Miscellaneous Entries.
know, through careless error, is sometimes written “now” — e.g.: “Gempler said he didn’t now [read ‘know’] why the union produced the report.” Hannelore Sudermann, “Teamsters Attack Apple Industry Over Core Issues,” Spokesman-Rev. (Spokane), 23 July 1997, at A10.
knowledgeable. So spelled – not ‘knowledgable.’
known /nohn/ is often mispronounced /NOH-uhn/, as if it had two syllables.
kowtow (= to behave subserviently) is the standard spelling. “Kotow” is a variant form.
Ku Klux Klan. So spelled. The more thoroughly alliterative misspelling Klu Klux Klan is fairly common — e.g.: “Two grandsons . . . said that they had never heard him refer to the bombing or to his membership in the Klu Klux Klan [read ‘Ku Klux Klan’].” David Lamb, “Jury Begins Deliberating ’63 Church Bombing Case,” L.A. Times, 22 May 2002, at A14.
kumquat (= a small citrus fruit resembling a tiny orange) is the standard spelling. “Cumquat” is a variant form.
For information about the Language-Change Index click here.
Quotation of the Day: “Simple prose is clear prose. And simple prose, if smooth and rhythmical, is readable prose. Let your ideas alone do the impressing. If they look banal to you, there’s only one remedy: upgrade them. Don’t try to camouflage their weakness with razzle-dazzle rhetoric. You’ll razzle-dazzle yourself right into a bog of bull.” John R. Trimble, Writing with Style 30 (2d ed. 2000).
