by Kathy Davie
This one just makes me want to…I dunno…crumble like an Oreo…crumple in a heap… Hmmmm, I suspect I’d prefer the crumple if only because all my bits would still hang together. Unlike that poor cookie, all those little crumbs waiting to be swept up off the floor.
The key in determining whether you should use crumble or crumple is “food or time” versus “appearance”.
- Crumble is either a crumby sort of topping as a noun. As a verb, it’s all about deterioration through time.
- Crumple, on the other hand, is about changing shape through folding, bending, creasing, wrinkling—appearance.
C’mon authors, help me keep my cookies down…*grin*…!
| Crumble | Crumple |
|---|---|
| Credit to: Apple.com | |
| Part of Grammar: | |
| Noun, Verb | Noun, Verb |
| Noun: Mixture of flour and butter that is rubbed to the texture of breadcrumbs and cooked as a topping for fruit A dessert made with such a topping and a particular fruit Verb: Cause something to disintegrate over a period of time |
Noun: Crushed fold, crease, or wrinkle Verb: Become bent, crooked, or creased A person suddenly flops down to the ground so that their body appears bent or broken A person’s face suddenly sags and shows an expression of desolation Suddenly lose force or effectiveness |
| Examples: | |
| Noun: Mom makes the best rhubarb crumble! Verb: The company’s management is crumbling. |
Noun: Cars today are designed with crumple zones in mind. Verb: They heard the jetliner crumple moments before it crashed. She crumpled to the floor in a dead faint. The child’s face crumpled and he began to howl. Her composure crumpled. |
| History of the Word: | |
| Late Middle English | 15th century (noun): Wrinkle or crease made by crumpling Middle English: |
C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan…which words are your pet peeves?
Kathy Davie is an author, educator, and artist with a BS in Technical Writing & Editing with minors in Digital Media and History from Metropolitan State College in Denver, Colorado
She is the author of the arts marketing series, Your Portfolio & You, aimed at helping artists survive (and thrive) at the business of being an artist and include Accounting for the SMALL Businessperson, How Copyright Applies to the Artist, the Buyer, the Employer/e, the Sold Artwork, Dealing with Photographs, Slides, Digital Images, and Surviving the Outdoor Arts Festival.
A huge believer in knowledge being power, Kathy has begun a free set of Author Tools for authors interested in self-editing including an online tutorial in Using Microsoft Word’s Markup Tool, words commonly confused by authors and Punctuation and Formatting Tips.
Contact Kathy for various writing and editing services or explore her artwork.
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