By Don Hauptman
It's time once again for a look at commonly confused words. I found the following examples in print and online.
• "Are you inferring that I have plagiarized your post...?"
The words imply and infer are often misused. A speaker or writer implies (suggests). A listener or reader infers (deduces). So the testy question above should read: "Are you implying that I have plagiarized your post...?"
• "But to the army of IT flaks who dominate the blogosphere... a desire for privacy is something to be scoffed at."
The pejorative for a publicist is flack. The word flak is a German acronym for an antiaircraft gun, which inspired the colloquial English meaning of criticism or abuse. Note: The acronym stands for Flieger (flier/aircraft) Abwehr (defense) Kanone (gun/cannon).
• "The first of these scenes is the suitors' choice between the three caskets in The Merchant of Venice."
A choice is made between two alternatives but among more than two.
• "The collection includes exceptional tables, cabinets, folio stands, and dressing mirrors commissioned for... railroad magnet Mark Hopkins."
Hopkins may have had a magnetic personality, but the correct word here is magnate -- a powerful industrialist.
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