Aren't most of us usually pleased with even odds? I know I am although, those odds don't guarantee I'm going to predictably land on the right answer encountering one of the many either/or dilemmas each of us routinely face. Caught yourself hesitating when told the meeting will be on the bow? Wait, am I headed toward the stern? Never been on a ship? Forget I asked.
How about this: Ever felt a bit doltish thinking you might be confusing concave for convex? Would you be 100% confident describing a person as an ectomorph vs. endomorph? How about the whole longer winter Pennsylvania groundhog shadow deal? Which way does that go again?
OK, if I share a few of my 50-50 tricks, do you promise to share a few of yours? Nothing is too silly to offer, as you're about to soon discover. Think of the public service you're providing saving readers public embarrassment.
Port vs. starboard? I think of LP (for youngsters out there, I developed this device during the heyday of long-playing records, aka albums). Left is Port, get it? Don't laugh, it's worked for over fifty years.
The stalactite is the one hanging from the top, vs. the stalagmite. Learned that never-to-be-forgotten tip from either a science teacher or another nerd.
Stationery is for letters, not stationary. I just figured that one out while writing this post. Who said I was a slow learner?
About Me
- Pat Barton
- My most recent single release - "My True North" - is now available on Bandcamp. Open my profile and click on "audio clip".
I sometimes struggle with affect and effect as verbs. See https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/affect?src=search-dict-box for one explanation.....
ReplyDeleteAnother one that used to stump me is dessert vs desert. Although I know the difference I always have to go back to the pronunciation. To me they seem at odds with each other, I would expect the double ss for desert and vice versa.
ReplyDeleteInes; Two comments in the same day; the jackpot! Thanks for your continuing support.
Delete