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50’s
50’s
’50s
There’s no requirement for the apostrophe before the “S” in decade names like 50s and 60s, since there are no omitted letters, though it’s also acceptable
to include one. The term may be written “’50s” since “19” is being omitted, but “50s” is fine too. Writers who wish to have their references to decades
clearly understood in the twenty-first century would be well advised not to omit the first two digits.
Note that you may have to turn off “smart quotes” in your word processor to get a leading apostrophe like the one in “’50s” to curl correctly unless you
know how to type the character directly. Or you can just type two and delete the first one.
List of errors
file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/50's.html03/09/2005 15:38:00
finalize
FINALIZE
FINISH, PUT INTO FINAL FORM
“Finalize” is very popular among bureaucrats, but many people hate it. Avoid it unless you know that everyone in your environment uses it too.
List of errors
file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/finalize.html03/09/2005 15:38:00
firey
FIREY
FIERY
It’s “fire,” so why isn’t it “firey”? If you listen closely, you hear that “fire” has two distinct vowel sounds in it: “fi-er.” Spelling the adjective “fiery”
helps to preserve that double sound.
List of errors
file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/firey.html03/09/2005 15:38:00
first annual
FIRST ANNUAL
Some people get upset when the “first annual” occurrence of some event is announced, arguing that it
doesn’t become annual until it’s been repeated. But “first annual” simply means “the first of what is
planned to be an annual series of events”—it’s a fine expression.
List of errors
file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/firstannual.html03/09/2005 15:38:00
fiscal/physical
FISCAL/PHYSICAL
The middle syllable of “physical” is often omitted in pronunciation, making it sound like the
unrelated word “fiscal.” Sound that unaccented “I” distinctly.
List of errors
file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/fiscal.html03/09/2005 15:38:01
fit the bill/fill the bill
FIT THE BILL
FILL THE BILL
Originally a “bill” was any piece of writing, especially a legal document (we still speak of bills being introduced into Congress in this sense). More
narrowly, it also came to mean a list such as a restaurant “bill of fare” (menu) or an advertisement listing attractions in a theatrical variety show such as
might be posted on a “billboard.” In nineteenth-century America, when producers found short acts to supplement the main attractions, nicely filling out
an evening’s entertainment, they were said in a rhyming phrase to “fill the bill.” People who associate bills principally with shipping invoices frequently
transform this expression, meaning “to meet requirements or desires,” into “fit the bill.” They are thinking of bills as if they were orders, lists of
requirements. It is both more logical and more traditional to say “fill the bill.”
List of errors
file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/fit.html03/09/2005 15:38:01
flammable/inflammable
FLAMMABLE/INFLAMMABLE
The prefix “in-” does not indicate negation here; it comes from the word "inflame.” “Flammable” and
“inflammable” both mean “easy to catch on fire”; but so many people misunderstand the latter term
that it’s better to stick with “flammable” in safety warnings.
List of errors
file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/flammable.html03/09/2005 15:38:01
flaunt/flout
FLAUNT/FLOUT
To flaunt is to show off: you flaunt your new necklace by wearing it to work. “Flout” has a more
negative connotation; it means to treat with contempt some rule or standard. The cliché is “to flout
convention.” Flaunting may be in bad taste because it’s ostentatious, but it is not a violation of
standards.
List of errors
file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/flaunt.html03/09/2005 15:38:01
flesh out/flush out
FLESH OUT/FLUSH OUT
To “flesh out” an idea is to give it substance, as a sculptor adds clay flesh to a skeletal armature. To
“flush out” a criminal is to drive him or her out into the open. The latter term is derived from bird-
hunting, in which one flushes out a covey of quail. If you are trying to develop something further, use
“flesh”; but if you are trying to reveal something hitherto concealed, use “flush.”
List of errors
file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/flesh.html03/09/2005 15:38:02
floppy disk/hard disk
FLOPPY DISK/HARD DISK
Floppy disks are fast disappearing from the computer world, but it’s been many years since they were
literally floppy. The fact that a 3 1/2" diskette is enclosed in a hard plastic case should not lead you to
call it a “hard disk.” That’s a high-capacity storage medium like the main disk inside your computer
on which your programs, operating system, and data are stored.
See also
drive/disk.
List of errors
file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/floppy.html03/09/2005 15:38:02
flounder/founder
FLOUNDER/FOUNDER
As a verb, “founder” means “to fill with water and sink.” It is also used metaphorically of various
kinds of equally catastrophic failures. In contrast, to flounder is to thrash about in the water (like a
flounder), struggling to stay alive. “Flounder” is also often used metaphorically to indicate various
sorts of desperate struggle. If you’re sunk, you’ve foundered. If you’re still struggling, you’re
floundering.
List of errors
file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/flounder.html03/09/2005 15:38:02
