Tìm hiểu nghĩa của từ 5 pot

itch
ITCH/SCRATCH
Strictly speaking, you scratch an itch. If you’re trying to get rid of a tingly feeling on your back
scratch it, don’t itch it.
List of errors
file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/itch.html03/09/2005 15:38:39
its/it’s
ITS/IT’S
The exception to the general rule that one should use an apostrophe to indicate possession is in
possessive pronouns. Some of them are not a problem. “Mine” has no misleading “s” at the end to
invite an apostrophe. And few people are tempted to write “hi’s,” though the equally erroneous
“her’s” is fairly common, as are “our’s” and “their’s—all wrong, wrong, wrong. The problem with
avoiding “it’s” as a possessive is that this spelling is perfectly correct as a contraction meaning “it is.”
Just remember two points and you’ll never make this mistake again. (1) “it’s” always means “it is” or
“it has” and nothing else. (2) Try changing the “its” in your sentence to “his” and if it doesn’t make
sense, then go with “it’s.”
See also
apostrophes.
List of errors
file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/its.html03/09/2005 15:38:39
jerry-built/jury-rigged
JERRY-BUILT/JURY-RIGGED
Although their etymologies are obscure and their meanings overlap, these are two distinct
expressions. Something poorly built is “jerry-built.” Something rigged up temporarily in a makeshift
manner with materials at hand, often in an ingenious manner, is “jury-rigged.” “Jerry-built” always
has a negative connotation, whereas one can be impressed by the cleverness of a jury-rigged solution.
Many people cross-pollinate these two expressions and mistakenly say “jerry-rigged” or “jury-built.”
List of errors
file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/jerry.html03/09/2005 15:38:40
Jew
JEW/JEWISH

“Jew” as an adjective (“Jew lawyer”) is an ethnic insult; the word is “Jewish.” But people who object
to “Jew” as a noun are being oversensitive. Most Jews are proud to be called Jews. The expression
“to Jew someone down"—an expression meaning “to bargain for a lower price”—reflects a grossly
insulting stereotype and should be avoided in all contexts.
List of errors
file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/jew.html03/09/2005 15:38:40
jewelry
JEWELRY
Often mispronounced “joolereee.” To remember the standard pronunciation, just say “jewel” and add
“-ree” on the end. The British spelling is much fancier: “jewellery.”
List of errors
file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/jewelry.html03/09/2005 15:38:40
John Henry/John Hancock
JOHN HENRY
JOHN HANCOCK
John Hancock signed the Declaration of Independence so flamboyantly that his name became a synonym for “signature.” Don’t mix him up with John
Henry, who was a steel-drivin’ man.
List of errors
file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/johnhenry.html03/09/2005 15:38:40
judgement
JUDGEMENT
JUDGMENT
In Great Britain and many of its former colonies, “judgement” is still the correct spelling; but ever since Noah Webster decreed the first E superfluous,
Americans have omitted it. Many of Webster’s crotchets have faded away (each year fewer people use the spelling “theater,” for instance); but even the
producers of Terminator 2: Judgment Day, chose the traditional American spelling. If you write “judgement” you should also write “colour” and “tyre.”
Jeremy Smith’s American/British—British/American Dictionary
List of errors
file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/judgement.html03/09/2005 15:38:41
kick-start
KICK-START

JUMP-START
You revive a dead battery by jolting it to life with a jumper cable: an extraordinary measure used in an emergency. So if you hope to stimulate a
foundering economy, you want to jump-start it. Kick-starting is just the normal way of getting a motorcycle going.
List of errors
file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/kickstart.html03/09/2005 15:38:41
koala bear
KOALA BEAR
KOALA
A koala is not a bear. People who know their marsupials refer to them simply as “koalas.” Recent research, however, indicates that pandas are related to
other bears.
List of errors
file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/koala.html03/09/2005 15:38:41
laissez-faire
LAISSEZ-FAIRE
The mispronunciation “lazy-fare” is almost irresistible in English, but this is a French expression
meaning “let it be” or, more precisely, “the economic doctrine of avoiding state regulation of the
economy,” and it has retained its French pronunciation (though with an English R): “lessay fare.” It is
most properly used as an adjective, as in “laissez-faire capitalism,” but is also commonly used as if it
were a noun phrase: “the Republican party advocates laissez-faire.”
List of errors
file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/laissez.html03/09/2005 15:38:42
large
LARGE
IMPORTANT
In colloquial speech it’s perfectly normal to refer to something as a “big problem,” but when people create analogous expressions in writing, the result is
awkward. Don’t write “this is a large issue for our firm” when what you mean is “this is an important issue for our firm.” Size and intensity are not
synonymous.
List of errors
file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/large.html03/09/2005 15:38:42