12 Idioms Commonly Seen with Homonymic Spelling Errors

12 Idioms Commonly Seen with Homonymic Spelling Errors 12 Idioms Commonly Seen with Homonymic Spelling Errors 12 Idioms Commonly Seen with Homonymic Spelling Errors By Mark Nichol As, in time, idiomatic phrases become more isolated from their literal origins, writers are more likely to erroneously substitute a homonym (a word that sounds like another but is spelled differently and has a different meaning) for one of the words in the phrase. This post lists idioms that frequently appear with homonymic mistakes. 1. Incorrect: baited breath Correct: bated breath This phrase refers to abating, or stopping, breathing, and the related adjective bated is intended. 2. Incorrect: eek out Correct: eke out Eke originally meant â€Å"increase†; the verb is now obsolete except in the phrase pertaining to achieving after exerting effort; it has nothing to do with a squeal of surprise one might make when one is startled. 3. Incorrect: just desserts Correct: just deserts This idiom refers not to a sweet dish served after a main course but to what one justly deserves. Deserts is a noun, obsolete except in this usage, which refers to just that. 4. Incorrect: making due Correct: making do The expression pertaining to managing with available resources is â€Å"making do.† 5. Incorrect: marshal law Correct: martial law A marshal is a type of law-enforcement official, and to marshal is to order or organize, so this error is understandable, but the phrase refers to martial law, a state in which military forces maintain order under martial, or warlike, conditions. 6. Incorrect: peak (one’s) interest Correct: pique (one’s) interest In the sense of arousing interest, the correct verb is pique. 7. Incorrect: reign in Correct: rein in This phrase refers to managing someone or something as if one were using reins on a horse to control its movement, hence â€Å"rein in.† 8. Incorrect: sewing doubts Correct: sowing doubts This phrase refers to planting doubts as if they were seeds- thus, â€Å"sowing doubts.† 9. Incorrect: slight of hand Correct: sleight of hand This idiom is sometimes misunderstood to refer to deceptive movement so slight as to be undetectable, but the key word is sleight, meaning â€Å"dexterity.† 10. Incorrect: to the manner born Correct: to the manor born It is natural to assume that this phrase alludes to being born in a certain manner- specifically, â€Å"in an affluent environment†- but â€Å"to the manor born† pertains to those born in a manor, as opposed to a more humble dwelling. 11. Incorrect: tow the line Correct: toe the line The phrase alluding to placing one’s feet right on a line and not stepping over it is â€Å"toe the line.† 12. Incorrect: wet your appetite Correct: whet your appetite This idiom refers to sharpening one’s desire for something, not moistening it. Whet means â€Å"sharpen by rubbing against,† as with a whetstone against a knife, and the correct phrase is â€Å"whet your appetite. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Spelling category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Congratulations on or for?36 Poetry Terms15 English Words of Indian Origin