudding? It probably wasn’t plumb plum pudding.
Monday Muddle: plumb, plum
Tag: #clarity
Monday Muddle: merrily, merely
To row merely down the stream does not mean the same as to row merrily down the stream. You can do both, even at the same time. But if you are trying to quote the nursery rhyme, you actually want to row gently down the stream.
Row, row, row your boat
Gently down the stream
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily
Life is but a dream
Monday Muddle: heal, heel
Monday Muddle: shoo, shoe
The second photo explains why it is shoo-in and not shoe-in. I’m not sure what a shoe-in would be. Maybe a contest entry at a Cinderella ball?
Monday Muddle: parson, person
Sometimes I am asked, “Do people really mix those up?” Yes. All the muddles I share with you have been seen in real life. Usually they are in the middle of a document, and I just add them to my list. Occasionally, I have a photo of them.
Now, to be fair, I’m not completely certain if this store has had previous problems with gangs of clergy that they are trying to avoid, or if they just had trouble with their spelling. Either way, someone may be confused about who is allowed in.
Monday Muddle: opt in, opt-in
I have seen “optin” as one word without a hyphen used as a noun occasionally. It is not yet standard, but I expect it will be one day. If you choose to use this variant, be aware that autocorrect may change it to “option”.
Monday Muddle: collected, collective
