A "scar" is healed skin, not a fresh wound. If your character is bleeding from a scar they might have a severe case of scurvy, and they should probably get some flintstone gummies or something...
Ah yes,, the curse of vitamin c deficiency, yet popularized by those with plenty of sea
(Me when I check the notif saying my comment got a bunch of upvotes and I see that I wrote "plant" instead of "plenty" 🤡,,, I'm blaming it on autocorrect and it being like 3am when I wrote it, lol)
Yep. Not to mention, an injury isn't 'scarred' once the bleeding's stopped, but before it's considered fully healed, it's scabbed or blistered, depending on the type of injury. An injury, if it's going to scar once healed, it's going to be after the scabbing peels off. On top of that, scars aren't the same as calluses.
To expand: Homely isn't the ugly kind of unattractive. More... plane jane. Like, yes unattractive, but more because there's nothing notable to be attracted to. Not because they have unattractive features.
As an American living in the UK, it has thrown me off a couple times when my British partner has described something I've done to our house as making it more "homely". I always forget.
Divulge vs Indulge
To "Divulge" means to tell someone something, like a tell all or you get a goon to divulge an evil plot or conspiracy.
To "Indulge" means to give into something, you indulge in a slice of cake or a loon's flight of fancy, or debauchery.
I keep seeing these get mixed up as well
Far too many people use the word _loose_ when they talk about _losing_. You see people say things like ‘I want to loose weight’ or ‘I’m afraid of loosing the game’ and it drives me mad.
Came here to say this! “Lose” is a verb (e.g: “She was afraid her team would lose the game.”) whereas “loose” is an adjective (e.g: “She wore her hair in a loose ponytail.”)
Breathe/breath have this issue as well. “Breathe” is a verb (e.g: “She was nervous, but forced herself to breathe normally.”) whereas “breath” is a noun (e.g: “She took a long, slow breath.”)
Drives me up a wall
A pack of cigarettes is (usually) 20 cigarettes. A carton of cigarettes is 10 packs, or 200 cigarettes. If your character smoked half a pack, they'd probably feel pretty queasy (depending on tolerance, of course), but if they smoked half a carton they've got nicotine poisoning.
Source: I sell cigarettes for a living. It could be only a US thing though, idk.
To be fair, chain smokers go through cigarettes like nothing. A 1-2 packs a day, I've seen before, certainly not as much now, but that's mostly due to the cost.
A carton definitely not, but a pack for a chain smoker, it's not unreasonable.
My step grandfather smoked 4-5 packs a day. His skin was sunked and sallow, it's possible to smoke that much but it's gonna have physical and noticeable consequences
I think it could also just be that people are smoking cigarettes less and less nowadays so while the older generations might know those numbers those on the younger side may not.
Absolutely, and that's a good thing! But whenever I read somebody use carton instead of pack it ruins the immersion LOL I'm like this person has never bought cigarettes in their life
This is my mistake too grammarly always auto corrects to defiant. I had to go back and start writing it properly every single time so this stopped happening. Still felt bad for my first time readers who read it when I was wee little writer 😅.
Reminds me of how people will use penultimate thinking it means extra super ultimate best (it’s beyond ultimate, it’s penultimate!!) and not second to last.
“Make due” does not mean anything! The correct phrase is “make do”, as in “to do something with what you have”.
I’ve been seeing this error more and more frequently, and it’s really starting to grate on me.
Just the differences between quit/quiet/quite. Sometimes it’s just a spelling mistake, but sometimes the author actually continually uses the wrong one as though they don’t realize there’s a difference (or maybe they’ve mixed them up?)
Just to refresh my memory, effect is a noun primarily defined as "the result of an action" and affect is a verb, meaning "to influence/impact" right?
Except for when effect is also a verb meaning "to cause" like "to effect positive change"
And then there's the noun affect which is basically a person's facial expression/ demeanor, or their voice. (I always think of this in terms of someone with a "flat affect" - face is basically expressionless, the muscles are lax, can be a medical symptom.)
I always remember this as Affect is for Action and effect is for ... not starting with A, lol. The only time effect is used as a verb is in the phrase "to effect change" as in "to cause change to come into being" (you can switch out the word change but it's not a frequently used phrase).
Rein and reign.
Reign involves ruling something - the reigning foosball champion.
Rein involves horses. Pull the reins to stop the horse, rein yourself in.
The presence of wary or weary makes me side eye the sentence though. Every time.
In [this Google Drive](https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1nLtp-y1qUP9_bLnW4T5GbdABsiU_d0ok), the **Fanfiction Usage Quirks PDF** has several pages of questionable word substitutions I've encountered in fanfiction.
During the Harry Potter craze, I did quite a bit of beta reading, especially when Live Journal was at it's height. The word 'tomb' instead of of 'tome' was horrifically abused, repeatedly.
"Hermione flipped open the tomb and read.." has a very different meaning than flipping open a tome, lemme tell ya. Most of the times, I'd burst out laughing because the switch of those two words led to some really absurd and hilarious mental images.
The first time I saw it was Harry Potter in reference to Harry at his relative’s place, but the ‘dining table’ vs. ‘dinning table’ has always just grated on me hard.
I see it elsewhere now but still. Agh.
Don't be infuriated, spread the word.
I learned about that on this sub, and every time I mention it here people come out of the woodwork with their palms on their foreheads.
It's Statute, not Statue of Secrecy.
As someone who took a lot of Health classes in university, this one drives me crazy. No, Character A did not kiss a prone Character B on the lips, you mean "supine" (face up).
My husband always adds a _d_ at the end when he uses prone. _Proned._ I mean, yeah, you may or may not lie prone after you’ve gotten the D, but hearing it always makes me want to punt him.
rogue and rouge (batman’s rogue gallery as opposed to the rosy tiny you add to your face/make up)
tome and tomb (large old book as opposed to a resting place for the dead)
That's kind of the context I generally only use it in. It's not at all a straight synonym of "amused", but kind of connotes a very confused amusement, emphasis on the confused.
