Grammar annoyance of the week

[alexxkay]

People who use "diffuse" for "defuse". It's just barely possible that you meant "diffusing tensions" as a legitimate metaphor. "Diffuse the bomb", however, is almost certainly not what you meant to say. Rather the opposite, really; a failure to defuse a bomb will result in the rapid diffusion of the bomb's component bits.


(www.merriam-webster.com/)
diffuse
3 entries found.

Main Entry: 2 dif·fuse
Pronunciation: \di-ˈfyüz\
Function: verb
Inflected Form(s): dif·fused; dif·fus·ing
Etymology: Middle English diffused, past participle, from Latin diffusus, past participle
Date: 14th century

transitive verb
1 a: to pour out and permit or cause to spread freely b: extend, scatter c: to spread thinly or wastefully
2: to subject to diffusion; especially : to break up and distribute (incident light) by reflection

intransitive verb
1: to spread out or become transmitted especially by contact
2: to undergo diffusion


defuse

Main Entry: de·fuse
Pronunciation: \(ˌ)dē-ˈfyüz\
Function: transitive verb
Date: 1943

1 : to remove the fuse from (as a mine or bomb)
2 : to make less harmful, potent, or tense <defuse the crisis>

Comments

[stormsdotter.livejournal.com]

...this is my Rogue icon, which I had spelled as "Rouge" for quite some time before I saw the spelling in the above icon and realized I'd transposed the letters. Spelling is not my strong suit, but I make an effort to get things right.

[kestrell.livejournal.com]

You *were* kidding about not being able to use the word "meat" when writing for a California audience, weren't you?

[stormsdotter.livejournal.com]

No, the Reviewer for CA sent back every question involving lunch meats, pizza toppings, etc. We weren't sure if she was just a militant vegetarian or if that was a California thing, so we just changed all the CA questions. I think it was an over-reaction, but we aren't allowed to talk about chocolate or soda pop either. Which is really annoying; a box of chocolates is a perfect example for a probability question.

[gyzki.livejournal.com]

We're also not supposed to refer to "mother" or "father" for California classroom support material.

[alexx-kay.livejournal.com]

At least you didn't get it wrong as part of the title of a book (http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/003301.html#26087).