The transition from spout to sprout is an amusing mix-up. The original metaphor goes back to the 1500s, the imagery being words gushing up in an uncontrolled way from the speaker’s mouth. 

These are commonly confused but I wondered why. After all, the word discrete should occur at a much lower frequency than the work discreet, given that we are all concerned about being prudent and tactful but rarely bothered by  identifying items as discrete.

The #MeToo movement has produced a derived form MeTooed, as in My ex was just MeTooed.  MeTooing as an activity also exists.

People often try too hard to be grammatically correct and end up making a hash of it.

 The expression send good money after bad dates back to the 1660s, so it has quite a track record in English.

Maybe we can remember that dangers ensue whereas medications ensure good health. We need a helpful mnemonic.

I was listening to a news report on a tinny that capsized in ‘precarious waters’ and snapped to attention as I considered this strange use of precarious. Strange to me, but, as I discover, perfectly normal in today’s English.

The caption of this newspaper article plays with the notion that for most of us singularity or plurality of nouns is a matter of interpretation.

A friend alerted me to an interesting backformation – decept from deception, as in The voters have been decepted.

This is truly a long row to hoe.

English has a few words and phrases which are vague indicators of number. 

Perhaps we have all got a little bit tired of everyone feeling so terribly humbled.

I was surprised to read in the ABC Online News that Trump saw himself as a leader who was bringing errant nations in NATO to heal.

The confusion between flaunt and flout is widespread, and sadly not helped by etymology.