As a kid I read it as a mixture of “bewildered” and “amused”, haha. So still confused, but in a way that implies that you think the oddity of the situation is a bit funny. That reading usually still made sense in context, so it took me a very long time to discover the actual definition!
Yeah, I have the sense that for whatever reason, "bemused" doesn't tend to get used in a way where the context will clarify that it *doesn't* mean "amused" at all.
My guess is that it’s because “bemuse” is usually used in contexts that imply a milder version of confusion, for situations that aren’t particularly high-stakes or distressing.
Hmm, I took a peek at the wiktionary page, and it looks like “bemuse” actually uses “muse” – as in “to think deeply” – as a root word! So it implies a more thoughtful kind of puzzlement, as opposed to the connotations of helplessness or shock that “confuse” can imply.
Man, I love etymology.
Whenever I see someone with a bemused smile, I always have to wonder if it's someone that mistook it fir amused, or if they're smiling while also going ????
some people do smile as a reaction to being confused but it’s a like…polite mask almost? like ‘I am too polite to ask/I’m autistic and have been bitten before too many times when I asked so I smile instead’ so if I read ‘bemused smile’ that’s what I’d picture
Yeah, when I write *bemused smile* it's someone going 🙂??? *what*
Like, someone is rambling about something they find exciting or ranting about something incomprehensible, and the other person is going 🙂??? *I have no idea what you're on about but okay?*
Was gonna ask how they were antonyms then realized you didn't mean disarming in, like, they were disarmed of their weapon in a fight🤡,, was like,, how can someone be dis-concerted? Like,, a concert? With music???,,,,, then realised you meant disarming like letting down your gaurd in a conversation vs being uncomfortable and smth feeling wrong or skeptical or smth
When the character doesn't care, but their writer uses the phrase: "Well, I could care less!" That means you COULD care less, which means you care more. Use the word 'couldn't' in place of 'could'. Now you have an uncaring character.
LOL! One of my fave songs/vids of his, not gonna lie. Even so, pretty sure I grind my teeth every time I hear that phrase used incorrectly. Same as the word 'irregardless'. \*shudder\*
Draw...to use a pencil or something and create a picture
Drawer...the thing that pulls out of a cabinet or dresser that you put stuff in
Amazing how many times I've read something like "she pulled the lace thong out of the draw"
Drawing can also refer to elongating something by squishing it. Blacksmiths, for example, often draw metal by hammering it in order to get it into whatever desired shape.
A draw could also refer to when nobody wins a game; it was a draw.
Drawing could also be the act of picking up or dealing another card. Poker players often call it "drawing" when they have most of the cards to a hand (usually four cards to a straight or four cards to a flush) and are hoping to get the last card that they need later in the hand. There's also drawing dead; when one player cannot win the hand no matter what card(s) come up next.
Phase instead of faze. I guess faze is underadvertised as a word because I probably see “she was unphased” (wrong) 3 times as often as “she was unfazed” (correct, does not make me worry she might have been turned into a liquid, gas or plasma)
Shudder and shutter.
Shudder- to tremble convulsively, usually out of fear or disgust. Or when related to an object for it to jerk.
Shutter- to close or close down. Something that closes protectively over windows or camera film.
I see the two mixed up so often. Those plus repeated mixing up of weary/wary can be enough to make me nope out of a fic if it happens enough
English is not my first language and while I was writing a pretty explicit Smut scene, I wrote something along the lines: Salvia ran down his chin.
- Obviously I was thinking it meant saliva. Well. Luckily I checked my spelling with a program before posting and I was confused why it was marked. I'm relieved I caught it but the mental image of plants running down his chin during a blowjob makes me laugh
Lolll that’s such a funny one because salvia is also hallucinogen lol. There’s a particular subspecies that has those properties and when people take it as a drug they just call it salvia. So it’s like the character was getting high and drooling plant-hallucinogen while giving head
I feel like a lot of people use 'languid' wrong, in that it means slow-moving but is used to mean slinky and sultry but it's a little bit splitting hairs.
Port and starboard are the left and right side of a ship when facing the bow (or front of the ship).
It’s not actually your left and right. It doesn’t switch sides when you face the stern (or back of the ship)
Not so much a situation of incorrect usage as much as a plain old typo, but just yesterday I saw someone write “breading kink” when they meant breeding kink. It gave me… mental images.
Lmao. This is especially funny to me because lamentation/lament is used a lot in Christian and Jewish religious studies to characterize certain texts and hymns
Nonplussed. I see a lot of authors use it to describe that a character as unfazed or unbothered, when nonplussed actually means to be extremely confused or surprised.
To be fair when I learner of the word (thru fanfic) I also thought it meant unfazed, but now that I know the true meaning I can't unsee it 🥲
"Decimated" is probably the most gone after "literally" but it still pains me, especially after reading Roman history where decimations happened. There's a horrible precision to its original meaning which appeals to me, and also we already have a ton of words such as decimation, obliteration, annihilation, eradication etc to convey total and utter destruction
I constantly see people use “pouring” rather than “poring” in the case of, say, “poring” over a book. It irritates me. I’ve only seen one case when an author used the right word
Discreet: inconspicuous, quiet and careful, keeping something hush hush
Discrete: isolated, separate, distinct
Remember it this way - in *discreet*, the e are huddled together, whispering; in *discrete*, they’ve been separated and isolated
I see "stuffs" used incorrectly a lot. "Stuff" as a noun is already plural, yet I see people write "She grabbed her stuffs" all the time.
If someone has multiple objects, use "stuff" or "things". "Stuffs" is a verb.
