-she always had a run in her tights, always. even when she bought a new pair by the end of the day they would be ripped somewhere. she had no idea how it happened but it always did
-she wore several rings on both hands and the boys swore they had never seen her without them. sometimes she took them off when she had to write a particularly long essay and Peter would giggle at the tan lines on her hands from them
-after her mom died she took up smoking for a few days to cope. when Remus saw by the lake smoking one he promptly set the entire carton on fire in front of her eyes and she never picked them up again
-her hair was wild and tangled and usually filled with several knots. Sirius was tease her that her hair was worse than James until suddenly his mouth was filled with soap until he took it back
-when she got drunk she shouted the lyrics to her favorite rock and roll songs and made James swing dance with her in the common room in front of all of their friends. she couldn’t dance worth shit but it was really something else to watch her try
-she was a HUGE feminist. she lectured the boys on women’s rights so seventh year they started a S.P.E.W like club for the witches at Hogwarts and Lily beamed proudly as they started informing the other wizard’s about treating the witches with respect
-she cried when she found out she was made head girl. she knew she she had a chance but she had also gotten in trouble her fair share of times and didn’t think Dumbledore would give it to a muggle born because of the war but he did and she cried and had never been more proud of herself
-as soon as she realized she had feelings for James she acted on them because there was a war going on for God’s sake and if she had to watch that sixth year ravenclaw flirt with him one more time she would rip her own hair out
-she knew the other boys had a bet on when she and James would get together and Peter tended to lose these bets so she made sure to let James know how she felt only when she was sure he would win and threw Peter a wink when Sirius and Remus payed up
AKA Start at the Beginning: “A hero would have you locked up for soliciting murder. A vigilante would beat the shit out of you. Now which one am I? Choose. I don’t kill people because I’m not a murderer.”
IF IT HAS BEEN A VERY LONG DAY, YOU ARE ‘WEARY’. IF SOMEONE IS ACTING IN A WAY THAT MAKES YOU SUSPICIOUS, YOU ARE ‘WARY’.
ALL IN ‘DUE’ TIME, NOT ‘DO’ TIME
‘PER SE’ NOT ‘PER SAY’
THANK YOU
BREATHE – THE VERB FORM IN PRESENT TENSE
BREATH – THE NOUN FORM
THEY ARE NOT INTERCHANGEABLE
WANDER – TO WALK ABOUT AIMLESSLY
WONDER – TO THINK OF IN A DREAMLIKE AND/OR WISTFUL MANNER
THEY ARE NOT INTERCHANGEABLE (but one’s mind can wander)
DEFIANT – RESISTANT DEFINITE – CERTAIN
WANTON – DELIBERATE AND UNPROVOKED ACTION (ALSO AN ARCHAIC TERM FOR A PROMISCUOUS WOMAN)
WONTON – IT’S A DUMPLING THAT’S ALL IT IS IT’S A FUCKING DUMPLING
BAWL- TO SOB/CRY
BALL- A FUCKING BALL
YOU CANNOT “BALL” YOUR EYES OUT
AND FOR FUCK’S SAKE, IT’S NOT “SIKE”; IT’S “PSYCH”. AS IN “I PSYCHED YOU OUT”; BECAUSE YOU MOMENTARILY MADE SOMEONE BELIEVE SOMETHING THAT WASN’T TRUE.
THANK YOU.
*slams reblog*
IT’S ‘MIGHT AS WELL’. ‘MIND AS WELL’ DOES NOT MAKE GRAMMATICAL SENSE.
IT’S NOT ‘COULD OF’, THAT DOESN’T MAKE ANY SENSE WHATSOEVER. IT’S ‘COULD HAVE’. SAME APPLIES TO ‘SHOULD HAVE’.
And this is why my students look at me as though I’m the devil when I try to tell them that no i’m not lying this really is a thing
IT’S ‘COULDN’T CARE LESS’ NOT ‘COULD CARE LESS’ IF YOU COULD CARE LESS THAT MEANS YOU CARE
VOILA – ROUGHLY TRANSLATES AS “LOOK AT THAT” (VOI-LA)
VIOLA – AN INSTRUMENT SIMILAR TO THE VIOLIN
WALLAH – MEANINGLESS GIBBERISH AND YOU JUST MADE SOMEONE CRY
HOW ABOUT THESE?
CLOTH – A PIECE OF MATERIAL LIKE COTTON
CLOTHE – TO PUT CLOTHES ON SOMEONE
CLOTHES – THE THINGS TO MAKE SURE YOU’RE NOT NAKED
ALSO IT’S FREAKING “REIN IN YOUR EMOTIONS” LIKE WHAT YOU WOULD DO TO A HORSE NOT “REIGN IN YOUR EMOTIONS” BECAUSE THAT IS THE TIME OF A RULING FOR ROYALTY THE IDIOM IS BASED OFF OF HORSE STUFF!
oh we doing this?? bet!
fiancé/fiancée are loan words from french and are therefore gendered (yeah i know it sucks, blame latin). the former is masculine, so used for male/masc people. femmes use the latter.
