Word Constructions

Next time you are complaining about the stirring of your mates or the complaints of your Boss, you can say you are copping some flak and feel like you are being shot at! But be careful you don’t write you are copping some flack as that may be wildly misinterpreted!

Flack: (noun) press agent or publicist
Flack: (verb) to act as a PR or press agent

Flak: (noun) anti-aircraft artillery or bursting of shells fired form anti-aircraft artillery;over the top and/or agressive criticism; opposition, disagreement. {Flak is derived from the German name of aircraft defence gun-  Flieger Abwehr Kanone}

Simply remember that a PR agent always adds a little extra - like the letter c in flack!

Did you know that compliment is not the same as complement? They actually have quite different meanings so using the wrong word can make a reasonable sentence into nonsense!

compliment - expression of praise, greeting, positive comments
She complimented the floral arrangement on the table.

complement - to complete or make a whole
The new couch complements the room nicely.

Can you see how complete complementary things are as a reminder for which spelling to use?

Another pair of words that I frequently see misused is principle and principal…

Principle - a belief or moral that governs behaviour and decisions; a fundamental truth
On principle, John refused to watch the parade.

Principal - first or leading rank (e.g. a School Principal); initial sum of money before interest and fees
As Principal of the local school, Mary was well respected by the parents.

The most common uses of these words are often confused and used incorrectly. The easiest way to remember which is which is to think of your pal being a principal.

Here is a pair of words that sound exactly the same but have quite different meanings - yet I’m not sure any people realise there are two words instead of one with different uses.

discrete - distinct, separate, individual, referring to numbers
It was a series of discrete performances across the country.

discreet - tactful, subtle, unobtrusive
Her boss was very discreet about her illness.
{see how the t separates the es in discrete?}

There are pairs of words that are frequently misused. However much they sound the same, using the wrong word can totally change the meaning of your sentence.

And you can’t rely on your spell checker to find these errors for you.

A good, old fashioned dictionary is the best way to make sure you are using the correct word in any situation. If you don’t have a dictionary at home, and the old school one probably doesn’t count, I would strongly suggest you get one so you can avoid unnecessary errors in your writing.

As I still see many of these words used incorrectly, I am going to show the different meanings as a blog category - and I’ll post one every Monday.

Please let me know if there are any particular words you aren’t sure of and I’ll include them, too.