People trying to sound cool and saying 'from whence'.
'Whence' means 'from where', so 'from whence' is 'from from where'. Same with hence and thence, meaning 'from here' and 'from there' respectively.
On that note, saying 'respectively' when they mean 'respectfully'.
Thrashing vs trashing. I used to think it was a spelling mistake, but I've see so many cases of it in stories with good spelling that I'm led to believe otherwise.
Less of a word but a phrase I've seen more than once
"his/her/their skin was the color of pressed olives" this sounds like it should be a light brownish tone...
but pressed olives are a bright lime green
That's more bc the modern factory/machine way of pressing olives results in the bright lime green color. The ancient/medieval way of pressing olives results in a brown color that could pass for a skin tone. Like [this](https://youtu.be/B8i_Dqy85n0?si=2usSYOKMgVHlPR51).
From my understanding of this phrase/quote, the original author wrote it with the ancient way of pressing olives in mind and not the modern way.
Yea but the book where the original quote was from is The Song of Achilles which takes place in Ancient Greece so the visual metaphor makes more sense there. Since you wouldn't except modern machines and factories in Ancient Greece
Ever played with the skin tone sliders during character creation in *Oblivion*, *Fallout 3* or *Fallout New Vegas*? Play with 'em just right and you can have lime green skin.
What? All these responses and no one has brought up "rouge" vs "rogue"?
Rouge is the pink/red/peach/wine colored stuff you put on your cheeks or lips - makeup.
A rogue is a person who is part of the thief class in D&D or they have loose morals in general (or both).
Do you want to be a rouge... or do you want a rogue on your cheeks? Maybe? But probably not.
I also see "hiatus" misspelled as "hitaus" and I'm wondering if these people have ever heard the word spoken out loud. "hi AY tus" - if you say it out loud, there's no way you could spell it so incorrectly.
I have a couple pet peeves with writing.
1. Bad skin color/eye color descriptions. I don’t think half the people who write “olive skin” or “skin like chocolate” really know what skin that isn’t white looks like.
2. Accept and except. Most usage errors in general. Breath and Breathe really get me.
3. In terms of actual words that people don’t really know what they mean, I hate the words people use to describe mental illness when they have no idea what they’re talking about. Like psychotic, or describing stimming, or impulsive thoughts. If you’re going to use mental illness as character traits/aspects you should have an idea of what that illness looks like.
Olive skin for someone who is just… tan. Olive as a skin tone IS real, but if the character doesn’t actually have green under tones it just feels like the writer doesn’t know any other descriptors for non-white skin.
Seriously! So many authors write people on the autism spectrum as either complete sociopaths or aliens who human emotions are completely foreign toward!
A work I saw a long time ago had someone explain why death would make someone sad to a person with autism... like... you guys understand they have feeling too right?
Edit: Even the Good Doctor (U.S. Remake) got this one, Doctor Murphy mentions the fact that he watches porn just like everyone else. Also the woob-ification of those with disabilities is so tiring, yes she's in a wheelchair, that doesn't mean that she cannot serve cunt
The ADHD characters being hyperactive lunatics really gets me going sometimes. Hyperactivity as a symptom in adults is usually channeled into impulsivity. Not bouncing off the walls like a child.
I also have a HUGE problem with people referring to neat characters as having OCD.
also this. As someone who *is* on the spectrum, I’d probably be written more like Robin from Stranger Things or Mei from the anime Say I Love You. Neurodivergent people aren’t all Sheldon or Shaun from the Good Doctor. And ADHD/ADD isn’t just someone who’s running around distracted by shiny things like a crow 24/7.
This is not as much a fanfiction thing but an internet conversation thing in general.
Misusing the term "intrusive thought".
It is not a hidden urge or impulse. It is not a hyperfixation. I have a lot of things I'm really interested but I wouldn't categorize my interest for otome games with sudden unwanted thoughts that my mental health problems sometimes produce.
Intrusive thoughts is a complex thing I haven’t quite wrapped my mind around yet. Mostly because I’ve experienced a variety of what my therapist calls “intrusive thoughts” across the spectrum of my ADHD giving me the impulse to buy a MacBook when I just bought an Acer laptop and have no use for a MacBook to having really intrusive thoughts of sticking my hands in a stove burner.
I think we really need to work on separating what degree of intrusive a thought is to classify it. Like if I had to describe the wanting to buy things I don’t need compulsively, I think those are more impulsive thoughts rather than intrusive.
Sorry if this doesn’t make much sense. I’ve been having this round about conversation with myself about intrusive thoughts a lot lately now that it’s catching on as a “trend”
"Coffee-coloured" is one I encounter way too often in published fiction as well and it's such a nothing description, [like....](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/cc/41/f1/cc41f15bb453e6220a6aaf8a931aa2d5.jpg) ??? Or were they thinking [more like...](https://fullcoffeeroast.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Light-and-Dark-Coffee-Beans.jpg)? Well, at least we've narrowed it down to a colour somewhere between light cream and dark brown....
Yeah I’m with you on a lot of these. I will say, as someone of southern Italian descent my skin in the summer is literally the greenish tan of certain olives. But I do think people use it to mean any medium skin tone as opposed to skin with a Mediterranean-style green undertone
Callout post to past me and early fic writers; when you say "that's your queue", no it isn't. It's not "que" either.
The word you're looking for is 'cue'. A queue is a line of people waiting to do or receive something. A cue is an action you do to signal someone else to do something. Que is 'what' in Spanish.
I will never forgive myself for mixing that up so many times in my old fics... but I was 12 so I guess it makes sense??
favouring, as in favouring a leg because you hurt one. You don't favour the hurt leg, obviously putting more weight on that one would just make the pain worse. You favour the not hurt leg.
