It was a little embarrassing to discover recently—after multiple rereadings—that one of my favorite English novels contains clues about the language’s syntax in the late 18th–early 19th centuries.
A certain kerfuffle that’s been in the news has focused some attention on two words whose conflation has always perplexed me. It stems from a gripe I have about American English speakers.
Truth be told, I don’t just reread: I re-reread, re-re-reread, etc. certain books so often that others might consider me a little daft. But there’s method in my madness.
Today’s homophone pair highlights an increasingly widespread misuse of the older word.