Monday Muddle: worse, worst, wurst

A comparative adjective (worse) is used when you are comparing two things. A superlative adjective is used when you are comparing three or more things. Unless you are comparing sausage, and then you may need to use “wurst”.

Monday Muddle: worse: (adjective) of lower quality; more serious; more severe; not as good; (adverb) more seriously; more severely; less satisfactorily; (noun) a more serious or more severe situation worst: (adverb) the most seriously; the most severely; the least satisfactorily; (noun) the most serious, severe, or unsatisfactory wurst: (noun) sausage from Germany or Austria

Monday Muddle: stalk, stock

A couple important points to remember:

You probably wouldn’t stalk shelves.

A laughing stalk is probably some kind of character in an animated feature. A laughingstock is a person, or thing, that is being ridiculed or mocked.

Monday Muddle: stalk: (noun) the stem of a plant; a similar supporting structure on other objects; (verb) to pursue persistently, often with the intention to harass or harm stock: (noun) goods or inventory kept available for sale or use; (finance) shares of a company; (culinary) the base of a soup, sauce or stew; (verb) to keep a supply of items to have on hand or make available for sale (e.g. to stock shelves in a store)

Monday Muddle: wander, wonder

To wander about a place is not the same as to wonder about a place. If you have never been to a place, you may have wondered about it, but you have not wandered about it.

Monday Muddle: wander: (verb) to walk slowly; to stroll; to leave the pre-determined path and go a route you choose, often without a clear destination; (noun) the act of wandering wonder: (noun) a sense of awe, amazement, surprise, or admiration, usually at experiencing something inexplicable or out of the ordinary and often beautiful; (verb) to be curious; to want to know; to want to get information or an explanation

Monday Muddle: Tudor, tutor

If you see a sign for “Tutoring”, someone is offering to help you with your academic pursuits. If you see a sign for “Tutoring”, that could possibly be an offer for historical reenactments or house renovations.

Monday Muddle: Tudor: (adjective) referring to the Royal dynasty that reigned in England from 1485 until 1603; (noun) a member of the Tudor family; a style of architecture that was prevalent during the Tudor period, known to some as half-timbered houses tutor: (noun) a private teacher usually teaching one or a small number of students; (verb) to teach one or a small number of students outside a traditional classroom setting