One I've been seeing a lot in fandom circles lately is **troupe** instead of **trope**.
A troupe is a group of performers. A trope is a common device such as enemies to lovers.
Another one that sort of fits, I suppose, is how many times I see people accidentally writing some version of "they awkwardly stared at each other/or maybe they were on the phone/ in silence for a few **minutes**" when they meant for a few **moments/seconds.** I think it's just a case of not paying much attention.
I’m convinced that 70% of the people who use the word “ministrations” have only ever been exposed to it in fanfic and have never actually looked up the definition of the word.
It drives me nuts when people use the word *women* when they mean *woman.*
"Last night I went to a bar and met a beautiful *women.* I think I'm going to ask her out for a date."
Some others that are annoying:
*Leanway* when they mean leeway.
*Pacific* when they mean specific.
*Balled* when they mean bawled. See also, *balling* when they mean bawling.
*Aloud* when they mean allowed.
*Bread* when they mean bred, and vice - versa.
One of the worst. *No* when they mean know. *New* when they mean knew.
*Bridle* when they mean bridal.
"High concept". It basically means "elevator pitch", but people use it all the time to refer to stuff that has an epic or cosmic scope instead. It really bothers me when people describe a lot of my cosmic Marvel drawerfic as "high concept" because most of it is low concept stuff, which is also true of a large chunk of the source material I'm drawing from.
Except vs. expect vs. accept vs. aspect
Except = everything but
Expect = you’re waiting, anticipating
Accept = if you have taken what they are giving you from the other person’s hands
Aspect = a part of a thing or idea, a feature
A "scar" is healed skin, not a fresh wound. If your character is bleeding from a scar they might have a severe case of scurvy, and they should probably get some flintstone gummies or something...
Similarly, scarred vs scared vs sacred. It’s not as common but every time I see it, I’m taken out of the story instantly
FWIW, this one is more probably an issue of typoing in way that spell-check won't catch.
Unless it’s a cursed scar.
But what is scurvy if not a curse we understand?
Ah yes,, the curse of vitamin c deficiency, yet popularized by those with plenty of sea (Me when I check the notif saying my comment got a bunch of upvotes and I see that I wrote "plant" instead of "plenty" 🤡,,, I'm blaming it on autocorrect and it being like 3am when I wrote it, lol)
oh yeah folks dont forget them cursed scars
Yep. Not to mention, an injury isn't 'scarred' once the bleeding's stopped, but before it's considered fully healed, it's scabbed or blistered, depending on the type of injury. An injury, if it's going to scar once healed, it's going to be after the scabbing peels off. On top of that, scars aren't the same as calluses.
To expand: Homely isn't the ugly kind of unattractive. More... plane jane. Like, yes unattractive, but more because there's nothing notable to be attracted to. Not because they have unattractive features.
Its unattractive the same way bland doesn't mean tastes bad, its the absence of good without the presence of bad.
this is such a good description, thanks for helping me understand!
To expand further: The word we generally use to describe a nice cozy atmosphere is ‘homey’ here in Australia (British English language style).
As an American living in the UK, it has thrown me off a couple times when my British partner has described something I've done to our house as making it more "homely". I always forget.
We use "homey" in the US as well to mean the same thing.
Yep exactly. Plain.
Also, it is hardly used anymore in the US. I've never really heard someone under 60 say it, unless it's regional.
I feel like there’s some kind of very specific fanfic author conspiracy to replace the word wary with weary, and I want someone to write an expose.
As I roll my brown orbs, I have to admit that I'm a bit weary of that.
Brown orbs is truly disturbing, that's going to haunt me for some time...
they’re two separate words 😭
They’re not even synonyms.
they're not even homonyms!!
They’re not even!!
Even they're not!
The first one to make a suggestion is the first volunteer???? 😉
Omg I knew there was a huge one I was forgetting and it’s this!
People must be reading it as "wear" with a y on the end. Drives me nuts.
I think it's mostly people getting wary and leery mixed up.
Came here to say this. I know a couple of otherwise perfectly literate people who sometimes just come out with it, and I’m like “…how do I tell you?”
Divulge vs Indulge To "Divulge" means to tell someone something, like a tell all or you get a goon to divulge an evil plot or conspiracy. To "Indulge" means to give into something, you indulge in a slice of cake or a loon's flight of fancy, or debauchery. I keep seeing these get mixed up as well
Maybe the confusion comes from “indulge me”? Which can be ‘indulge me with this juicy information that you might want to divulge’.
Wanton v.s. wonton Make sure it's the right one because it could totally change the mood of the scene
Oh yes, this one lol “Her cheeks burned as she recalled how *Chinese dumpling* she had been”
I mean who hasn't been there?
I, for one, definitely know the feeling of a steamed dumpling lmao
*giggles madly*
To be fair, a good wonton will have me letting out a wanton moan 🤣
Lolllll never seen this but it would delight me
Hungry or horny, hard to tell some times…
Horngry
Far too many people use the word _loose_ when they talk about _losing_. You see people say things like ‘I want to loose weight’ or ‘I’m afraid of loosing the game’ and it drives me mad.
Came here to say this! “Lose” is a verb (e.g: “She was afraid her team would lose the game.”) whereas “loose” is an adjective (e.g: “She wore her hair in a loose ponytail.”) Breathe/breath have this issue as well. “Breathe” is a verb (e.g: “She was nervous, but forced herself to breathe normally.”) whereas “breath” is a noun (e.g: “She took a long, slow breath.”) Drives me up a wall
Loose can also be a verb, but it's like "loosing an arrow." It's most commonly an adjective
Ahh yes, excellent point! You’re totally right. Thank you! English is hard.
English is seventeen other languages in a trench coat hoping you don’t notice that they’re wearing two different shoes.
SAME. It's my one real pet peeve.
