WORD UP!

Commonly confused phrases and linguistic muddles

by Robert Anwood (Quadrille).

PEAK MY INTEREST It sounds logical, doesn't it, that if something has attracted your attention, then your interest has ‘peaked'? However, the correct phrase doesn't refer to the level of your interest but to the fact that your interest has been stimulated in the first place. Although pronounced the same way, ‘pique’ comes from the French – where piquer, which means ‘sting’ – so in English, your interest is piqued by something catching your attention. You also can't write that something has ‘peeked’ your interest. That would refer to something taking a sneaky look at your interest, which makes no sense at all. Struggling with any of this? Some simple advice: never right anything down. Taken from Damp Squids & Card Sharks…

You're reading a preview of

The Simple Things (Digital) - 1 Issue, June 2024

DiscountMags is a licensed distributor (not a publisher) of the above content and Publication through Zinio LLC. Accordingly, we have no editorial control over the Publications. Any opinions, advice, statements, services, offers or other information or content expressed or made available by third parties, including those made in Publications offered on our website, are those of the respective author(s) or publisher(s) and not of DiscountMags. DiscountMags does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, truthfulness, or usefulness of all or any portion of any publication or any services or offers made by third parties, nor will we be liable for any loss or damage caused by your reliance on information contained in any Publication, or your use of services offered, or your acceptance of any offers made through the Service or the Publications. For content removal requests, please contact Zinio.