Varieties of English Archives

Deviled vs devilled

Deviled is the accepted spelling in the United States and Canada for an adjective describing food that is seasoned with horseradish, mustard, paprika or pepper to impart a strong flavor. In other English-speaking countries, the spelling is devilled. Deviled eggs have been prepared since the Roman Empire, coming into modern popularity around 1940 and steadily rising until the present. Eggs are hard-boiled, then split and the yolks removed. After mashing the yolks with ingredients such as mayonnaise, mustard, paprika and …

As crook as Rookwood

by Grammarist

As crook as Rookwood is an Australian idiom for being very sick and almost ready to die. Crook is Australian slang for being chronically sick. Sometimes the phrase is used for deep corruption, but not in the sense that the corruption is led by crooks, people who are dishonest. The term crook is meant in the sense that the corrupt organization has been sick for a long time. Rookwood is capitalized as it is the name of the biggest cemetery in Australia. This phrase is informal, …

-emia or -aemia

by Grammarist

Both –emia and –aemia mean that there is a certain substance in one’s blood. For example, hypoglycemia (or hypoglycaemia) is the condition of having too little sugar or glucose in one’s blood. This suffix is mainly used in medical terminology. It also has variants of –hemia and -haemia. All these variants come from the Greek word for blood haima. The United States and Canada prefer –emia while other English-speaking countries around the world prefer -aemia. Though there is some crossover in each country and the spellings without the a are more …

Bingeing or binging

by Grammarist

A binge is an interval of time where one engages in an activity without limits. It is usually used in reference to eating or drinking alcohol. To binge is to be excessive in an activity, most usually eating. In recent years this has expanded to watching television shows or movies in consecutive order. With video streaming services, entire seasons or collections of media is available at a single time and one can binge for an entire weekend. There is even a compound verb binge-watch, though the usage …

Analyses vs analyzes

by Grammarist

Analyze, which is analyse outside the US, means to intently inspect an object or person. This inspection can be with the intent to discover, explain, quantify, or reveal. One can analyze a person, grammar, or any number of fields of study. When someone, outside of the US, inspects something, he or she analyses it. The final syllable is pronounced the same way it is in the US (zehz). An analysis is the process or outcome of analyzing, the process of inspecting something closely to discover more about it. The …

Aggrandize

by Grammarist

Aggrandize is a transitive verb, used with an object, that means to cause something or someone to be or appear to be magnified or greater. It can be in relation to size, quantity, wealth, or prominence. One of the more common ways this word is used today is paired with the prefix self-. To self-aggrandize is to make oneself appear to be more important or bigger. One can be a self-aggrandizer. The noun form is aggrandizement and a person who aggrandizes something is an aggrandizer. Aggrandize is a word …

Co-ordinate vs coordinate

by Grammarist

Co-ordinate is the exact same word as coordinate. As an adjective they can mean to be the same standing or rank, relating to coordination, or relating to an intersection of indices. As a verb it means for things to work or flow smoothly as a group, or to cause things to work or flow smoothly together as a group. And, finally, as a noun, it may mean a part of a set of numbers or symbols used to find a position on …

Candor or candour

by Grammarist

Candor is a noun meaning complete honesty or fairness. Sometimes it is used in the construction complete candor, but this is redundant. It is not pejorative or carry the connotation that candor is harsh, simply that what is said or done can be believed. The negative formation is usually having a lack of candor. Candor is the preferred spelling inside the United States. Candour is the preferred spelling outside the US. Candor is pronounced with an er sound at the end, while candour is pronounced dropping the r sound all together, in line with other er …

Synchronise or synchronize

by Grammarist

Synchronize is a verb meaning to make two or more objects or actions happen in the same moment. Outside the United States it is spelled synchronise. The verb can be conjugated through all its forms, such as, synchronized, synchronizing, synchronised, and synchronising. A person or object which creates synchronization is a synchronizer. Examples Based on those statistics and studies that have proven light’s ability to synchronize the body’s natural clock, Holi created SleepCompanion, the connected LED light to improve one’s natural sleep. [Business Wire] It measures steps; calories …

Aetiology or etiology

by Grammarist

This is a classic case of spelling difference between American English and British English. Etiology or aetiology is most commonly used as a medical term for the cause of a certain disease. It is also the name of the field of medicine focused on finding the cause of conditions or diseases. Outside the United States we find aetiology, aetiologies, aetiologic, aetiological, and aetiologically. Examples Using as a case study Robert Burton’s 1621 book, The Anatomy of Melancholy, Kendler observed that before the middle of the 19th century, …

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