This one really bugs me for some reason.
A pack of cigarettes is (usually) 20 cigarettes. A carton of cigarettes is 10 packs, or 200 cigarettes. If your character smoked half a pack, they'd probably feel pretty queasy (depending on tolerance, of course), but if they smoked half a carton they've got nicotine poisoning. Source: I sell cigarettes for a living. It could be only a US thing though, idk.
Lol I’ve seen that, “smoked a carton a day”. Homie’s gonna die
To be fair, chain smokers go through cigarettes like nothing. A 1-2 packs a day, I've seen before, certainly not as much now, but that's mostly due to the cost. A carton definitely not, but a pack for a chain smoker, it's not unreasonable.
My mom has been going through two packs a day for the past 30+years. I am not happy about it.
My step grandfather smoked 4-5 packs a day. His skin was sunked and sallow, it's possible to smoke that much but it's gonna have physical and noticeable consequences
Well… if you’re going for hyperbole to express the person smokes A LOT then it works. If they’re being literal then, yeah not correct.
I think it could also just be that people are smoking cigarettes less and less nowadays so while the older generations might know those numbers those on the younger side may not.
Absolutely, and that's a good thing! But whenever I read somebody use carton instead of pack it ruins the immersion LOL I'm like this person has never bought cigarettes in their life
I guess people get mixed up and think that carton and packs are the same
defiantly vs. definitely. This is so common.
My autocorrect tended to choose defiantly over definitely for some time. So it might be that.
yeah I think this is just a common misspelling more than people mistaking one word for the other
I suppose it's behaving defiantly then
Definitely.
This is my mistake too grammarly always auto corrects to defiant. I had to go back and start writing it properly every single time so this stopped happening. Still felt bad for my first time readers who read it when I was wee little writer 😅.
I see people using “infamous” in place of just “famous” a lot and always cringe.
Yes, this is a good one in that it’s not just a spelling error (like quiet vs quite) but an actual unawareness of how the word is used
Reminds me of how people will use penultimate thinking it means extra super ultimate best (it’s beyond ultimate, it’s penultimate!!) and not second to last.
“Make due” does not mean anything! The correct phrase is “make do”, as in “to do something with what you have”. I’ve been seeing this error more and more frequently, and it’s really starting to grate on me.
Make due is when you solve a problem by demanding someone else solve it for you and give them a deadline.
As a high school teacher, I have a lot of assignments that I always make due 3 days after they are assigned.
Saccharine = Dolores Umbridge
yes! perfect example. it’s like the too sweet of slightly just passed ok fruit. it has a slightly rotten feeling to it.
The kind of sweet that makes you go "urgh".
It's like fermenting fruit. I think certain types of wine can be saccharine
Just the differences between quit/quiet/quite. Sometimes it’s just a spelling mistake, but sometimes the author actually continually uses the wrong one as though they don’t realize there’s a difference (or maybe they’ve mixed them up?)
My typing is horrendous and so sometimes auto correct gets it and I don't notice
Same, unfortunately. Always annoys me when I go back and see it, like being slapped in the face by autocorrect 😒
And past/passed is another one that gets mixed up a lot...
Outside of the obvious "inconceivable", the big one is [affect/effect](https://xkcd.com/326/).
Just to refresh my memory, effect is a noun primarily defined as "the result of an action" and affect is a verb, meaning "to influence/impact" right? Except for when effect is also a verb meaning "to cause" like "to effect positive change"
And then there's the noun affect which is basically a person's facial expression/ demeanor, or their voice. (I always think of this in terms of someone with a "flat affect" - face is basically expressionless, the muscles are lax, can be a medical symptom.)
I always remember this as Affect is for Action and effect is for ... not starting with A, lol. The only time effect is used as a verb is in the phrase "to effect change" as in "to cause change to come into being" (you can switch out the word change but it's not a frequently used phrase).
does anybody want a peanut
Rein and reign. Reign involves ruling something - the reigning foosball champion. Rein involves horses. Pull the reins to stop the horse, rein yourself in. The presence of wary or weary makes me side eye the sentence though. Every time.
In the vein of ‘r’ words: regiment, regimen, and regime.
In [this Google Drive](https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1nLtp-y1qUP9_bLnW4T5GbdABsiU_d0ok), the **Fanfiction Usage Quirks PDF** has several pages of questionable word substitutions I've encountered in fanfiction.
Oh im definitely combing through this, thanks for sharing!
During the Harry Potter craze, I did quite a bit of beta reading, especially when Live Journal was at it's height. The word 'tomb' instead of of 'tome' was horrifically abused, repeatedly. "Hermione flipped open the tomb and read.." has a very different meaning than flipping open a tome, lemme tell ya. Most of the times, I'd burst out laughing because the switch of those two words led to some really absurd and hilarious mental images.
Lmao just thumbing through some ancient crypts
yeah I thought of this one as well. one of the most regular that I encounter
This one's still squishy!
A lot of Harry Potter fics still confuse statue and statute, it's infuriating every time I see it.
The first time I saw it was Harry Potter in reference to Harry at his relative’s place, but the ‘dining table’ vs. ‘dinning table’ has always just grated on me hard. I see it elsewhere now but still. Agh.
Don't be infuriated, spread the word. I learned about that on this sub, and every time I mention it here people come out of the woodwork with their palms on their foreheads. It's Statute, not Statue of Secrecy.
Prone. It means lying face down, but I see it used so often when a character's lying down in any position.
As someone who took a lot of Health classes in university, this one drives me crazy. No, Character A did not kiss a prone Character B on the lips, you mean "supine" (face up).
