Common Errors Starting with L
laxadaisical vs lackadaisical
<p>Lackadaisical refers to when someone shows no interest or lacks enthusiasm in performing a task or doing something.</p><pre>"Josh is lackadaisical to washing the plates and doing his chores."</pre…
Read Morelaissez-faire
The mispronunciation “lazy-fare” is almost irresistible in English, but this is a French expression meaning “let it be” or, more precisely, “the economic doctrine of avoiding state regulation of the …
Read Moreland lover vs landlubber
“Lubber” is an old term for a clumsy person, and beginning in the 18th century sailors used it to describe a person who was not a good seaman. So the pirate expression of scorn for those who don’t go…
Read Morelanguish vs luxuriate
To languish is to wilt, pine away, become feeble. It always indicates an undesirable state. If you’re looking for a nice long soak in the tub, what you want is not to languish in the bath but to luxu…
Read Morelarge vs important
In colloquial speech it’s perfectly normal to refer to something as a “big problem,” but when people create analogous expressions in writing, the result is awkward. Don’t write “this is a large issue…
Read Morelate vs former
If you want to refer to your former husband, don’t call him your “latehusband” unless he’s dead.
Read Morelater vs latter
Except in the expression “latter-day” (modern), the word “latter”usually refers back to the last-mentioned of a set of alternatives. “Wegave the kids a choice of a vacation in Paris, Rome, or Disney …
Read Morelaundry mat vs laundromat
“Laundromat” was coined in the 1950s by analogy with “automat”—an automated self-service restaurant— to label an automated self-service laundry. People unaware of this history often mistakenly decons…
Read Morelay vs lie
You lay down the book you’ve been reading, but you lie down when you go to bed. In the present tense, if the subject is acting on some other object, it’s “lay.” If the subject is lying down, then it’…
Read Morelayed vs laid
<p>Laid is the correct past tense for 'lay' which often means to place something against the ground or a surface in a position of rest.</p> <pre>"<i>You wouldn't believe John laid the books on the t…
Read Morelcd display vs lcd
“LCD” stands for “liquid crystal display,” so some argue it is redundant to write “LCD display” and argue you should use just “LCD” or “LCD screen” instead. But some in the industry argue that “LCD d…
Read Moreleach vs leech
Water leaches chemicals out of soil or color out of cloth, yourbrother-in-law leeches off the family by constantly borrowing money topay his gambling debts (he behaves like a bloodsucking leech).
Read Morelead vs led
When you’re hit over the head, the instrument could be a “lead” pipe. But when it’s a verb, “lead” is the present and “led” is the past tense. The problem is that the past tense is pronounced exactly…
Read Moreleast vs lest
American English keeps alive the old word “lest” in phrases like “lest we forget,” referring to something to be avoided or prevented. Many people mistakenly substitute the more familiar word “least” …
Read Moreleave vs let
The colloquial use of “leave” to mean “let” in phrases like “leave mebe” is not standard. “Leave me alone” is fine, though.
Read Morelegend vs myth
Myths are generally considered to be traditional stories whose importancelies in their significance, like the myth of the Fall in Eden; whereaslegends can be merely famous deeds, like the legend of D…
Read Morelense vs lens
<p>Lens is a curved piece of glass for magnifying or viewing objects. They are important parts of cameras, microscopes, binoculars etc.</p> <pre>"It took Fred more than an hour to find his contact l…
Read Morelessen vs lesson
Although not many people try to teach someone a “lessen,” many people try to “lesson” their risks by taking precautions. “Lessen” is something you do—a verb—and means to make smaller. “Lesson” is a n…
Read Moreless painless vs less painful, more painless
Quite a few people accidentally say they want to make some process “less painless” when they mean “less painful.” “Less painless” would be more painful.
