Every year on June 14 in the United States, a holiday comes and goes (perhaps without you even noticing): Flag Day. The gist of the holiday is right there in the name. It’s a commemoration of the adoption of Betsy Ross’s American flag in 1777. It’s also a chance to flex your vexillology trivia facts and knowledge about US history. The first official Flag Day …
Palette, pallet, and palate are homophones, which means they’re all pronounced the same way, but mean different things. Palette is mostly related to art. Pallet often refers to shipping equipment. Palate has several meanings related to taste. If you’re looking for a little more detail than that, read on. Palette When you picture a painter, you probably imagine them holding a flat board with a …
Let’s hit the brakes and take a quick break to break down the difference between brake and break. We’ll answer all your questions, including: Did we just use all of those words correctly? What’s the difference between break and brake? Is it break down or brake down? Is it a break pedal or a brake pedal? In this article, we’ll cover multiple meanings of these …
Let’s say that your favorite movie is The Godfather. If you held a copy of it in your hand, would you use the word titled or entitled to say what the name of the movie is? Which word is correct? Are they both correct? In this article, we will break down the difference between titled and entitled, explain how they are typically used, and give …
Politicians and political figures often use anaphora in speeches to emphasize their points. One of the most famous anaphora examples comes from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech. King uses the anaphoral phrase, “I have a dream,” to start eight consecutive sentences: I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi … will be transformed into an oasis …
If you’ve ever wondered why it’s spelled practice in some contexts and practise in others, it mainly comes down to British versus American spelling. But which is which? When to use practise or practice In American English, the spelling practice is the only one commonly used—and it’s used for both the noun (commonly meaning “habit or custom” or “repeated exercise to acquire a skill”) and the verb …
Mark Twain once wrote: “This is the day upon which we are reminded of what we are on the other three hundred and sixty-four.” Twain’s referring to the first day of April or, as it’s often known, April Fools’ Day. While the first day of the fourth month of the year is sure to bring plenty of shenanigans (will you be the perpetrator or the …
Ingress and egress look and sound like they’re opposites, and they are. They’re primarily used in the context of entrances and exits, especially in architecture and other fields related to planning how people get in and out of places. You can probably guess from the in in ingress that it generally means “the act of going in” or refers to an entryway. But there’s a …
There’s amid. Then there’s amidst. Can they be used in the same way or are there important differences between them? Is one considered more correct? Hey, we get it. The English language is hard! But amid this jumble of words and amidst that mess of meaning, we’re here to help clear things up. What does amid mean? Amid is a preposition, a type of word …
Homophones: love them or hate them, they’re everywhere. These two are a great example. They may sound the same, but their meanings couldn’t be any more different. Assent is a word that indicates agreement or approval. Ascent refers to an upward movement. Let’s take a closer look. What does assent mean? As a verb, assent means to agree or to give in. When used as …
By now, remote learning has become many families’ new normal, but that doesn’t mean every kid is a fan. Many parents are still struggling to figure out how to use Zoom for class every day, let alone how to help their kids focus while they’re learning online. Being able to attend school in pajama pants certainly has its perks, but it can be hard for …
You scream, I scream, we all scream for… wait, is that ice cream or gelato? Or frozen yogurt? And what’s the deal with sherbet and sorbet? Are all of these things ice cream, too? Don’t get a brain freeze. We’ll break down the similarities and technical differences between these frozen treats—based on ingredients and how they’re made—in addition to dipping into the overlap of the …