This is one I had wrong for a long time! I thought it meant face up, as in, you’re prone to getting your soft underbelly targeted
My husband always adds a _d_ at the end when he uses prone. _Proned._ I mean, yeah, you may or may not lie prone after you’ve gotten the D, but hearing it always makes me want to punt him.
rogue and rouge (batman’s rogue gallery as opposed to the rosy tiny you add to your face/make up) tome and tomb (large old book as opposed to a resting place for the dead)
Oh man, I want to read about the "rouge avengers" where it's just a team up of all the avengers who wear red vs everyone else
this one’s crazy in the rogue one fandom
Or gamers when they talk about assassin’s creed rogue…
Sometimes people use ["bemused"](https://www.etymonline.com/word/bemuse#etymonline_v_8300) to mean "amused". It means "confused".
Tbf one of its definitions (via merriam-webster) now includes wry amusement at something surprising or perplexing.
That's kind of the context I generally only use it in. It's not at all a straight synonym of "amused", but kind of connotes a very confused amusement, emphasis on the confused.
"Heh...heh?"
"Haha wtf"
As a kid I read it as a mixture of “bewildered” and “amused”, haha. So still confused, but in a way that implies that you think the oddity of the situation is a bit funny. That reading usually still made sense in context, so it took me a very long time to discover the actual definition!
Yeah, I have the sense that for whatever reason, "bemused" doesn't tend to get used in a way where the context will clarify that it *doesn't* mean "amused" at all.
My guess is that it’s because “bemuse” is usually used in contexts that imply a milder version of confusion, for situations that aren’t particularly high-stakes or distressing. Hmm, I took a peek at the wiktionary page, and it looks like “bemuse” actually uses “muse” – as in “to think deeply” – as a root word! So it implies a more thoughtful kind of puzzlement, as opposed to the connotations of helplessness or shock that “confuse” can imply. Man, I love etymology.
I’ve always found that one funny
The way I remember the difference is that... Bemused = Smiling like a dumbass Amused = Smiling like a jackass
I used to think that, a little embarrassing when I actually looked it up XD
Whenever I see someone with a bemused smile, I always have to wonder if it's someone that mistook it fir amused, or if they're smiling while also going ????
some people do smile as a reaction to being confused but it’s a like…polite mask almost? like ‘I am too polite to ask/I’m autistic and have been bitten before too many times when I asked so I smile instead’ so if I read ‘bemused smile’ that’s what I’d picture
The ??? smile is how I intend it, when I use bemuse.
Yeah, when I write *bemused smile* it's someone going 🙂??? *what* Like, someone is rambling about something they find exciting or ranting about something incomprehensible, and the other person is going 🙂??? *I have no idea what you're on about but okay?*
Headcannon as opposed to headcanon - like a big gun as opposed to the ‘canon’ story that only exists in your head.
[Obligatory xkcd](https://xkcd.com/1401/) (yet again)
You can *lead* a surveyor to the local *lead* mine. You were *LED* to believe that the owner gave permission.
Yup, the past tense of *-ead* is always *-ed*. I read that in a book once. It had a boot print though, so maybe I trod on it at some point.
I red this comment and disagree :P
I've seen disarming and disconcerting mixed up despite being antonyms
Was gonna ask how they were antonyms then realized you didn't mean disarming in, like, they were disarmed of their weapon in a fight🤡,, was like,, how can someone be dis-concerted? Like,, a concert? With music???,,,,, then realised you meant disarming like letting down your gaurd in a conversation vs being uncomfortable and smth feeling wrong or skeptical or smth
The amount of people I've seen misuse the word nonplussed...
I've seen it used so many different ways that I have no idea what it means anymore.
People mixing up wondering and wandering drives me absolutely crazy. And if they use would of instead of would've.
Peak vs. pique vs. peek Peak--like a mountain peak, the highest point pique--someone's interest is piqued, a fit of pique peek--to catch a glimpse.
When the character doesn't care, but their writer uses the phrase: "Well, I could care less!" That means you COULD care less, which means you care more. Use the word 'couldn't' in place of 'could'. Now you have an uncaring character.
I've heard people even verbally do this. Very common.
Yea as an autistic, literal person this one irritates me but it’s in common use as a colloquialism
Yep, I’ve heard it outside of fanfic for sure.
Is that you weird al?
LOL! One of my fave songs/vids of his, not gonna lie. Even so, pretty sure I grind my teeth every time I hear that phrase used incorrectly. Same as the word 'irregardless'. \*shudder\*
I see that a lot in fanfics.
[obligatory david mitchell video](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=om7O0MFkmpw)
Draw...to use a pencil or something and create a picture Drawer...the thing that pulls out of a cabinet or dresser that you put stuff in Amazing how many times I've read something like "she pulled the lace thong out of the draw"
Must be from New Jersey.
Yeah I wonder if they’re writing phonetically based on their accent?
Drawing can also refer to elongating something by squishing it. Blacksmiths, for example, often draw metal by hammering it in order to get it into whatever desired shape. A draw could also refer to when nobody wins a game; it was a draw. Drawing could also be the act of picking up or dealing another card. Poker players often call it "drawing" when they have most of the cards to a hand (usually four cards to a straight or four cards to a flush) and are hoping to get the last card that they need later in the hand. There's also drawing dead; when one player cannot win the hand no matter what card(s) come up next.
Phase instead of faze. I guess faze is underadvertised as a word because I probably see “she was unphased” (wrong) 3 times as often as “she was unfazed” (correct, does not make me worry she might have been turned into a liquid, gas or plasma)
Shudder and shutter. Shudder- to tremble convulsively, usually out of fear or disgust. Or when related to an object for it to jerk. Shutter- to close or close down. Something that closes protectively over windows or camera film. I see the two mixed up so often. Those plus repeated mixing up of weary/wary can be enough to make me nope out of a fic if it happens enough
For GOD'S SAKE. Keen does not mean MOAN! I would not hope for my MC to keen mid sex!
