I recently ran across this confusion in an historical mystery and it bothered me. Just as I am sometimes left wondering just how to spell the, and I know it’s spelt t-h-e, just as I thought one bailed out of a plane.
It’s odd how one’s mind can play tricks on one…
It’s an evolving list, these Word Confusions, and sometimes I run across an example that helps explain better. If you’d like to track it, “Bail versus Bale” can also be found on my website. Consider sharing this Word Confusion with friends by tweeting it
| Bail | Bale | |
|---|---|---|
| Credit to: Apple Dictionary.com; Online Etymology Dictionary | ||
Image courtesy of Martha’s Vineyard Museum |
Image courtesy of Wikipedia |
|
| Part of Grammar: | ||
| Noun, Verb | Noun | |
| Noun: Surety, security, assurance, indemnity, bond, guarantee, pledge [Archaic] Gage Verb: Rescue, save, relieve, help out, assist [Informal] Save someone’s bacon/neck/skin Dip water out of a boat 1 |
Noun: Large bundle, especially one compressed and bound Bunch, pack, package, parcel [Cricket] Crosspiece bridging the stump in cricket 2 Verb: |
|
| Examples: | ||
| Noun: Will George stand my bail? Verb: Can you get me bailed out of jail? |
Noun: Heft that bale of hay. Lift that barge, tote that bale. Verb: |
|
| History of the Word: | ||
| Late Middle English (1375-1425)
1 1610s 2 ca. 1742 |
Middle English (1350-1400) | |
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.
Hi, I am not sure how you feel about blog awards but recently my blog,
Life: A Novel https://aplacetoletgo.wordpress.com/2013/01/15/life-a-novels-first-blog-award-nomination/ has been nominated for the Liebster Award.
Part of the rule is to nominate 11 up and coming blogs. One of the blogs I am nominating is your blog. If you are interested to participate in this bloggers award (and if you have not received the same nomination before), please visit my post on the, Liebster Award . Once you accept the nomination, please send me the link to your Liebster Award post. I do want to know more about my fellow bloggers whose blog I find very interesting and inspirational to other bloggers. Thank you and happy blogging!