Uncommonly confused words

Halloween-themed weddings are all the rage around this time of year. It also seems that boat-themed weddings are making inroads into the matrimonial biz, if you believe Yahoo Lifestyle:

Although that excerpt appeared in an article about “Halloweddings,” the author slipped in a mention about a scull-covered cake. Do you think she was a tad confused? A skull-covered cake might be more appropriate.

This is a skull-covered cake:

 

This is a scull:

It’s a little different, no? I’ll file this one under “Uncommonly Confused Words” because I’ve never seen anyone make that mistake before.

Taking the wrong route

If you’ve been rooting around Yahoo News recently, you might have noticed this headline:

Someone needs to route the editor to a dictionary, which would explain the difference between rout (which means to defeat overwhelmingly) and route (which doesn’t).

Would that be a Kaiser or onion roll?

White privilege has played a roll, according to Yahoo! Style:

I’m just wondering what kind of roll it was. Was it a Kaiser roll, an onion roll, or an egg roll? I’m also wondering if an editor played a role in this homophonic hilarity.

Holding up Kendall Jenner’s bum

I can’t bear it! The editors at Yahoo! Style are baring their ignorance with this homophonic gaffe:

I was going to crop this picture to eliminate the behind-baring dresses and the behinds. But I changed my mind. You’re welcome.

The principal writing principle

The principal (or most important) principle (or basic rule) of writing is to know something about the language you’re writing in. The writer for Yahoo! Style illustrates one possible outcome if you dare to violate that principle:

The head administrator of a high school is a principal. Didn’t we all learn in third grade: The principal is your pal?

 

Alter that word

The writer for Yahoo! Style altered the meaning of this sentence when she used alter instead of altar:

You’re so vain, you probably think this blog is about you

Ever wonder if the Yahoo! Style writers think this blog is all about them? Well, it practically is, since they make so many errors they seemed to be featured every day. In the same vein, there are lots more errors in other Yahoo! sites, but the ones on Style are the easiest to find, like this one:

Does this strike a chord?

This strikes a chord with me, and not in a good way. It’s an example from Yahoo! Style of a writer confusing a group of three notes (which is a chord) and  a string or rope (called a cord):

Where did that come from?

What do you call an accessory that goes with everything you have on? A wherewithal!

Ha-ha. That riddle just popped into my teensy brain when I read this on Yaoo! Style:

If this homophonic horror happened in a nineteenth century classroom, the writer would be sitting on a stool in the corner where she would be forced to wear a dunce cap.

 

Take a peek at this!

It piques my interest when I see a mistake like this one on Yahoo! Style:

Did the writer choose to use peak (instead of the correct peek) because of the spelling of sneak?