commonly confused words
accept: to receive
except: with the exclusion of
advice: recommendation (noun)
advise: to recommend (verb)
adverse: unfavorable
averse: opposed to
affect: to influence (verb); emotional response (noun)
effect: result (noun); to cause (verb)
aisle: space between rows
isle: island
allude: to make indirect reference to
elude: to avoid
allusion: indirect reference
illusion: false idea, misleading appearance
already: by this time
all ready: fully prepared
altar: sacred platform or place
alter: to change
altogether: thoroughly
all together: everyone/everything in one place
a lot: a quantity; many of something
allot: to divide or portion out
angel: supernatural being, good person
angle: shape made by joining two straight lines
are: plural form of "to be"
our: plural form of "my"
accent: pronunciation common to a region
ascent: the act of rising or climbing
assent: consent, agreement
assistance: help
assistants: helpers
bare: nude, unadorned
bear: to carry; an animal
beside: close to; next to
besides: except for; in addition
boar: a wild male pig
bore: to drill a hole through
board: piece of wood
bored: uninterested
born: brought into life
borne: past participle of "to bear" (carry)
breath: air taken in (noun)
breathe: to take in air (verb)
brake: device for stopping
break: destroy; make into pieces
buy: to purchase
by: next to; through the agency of
canvas: heavy cloth
canvass: to take a survey; a survey
capital: major city
capitol: government building
choose: to pick
chose: past tense of "to choose"
clothes: garments
close: to shut; near
cloths: pieces of fabric
coarse: rough
course: path; series of lectures
complement: something that completes
compliment: praise, flattery
conscience: sense of morality
conscious: awake, aware
corps: regulated group
corpse: dead body
council: governing body
counsel: advice; to give advice
dairy: place where milk products are processed
diary: personal journal
descent: downward movement
dissent: disagreement
dessert: final, sweet course in a meal
desert: to abandon; dry, sandy area
device: a plan; a tool or utensil
devise: to create
discreet: modest, prudent behavior
discrete: a separate thing, distinct
do: a verb indicating performance or execution of a task
dew: water droplets condensed from air
due: as a result of
dominant: commanding, controlling
dominate: to control
die: to lose life; one of a pair of dice
dye: to change or add color
dyeing: changing or adding color
dying: losing life
elicit: to draw out
illicit: illegal, forbidden
eminent: prominent
imminent: about to happen
envelop: to surround (verb)
envelope: container for a letter (noun)
everyday: routine, commonplace, ordinary (adj.)
every day: each day, succession (adj. + noun)
fair: just, honest; a carnival; light skinned
fare: money for transportation; food
farther: at a greater (measurable) distance
further: in greater (non-measurable) depth
formally: conventionally, with ceremony
formerly: previously
forth: forward
fourth: number four in a list
gorilla: animal in ape family
guerrilla: soldier specializing in surprise attacks
hear: to sense sound by ear
here: in this place
heard: past tense of "to hear"
herd: group of animals
hoard: a hidden fund or supply, a cache
horde: a large group or crowd, swarm
hole: opening
whole: complete; an entire thing
human: relating to the species homo sapiens
humane: compassionate
its: possessive form of "it"
it's: contraction for "it is"
knew: past tense of "know"
new: fresh, not yet old
know: to comprehend
no: negative
later: after a time
latter: second one of two things
lead: heavy metal substance; to guide
led: past tense of "to lead"
lessen: to decrease
lesson: something learned and/or taught
lightning: storm-related electricity
lightening: making lighter
loose: unbound, not tightly fastened
lose: to misplace
maybe: perhaps (adv.)
may be: might be (verb)
meat: animal flesh
meet: to encounter
mete: to measure; to distribute
medal: a flat disk stamped with a design
meddle: to interfere, intrude
metal: a hard organic substance
mettle: courage, spirit, energy
miner: a worker in a mine
minor: underage person (noun); less important (adj.)