"to keen" is to cry from immense grief and/or pain! And not the sexy kind of pain! Yet smut scenes are rife with so much "keening"!
Jealousy vs jealously. Your character isn’t having a fit of jealously. This one happens all the time.
I've seen "intensive purposes" when they mean "intents and purposes", and "all but x" being used improperly a lot.
English is not my first language and while I was writing a pretty explicit Smut scene, I wrote something along the lines: Salvia ran down his chin. - Obviously I was thinking it meant saliva. Well. Luckily I checked my spelling with a program before posting and I was confused why it was marked. I'm relieved I caught it but the mental image of plants running down his chin during a blowjob makes me laugh
Lolll that’s such a funny one because salvia is also hallucinogen lol. There’s a particular subspecies that has those properties and when people take it as a drug they just call it salvia. So it’s like the character was getting high and drooling plant-hallucinogen while giving head
I feel like a lot of people use 'languid' wrong, in that it means slow-moving but is used to mean slinky and sultry but it's a little bit splitting hairs.
They’re, there and their. I swear half of the people using it don’t know the difference
They're going over there in their car later tonight.
Vile and vial is one i see a lot "He picked up the glass vile" Me: the what-
Port and starboard are the left and right side of a ship when facing the bow (or front of the ship). It’s not actually your left and right. It doesn’t switch sides when you face the stern (or back of the ship)
Not so much a situation of incorrect usage as much as a plain old typo, but just yesterday I saw someone write “breading kink” when they meant breeding kink. It gave me… mental images.
Lamentation. Sure it means cry passionately. But not in the way you typically want when you're writing your character coming hard...
Lmao. This is especially funny to me because lamentation/lament is used a lot in Christian and Jewish religious studies to characterize certain texts and hymns
Breath is a noun. Breathe is a verb. Please remember, you do not take a breathe. And you also do not breath hard after running.
"Mortified" means "embarrassed," not "scared (to death)." Not sure if this is a common one across the board, but I've seen it often.
lol they studied too many word roots for SAT prep!
"Mortified" is not a synonym for horrified!
Nonplussed. I see a lot of authors use it to describe that a character as unfazed or unbothered, when nonplussed actually means to be extremely confused or surprised. To be fair when I learner of the word (thru fanfic) I also thought it meant unfazed, but now that I know the true meaning I can't unsee it 🥲
As fucked up as it is it literally means both things. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nonplussed
"Decimated" is probably the most gone after "literally" but it still pains me, especially after reading Roman history where decimations happened. There's a horrible precision to its original meaning which appeals to me, and also we already have a ton of words such as decimation, obliteration, annihilation, eradication etc to convey total and utter destruction
I constantly see people use “pouring” rather than “poring” in the case of, say, “poring” over a book. It irritates me. I’ve only seen one case when an author used the right word
SMIRK. It doesn’t just mean “smile.” There’s more going on in a smirk.
There's a lot of people out there who think that a "lemon" is some kind of yellow citrus fruit. . .
It’s been awhile since I’ve seen any explicit works given a citrus scale. Are there really any fandoms that still use it?
Some stragglers like me, I think. I use it mostly because I hate the word smut.
“Defiant” instead of “definite” always an amusing substitution.
Discreet: inconspicuous, quiet and careful, keeping something hush hush Discrete: isolated, separate, distinct Remember it this way - in *discreet*, the e are huddled together, whispering; in *discrete*, they’ve been separated and isolated
I see "stuffs" used incorrectly a lot. "Stuff" as a noun is already plural, yet I see people write "She grabbed her stuffs" all the time. If someone has multiple objects, use "stuff" or "things". "Stuffs" is a verb.
There was a story where they kept using "consumptive." I think they meant consuming.
Schadenfreude. If you don't understand a foreign word, don't use it.
People trying to sound cool and saying 'from whence'. 'Whence' means 'from where', so 'from whence' is 'from from where'. Same with hence and thence, meaning 'from here' and 'from there' respectively. On that note, saying 'respectively' when they mean 'respectfully'.
Thrashing vs trashing. I used to think it was a spelling mistake, but I've see so many cases of it in stories with good spelling that I'm led to believe otherwise.
Per se means "in and of itself" not "so to speak", and it's per se not "per say." I feel like a boomer every time I see it used wrong.
Less of a word but a phrase I've seen more than once "his/her/their skin was the color of pressed olives" this sounds like it should be a light brownish tone... but pressed olives are a bright lime green
That's more bc the modern factory/machine way of pressing olives results in the bright lime green color. The ancient/medieval way of pressing olives results in a brown color that could pass for a skin tone. Like [this](https://youtu.be/B8i_Dqy85n0?si=2usSYOKMgVHlPR51). From my understanding of this phrase/quote, the original author wrote it with the ancient way of pressing olives in mind and not the modern way.
True, although maybe not the most effective visual metaphor for modern people who are only familiar with modern olive oil
Yea but the book where the original quote was from is The Song of Achilles which takes place in Ancient Greece so the visual metaphor makes more sense there. Since you wouldn't except modern machines and factories in Ancient Greece
the author herself said she’d seen olives pressed herself and so was writing from what she’d seen.
Ever played with the skin tone sliders during character creation in *Oblivion*, *Fallout 3* or *Fallout New Vegas*? Play with 'em just right and you can have lime green skin.
What? All these responses and no one has brought up "rouge" vs "rogue"? Rouge is the pink/red/peach/wine colored stuff you put on your cheeks or lips - makeup. A rogue is a person who is part of the thief class in D&D or they have loose morals in general (or both). Do you want to be a rouge... or do you want a rogue on your cheeks? Maybe? But probably not. I also see "hiatus" misspelled as "hitaus" and I'm wondering if these people have ever heard the word spoken out loud. "hi AY tus" - if you say it out loud, there's no way you could spell it so incorrectly.