in the same vein, widow = femme, widower = masc
(sorry, i’m not currently aware of any gender neutral terms for either of the above terms except maybe betrothed or affianced for engaged people or the bereaved for the Left Behind, but they sound so horribly outdated so idk)
speaking of veins!
vein = blood vessel that carries blood back to the heart, or, in the way i used it above, having a distinctive style or tendency
vain = self-absorbed, conceited
conceited = self-absorbed, vain
conceded = withdrew, gave up, forfeited (i.e., “conceded the point”)
ancestors = those who came before (harriet tubman is my ancestor)
descendants = those who came after (i am a descendant of harriet tubman)
supine = face up, prone = face down
affect = to impact or change (or, in a psychological context, one’s expression of emotion as demonstrated through facial expression, tone of voice, or body language)
effect = the result of a change (or, in verb form, to influence, as in “to effect change”)
preceded = went before (”she preceded him into the room” means she went into the room before he did)
proceeded (i happen to loathe this word but whatever, it’s my issue) = to move forward or to begin or continue a course of action (”she proceeded to jump” is a horrible and jarring way–my issue, sorry–to say she began to jump)
rein = to curb, as in “rein in your emotions”
reign = to rule, like a king (also, a ruler’s period of rule, i.e., beyoncé’s reign is far from over)
shudder = like a shiver, usu. in revulsion or fear
shutter = to close, as in a business when it’s bankrupt. also, a type of window covering
bear with me = be patient with me (alternatively, there is a large ursine animal with me)
bare with me = naked with me
“no one” is two words
so is “a lot”
it is “deep-seated,” not “deep seeded.” the latter applies to gardening.
it was mentioned above, sort of, but the abbreviation of could have is “could’ve.” see also “should’ve,” and “would’ve.”
crap i forgot:
discreet = inconspicuous, low key
discrete = separate, individual
WRITERS THIS IS FOR YALL
Drawer = box insert in furniture that holds items
Draw = verb that can mean to create a picture or to pull something behind you
TAUNT = to tease or goad
TAUT = without any slack or give; drawn tight
TAUGHT = the past tense of “teach”
Fabric, muscles, skin, etc. are not “taught” or “taunt” – they’re taut
And, while we’re on the “aw” sound….
FLAUNT = to show off in an obvious or gaudy manner
FLOUT = to scorn or deride
You don’t “flout” good looks, talent, or money – you “flaunt” them.
AND
While this should probably have its own post because it’s a phrase and not a single word, and is just flat-out wrong instead of a homonym or spelling error, I’m just gonna piggyback it on this one, since it’s making the rounds.
“CROCODILE TEARS” DOES NOT MEAN HUGE, ROUND, FAT TEARS. IT MEANS FAKE, INSINCERE TEARS.Ihave NO idea how fandom got this so wrong and spread it around, but I see it in a LOT of fanfiction.
A man has blond or brunet hair.
A woman has blonde or brunette hair.
They’re French loan words with genders. An “e” at the end means it’s feminine. No “e?” Masculine.
You POUR milk over cereal. Or rain might pour from the sky.
You PORE over something you’re studying closely, like a book or a map. You might also pick at your pores in the mirror.
If your character wants to lie down in bed, he lies down in the present tense, and he lay down if it happened in the past.
Lied applies only to telling a lie, in the past. “I lied when I said I had ten thousand a year.”
In the present, you would lay your belongings down someplace… or set or place them. If you forgot where your gloves were, you would ask if someone recalled where you laid your gloves.
Skip “lain”, unless you really, really need that participle.
If I may add-
THERE: a place, or a gesture in indicate the exsistance of something.
“Her wallet is over there,”
“There are seven candies left”
THEIR: a possession, or used in titles
“Their book is on the table”
“How are Their Majesties?”
THEY’RE: a contraction of they are
“They’re filling water balloons in the back”
(They are filling water balloons in the back)
THESE ARE NOT INTERCHANGEABLE.
I have a good one. PLEASE REMEMBER IT’S A BOWL OF SOUP.
YOU DO NOT WANT TO EAT A BOWEL OF SOUP.
A PART = A FRACTION OF A WHOLE (“I HAVE SEEN A PART OF THAT MOVIE”)
APART = SEPARATE (“THE CITIES ARE 2 MILES APART”), OR EXCEPT (“WE’RE ALL GOING, APART FROM BOB BECAUSE HE HAS WORK”)
APART OF <–NOT A THING. STOP SAYING IT.
A LOT = A LARGE AMOUNT/A GREAT DEAL (“I LIKE THIS SHOW A LOT”)
ALLOT = TO GIVE/APPORTION (“WE WILL ALLOT EQUAL TIME FOR EVERYONE TO COMPLETE THEIR EXAM”)
“I admit,
I was afraid
to love.
Not just love,
but to love her.
For she was a stunning
mystery. She carried things
deep inside her that no one
has yet to understand,
and I,
I was afraid to fail,
like the others. She was the ocean
and i was just a boy
who loved the waves
but was completely
terrified to
swim.”
“You want my opinion? We’re all a little weird. And life is a little weird. And when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall into mutually satisfying weirdness — and call it love — true love.”