moral: distinguishing right from wrong; lesson of a fable or story
morale: attitude or outlook usually of a group
passed: past tense of "to pass"
past: at a previous time
patience: putting up with annoyances
patients: people under medical care
peace: absence of war
piece: part of a whole; musical arrangement
peak: point, pinnacle, maximum
peek: to peer through or look furtively
pique: fit of resentment, feeling of wounded vanity
pedal: the foot lever of a bicycle or car
petal: a flower segment
peddle: to sell
personal: intimate; owned by a person
personnel: employees
plain: simple, unadorned
plane: to shave wood; aircraft (noun)
precede: to come before
proceed: to continue
presence: attendance; being at hand
presents: gifts
principal: foremost (adj.); administrator of a school (noun)
principle: moral conviction, basic truth
quiet: silent, calm
quite: very
rain: water drops falling; to fall like rain
reign: to rule
rein: strap to control an animal (noun); to guide or control (verb)
raise: to lift up
raze: to tear down
rational: having reason or understanding
rationale: principles of opinion, beliefs
respectfully: with respect
respectively: in that order
reverend: title given to clergy; deserving respect
reverent: worshipful
right: correct; opposite of left
rite: ritual or ceremony
write: to put words on paper
road: path
rode: past tense of "to ride"
scene: place of an action; segment of a play
seen: viewed; past participle of "to see"
sense: perception, understanding
since: measurement of past time; because
sight: scene, view, picture
site: place, location
cite: to document or quote (verb)
stationary: standing still
stationery: writing paper
straight: unbending
strait: narrow or confining; a waterway
taught: past tense of "to teach"
taut: tight
than: used to introduce second element; compared to
then: at that time; next
their: possessive form of "they"
there: in that place
they’re: contraction for "they are"
through: finished; into and out of
threw: past tense of "to throw"
thorough: complete
to: toward
too: also; very (used to show emphasis)
two: number following one
track: course, road
tract: pamphlet; plot of ground
waist: midsection of the body
waste: discarded material; to squander
waive: forgo, renounce
wave: flutter, move back and forth
weak: not strong
week: seven days
weather: climatic condition
whether: if
wether: a neutered male sheep
where: in which place
were: past tense of "to be"
which: one of a group
witch: female sorcerer
whose: possessive for "of who"
who’s: contraction for "who is"
your: possessive for "of you"
you’re: contraction for "you are"
yore: time long past
commonly confused words part 2
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I’m watching that documentary “Before Stonewall” about gay history pre-1969, and uncovered something which I think is interesting.
The documentary includes a brief clip of a 1954 televised newscast about the rise of homosexuality. The host of the program interviewed psychologists, a police officer, and one “known homosexual”. The “known homosexual” is 22 years old. He identifies himself as Curtis White, which is a pseudonym; his name is actually Dale Olson.
So I tracked down the newscast. According to what I can find, Dale Olson may have been the first gay man to appear openly on television and defend his sexual orientation. He explains that there’s nothing wrong with him mentally and he’s never been arrested. When asked whether he’d take a cure if it existed, he says no. When asked whether his family knows he’s gay, he says that they didn’t up until tonight, but he guesses they’re going to find out, and he’ll probably be fired from his job as well. So of course the host is like …why are you doing this interview then? and Dale Olson, cool as cucumber pie, says “I think that this way I can be a little useful to someone besides myself.”
1954. 22 years old. Balls of pure titanium.
Despite the pseudonym, Dale’s boss did indeed recognize him from the TV program, and he was promptly fired the next day. He wrote into ONE magazine six months later to reassure readers that he had gotten a new job at a higher salary.
Curious about what became of him, I looked into his life a little further. It turns out that he ultimately became a very successful publicity agent. He promoted the Rocky movies and Superman. Not only that, but get this: Dale represented Rock Hudson, and he was the person who convinced him to disclose that he had AIDS! He wrote the statement Rock read. And as we know, Rock Hudson’s disclosure had a very significant effect on the national conversation about AIDS in the U.S.
It appears that no one has made the connection between Dale Olson the publicity agent instrumental in the AIDS debate and Dale Olson the 22-year-old first openly gay man on TV. So I thought I’d make it. For Pride month, an unsung gay hero.
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