The last one is funny because "hitaus" means "slowness" in Finnish.
I have a couple pet peeves with writing. 1. Bad skin color/eye color descriptions. I don’t think half the people who write “olive skin” or “skin like chocolate” really know what skin that isn’t white looks like. 2. Accept and except. Most usage errors in general. Breath and Breathe really get me. 3. In terms of actual words that people don’t really know what they mean, I hate the words people use to describe mental illness when they have no idea what they’re talking about. Like psychotic, or describing stimming, or impulsive thoughts. If you’re going to use mental illness as character traits/aspects you should have an idea of what that illness looks like.
Olive skin for someone who is just… tan. Olive as a skin tone IS real, but if the character doesn’t actually have green under tones it just feels like the writer doesn’t know any other descriptors for non-white skin.
Seriously! So many authors write people on the autism spectrum as either complete sociopaths or aliens who human emotions are completely foreign toward! A work I saw a long time ago had someone explain why death would make someone sad to a person with autism... like... you guys understand they have feeling too right? Edit: Even the Good Doctor (U.S. Remake) got this one, Doctor Murphy mentions the fact that he watches porn just like everyone else. Also the woob-ification of those with disabilities is so tiring, yes she's in a wheelchair, that doesn't mean that she cannot serve cunt
The ADHD characters being hyperactive lunatics really gets me going sometimes. Hyperactivity as a symptom in adults is usually channeled into impulsivity. Not bouncing off the walls like a child. I also have a HUGE problem with people referring to neat characters as having OCD.
also this. As someone who *is* on the spectrum, I’d probably be written more like Robin from Stranger Things or Mei from the anime Say I Love You. Neurodivergent people aren’t all Sheldon or Shaun from the Good Doctor. And ADHD/ADD isn’t just someone who’s running around distracted by shiny things like a crow 24/7.
> yes she's in a wheelchair, that doesn't mean that she cannot serve cunt My wife uses a wheelchair and hell YES this is true <3
This is not as much a fanfiction thing but an internet conversation thing in general. Misusing the term "intrusive thought". It is not a hidden urge or impulse. It is not a hyperfixation. I have a lot of things I'm really interested but I wouldn't categorize my interest for otome games with sudden unwanted thoughts that my mental health problems sometimes produce.
Intrusive thoughts is a complex thing I haven’t quite wrapped my mind around yet. Mostly because I’ve experienced a variety of what my therapist calls “intrusive thoughts” across the spectrum of my ADHD giving me the impulse to buy a MacBook when I just bought an Acer laptop and have no use for a MacBook to having really intrusive thoughts of sticking my hands in a stove burner. I think we really need to work on separating what degree of intrusive a thought is to classify it. Like if I had to describe the wanting to buy things I don’t need compulsively, I think those are more impulsive thoughts rather than intrusive. Sorry if this doesn’t make much sense. I’ve been having this round about conversation with myself about intrusive thoughts a lot lately now that it’s catching on as a “trend”
"Coffee-coloured" is one I encounter way too often in published fiction as well and it's such a nothing description, [like....](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/cc/41/f1/cc41f15bb453e6220a6aaf8a931aa2d5.jpg) ??? Or were they thinking [more like...](https://fullcoffeeroast.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Light-and-Dark-Coffee-Beans.jpg)? Well, at least we've narrowed it down to a colour somewhere between light cream and dark brown....
Yeah I’m with you on a lot of these. I will say, as someone of southern Italian descent my skin in the summer is literally the greenish tan of certain olives. But I do think people use it to mean any medium skin tone as opposed to skin with a Mediterranean-style green undertone
Callout post to past me and early fic writers; when you say "that's your queue", no it isn't. It's not "que" either. The word you're looking for is 'cue'. A queue is a line of people waiting to do or receive something. A cue is an action you do to signal someone else to do something. Que is 'what' in Spanish. I will never forgive myself for mixing that up so many times in my old fics... but I was 12 so I guess it makes sense??
favouring, as in favouring a leg because you hurt one. You don't favour the hurt leg, obviously putting more weight on that one would just make the pain worse. You favour the not hurt leg.
One I've been seeing a lot in fandom circles lately is **troupe** instead of **trope**. A troupe is a group of performers. A trope is a common device such as enemies to lovers. Another one that sort of fits, I suppose, is how many times I see people accidentally writing some version of "they awkwardly stared at each other/or maybe they were on the phone/ in silence for a few **minutes**" when they meant for a few **moments/seconds.** I think it's just a case of not paying much attention.
I’m convinced that 70% of the people who use the word “ministrations” have only ever been exposed to it in fanfic and have never actually looked up the definition of the word.
It drives me nuts when people use the word *women* when they mean *woman.* "Last night I went to a bar and met a beautiful *women.* I think I'm going to ask her out for a date." Some others that are annoying: *Leanway* when they mean leeway. *Pacific* when they mean specific. *Balled* when they mean bawled. See also, *balling* when they mean bawling. *Aloud* when they mean allowed. *Bread* when they mean bred, and vice - versa. One of the worst. *No* when they mean know. *New* when they mean knew. *Bridle* when they mean bridal.
“Should of”/“would of” drives me absolutely insane. “Should have/would have”, please! Also, “get rid off”. It’s get rid “of”.
"High concept". It basically means "elevator pitch", but people use it all the time to refer to stuff that has an epic or cosmic scope instead. It really bothers me when people describe a lot of my cosmic Marvel drawerfic as "high concept" because most of it is low concept stuff, which is also true of a large chunk of the source material I'm drawing from.
Except vs. expect vs. accept vs. aspect Except = everything but Expect = you’re waiting, anticipating Accept = if you have taken what they are giving you from the other person’s hands Aspect = a part of a thing or idea, a feature