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mass MASS MASSIVE When the dumb Coneheads on Saturday Night Live talked about consuming “mass quantities” of beer they didn’t know any better, but native Earth humans should stick with “massive” unless they are trying to allude to SNL. “Mass” is often used by young people in expressions where “many” or even the informal “a lot of” would be more appropriate. List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/mass.html03/09/2005 15:38:49 masseuse MASSEUSE/MASSEUR “Masseuse” is a strictly female term; Monsieur Philippe, who gives back rubs down at the men’s gym, is a masseur. Because of the unsavory associations that have gathered around the term “masseuse,” serious practitioners generally prefer to be called “massage therapists.” List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/masseuse.html03/09/2005 15:38:49 mauve MAUVE “Mauve” (a kind of purple) is pronounced to rhyme with “grove,” not “mawv.” List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/mauve.html03/09/2005 15:38:49 may/might MAY/MIGHT Most of the time “might” and “may” are almost interchangeable, with “might” suggesting a somewhat lower probability. You’re more likely to get wet if the forecaster says it may rain than if she says it might rain; but substituting one for the other is unlikely to get you into trouble—so long as you stay in the present tense. But “might” is also the past tense of the auxiliary verb “may,” and is required in sentences like “Chuck might have avoided arrest for the robbery if he hadn’t given the teller his business card before asking for the money.” When speculating that events might have been other than they were, don’t substitute “may” for “might." As an aside: if you are an old-fashioned child, you will ask, “May I go out to play?” rather than “Can I go out to play?” Despite the prevalence of the latter pattern, some adults still feel strongly that “may” has to do with permission whereas “can” implies only physical ability. But then if you have a parent like this you’ve had this pattern drilled into your head long before you encountered this page. List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/may.html03/09/2005 15:38:50 maybe/may be MAYBE/MAY BE “Maybe” is an adverb meaning “perhaps,” so if you are uncertain whether to use this word or the phrase “may be,” try substituting “perhaps”: “Maybe she forgot I said I’d meet her at six o’clock” becomes “Perhaps she forgot. . . .” When the substitution makes sense, go with one word: “maybe.” When you are wondering whether you may be waiting in the wrong cafe, you’re dealing with a verb and its auxiliary: “may be.” Two words. List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/maybe.html03/09/2005 15:38:50 medal/metal/meddle MEDAL/METAL/MEDDLE METTLE A person who proves his or her mettle displays courage or stamina. The word “mettle” is seldom used outside of this expression, so people constantly confuse it with other similar-sounding words. List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/medal.html03/09/2005 15:38:50 media MEDIA/MEDIUM There are several words with Latin or Greek roots whose plural forms ending in A are constantly mistaken for singular ones. See, for instance, criteria and data. Radio is a broadcast medium. Television is another broadcast medium. Newspapers are a print medium. Together they are media. Following the tendency of Americans to abbreviate phrases, with “transistor radio” becoming “transistor,” (now fortunately obsolete) and “videotape” becoming “ video,” “news media” and “communications media” have been abbreviated to “media.” Remember that watercolor on paper and oil on black velvet are also media, though they have nothing to do with the news. When you want to get a message from your late Uncle Fred, you may consult a medium. The word means a vehicle between some source of information and the recipient of it. The “media” are the transmitters of the news; they are not the news itself. List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/media.html03/09/2005 15:38:51 Medieval Ages MEDIEVAL AGES MIDDLE AGES The “eval” of “Medieval” means “age” so by saying “Medieval Ages” you are saying “Middle Ages Ages.” Medievalists also greatly resent the common misspelling “Midevil.” List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/medieval.html03/09/2005 15:38:51 mediocre MEDIOCRE Although some dictionaries accept the meaning of this word as “medium” or “average,” in fact its connotations are almost always more negative. When something is distinctly not as good as it could be, it is mediocre. If you want to say that you are an average student, don’t proclaim yourself mediocre, or you’ll convey a worse impression of yourself than you intend. List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/mediocre.html03/09/2005 15:38:52 medium/median MEDIUM/MEDIAN That strip of grass separating the lanes going opposite directions in the middle of a freeway is a median. List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/medium.html03/09/2005 15:38:52 [...]...memorium MEMORIUM MEMORIAM The correct spelling of the Latin phrase is “in memoriam.” List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/memorium.html03/ 09/ 2005 15:38:52 . file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/masseuse.html03/ 09/ 2005 15:38: 49 mauve MAUVE “Mauve” (a kind of purple) is pronounced to rhyme with “grove,” not “mawv.” List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/mauve.html03/ 09/ 2005. more appropriate. List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/mass.html03/ 09/ 2005 15:38: 49 masseuse MASSEUSE/MASSEUR “Masseuse” is a strictly female term; Monsieur Philippe, who. file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/medium.html03/ 09/ 2005 15:38:52 memorium MEMORIUM MEMORIAM The correct spelling of the Latin phrase is “in memoriam.” List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/memorium.html03/ 09/ 2005