Even the strongest writing can be weakened by small errors. These frequently misused words and phrases slip in unnoticed, diminishing both credibility and impact.
• Gibe and Jibe (and Jive)
If your ideas don’t mesh well, they didn’t jibe (which means they didn’t agree). If they didn’t jive that probably means they needed a lot more rhythm and that guy from Airplane. A “gibe” is a joke or tease.
• Say your piece
If you’re about to “say your piece” that means you’re about to speak aloud a piece of your writing or perhaps give a piece of your mind. You don’t “say your peace”. At a wedding you either “speak now or forever hold your peace”, which means to maintain your silence forever and ever. If you’re “holding your piece” I certainly hope you’re a police officer or in the privacy of your own home.
• Cue and Queue
If you’re standing in line you’re in a queue or “queuing up”. If you’re scheduling a post or piece of content you’re “queuing it up” or “putting it in the queue”. It’s such a strange word to look at and type, but it has French origins and is correct in these contexts when you mean to put something into a schedule or process. Cues are things such as pool sticks and indicators for actors to speak their parts.
• Case in point
This is often confused as “case and point”, but that’s incorrect. We don’t really use the phrase “in point” much anymore; that’s kind of old English usage when discussing something that’s relevant. But the correct phrase is “a case in point” when you’re giving an example to support something you’re talking about.
• Toe the line
You don’t tow it, unless your surname is Mater (wink). Toeing the line is about teetering on the edge of that line so closely that you’re near to stepping over it. Sassy people like me toe the line often and nearly get into trouble. But not quite. Mostly.
• If you don’t mind my asking…
This one is a bit obscure and little-known, and one of those rules where – when you use it correctly – people are probably going to think you’re expressing it wrongly when you’re one of the few doing so correctly.
The grammatical form at play here is called a gerund, or a “verbal noun” (a verb used nominally or as a noun), where one adds -ing to the verb (as in the present tense), preceded by “my” denoting possession; after all, the “asking” belongs to me, not you. This instead of “if you don’t mind me asking”, a common misuse. This is another example of the finer points of English.
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