Read Morelet’s vs lets
<p>Lets is the third-person singular form of the verb “Let” and it means to give permission to someone or something.</p><pre>"He lets everyone out by five in the evening."</pre><p>Let’s on the other …
Read Moreliable vs libel
If you are likely to do something you are liable to do it; and if a debt can legitimately be charged to you, you are liable for it. A person who defames you with a false accusation libels you. There …
Read Morelibary vs library
<p>A Library is an institution that holds books and other form of stored information for use by the public. It is usual for it to be housed in rooms of a building where items of the collection are le…
Read Morelighted vs lit
Don’t fret over the difference between these two words; they’reinterchangeable.
Read Morelightening vs lightning
Those bright flashes in the storm clouds indeed used to be referred to as “lightening,” later as “light’ning,” but now they are simply “lightning.”“Lightening” has a quite different meaning in modern…
Read Morelight-year
“Light-year” is always a measure of distance rather than of time; in fact it is the distance that light travels in a year. “Parsec” is also a measure of distance, equaling 3.26 light-years, though th…
Read Morelike for vs like
I would like you to remember that saying “I’d like for you to take outthe garbage” is not formal English. The “for” is unnecessary.
Read Morelikker vs liquor
Although it may be pronounced “likker,” you shouldn’t spell it that way,and it’s important to remember to include the “U” when writing the word.
Read More“lite” spelling
Attempts to “reform” English spelling to render it more phonetic have mostly been doomed to failure—luckily for us. These proposed changes, if widely adopted, would make old books difficult to read a…
Read Moreliterature
Businesspeople like to refer to advertising brochures and instructional manuals as “literature.” This drives writers and literary scholars nuts, but who else cares? If you should happen to be trying …
Read Morelittle own vs let alone
When Tom writes “I don’t even understand what you’re saying, little own agree with it” he is misunderstanding the standard phrase “let alone.” In the same context many people would say “never mind.”
Read Morelittle to none vs little or none
The expression “little or none” is meant to describe a very narrow distinction, between hardly any and none at all: “The store's tomatoes had little or none of the flavor I get from eating what I gro…
Read Moreloath vs loathe
“Loath” is a rather formal adjective meaning reluctant and rhymes with “both,” whereas “loathe” is a common verb meaning to dislike intensely, and rhymes with “clothe.” Kenji is loath to go to the co…
Read Morelogin, log-in, log in
There is a strong tendency in American English to smoosh the halves of hyphenated word and phrases together and drop the hyphen, so we commonly see phrases such as “enter your login and password.” Th…
Read Morelogon vs visit
You log on to a Web site by entering your ID and password. If you are merely encouraging people to visit a site which has no such requirement, it is misleading to ask them to “log on” to it. News rep…
Read Morelong story short vs to make a long story short
The traditional expression “to make (or cut) a long story short” is now commonly abbreviated by omitting the first phrase: “Long story short, I missed my plane.” Although there’s a certain appeal to …
Read Moreloser vs looser
A person who’s a failure is a loser, often a “real loser.” If something is loosened, it becomes looser.
Read Morelose vs loose
This confusion can easily be avoided if you pronounce the word intended aloud. If it has a voiced Z sound, then it’s “lose.” If it has a hissy S sound, then it’s “loose.” Here are examples of correct…
Read Morelot, plenty, load (number)
The expression “a lot” takes a singular verb when it refers to an amount of something that can’t be counted: “a lot of water has gone over the dam.” But it takes a plural verb when it refers to a cou…
Read Morelozenger vs lozenge
<p>A Lozenge is a quadrilateral with sides of equal length having two acute and two obtuse angles. </p><pre>"What is the sum of all the angles on a lozenge?"</pre><p>Lozenger is obviously a misspelli…
Read Morelustful vs lusty
“Lusty” means “brimming with vigor and good health” or “enthusiastic.” Don’t confuse it with “lustful,” which means “filled with sexual desire.”
Read Moreluxuriant vs luxurious
The word meaning “abundant” is “luxuriant,”as in “luxuriant hair.” “Luxurious” refers to luxury.
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