Writing for Business - A Whatis.com Blog:

commonly confused terms


May 3, 2013  2:09 PM

Tie me over vs. tide me over; also: the importance of fact-checking



Posted by: Ivy Wigmore
commonly confused terms, meanings of common expressions

Which is correct? I forgot to buy coffee last night and now this single cup will have to ___________ until the store opens. a. tie me over b. tide me over

February 5, 2013  12:30 PM

Bona fide vs. bonified: Surprise! “Bonified” is a word .



Posted by: Ivy Wigmore
archaic words and phrases, common misspellings, commonly confused terms, Latin phrases, legal words and phrases

Which is correct? Amid all the vendor hype, it's hard to understand the ________ benefits of cloud computing. a. bona fide b. bonified


January 21, 2013  10:22 PM

Do you reap what you sow or what you sew?



Posted by: Ivy Wigmore
CIO, commonly confused terms, commonly misspelled words, commonly misunderstood phrases, spelling

Which is correct? Microsoft has often been accused of ______ FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) to keep customers leery of switching to competitor's products. a. sowing b. sewing


November 7, 2012  11:40 AM

Which is larger: a 180 degree change or a 360 degree change?



Posted by: Ivy Wigmore
commonly confused terms, commonly misunderstood phrases

Which is correct? IT consumerization represents a _______ change in the flow of technology innovation -- a complete reversal of the way it used to go. a....


July 29, 2012  5:53 PM

Ingenuous or ingenious — what’s the difference?



Posted by: Ivy Wigmore
CIO, common misspellings, commonly confused terms, commonly confused words, commonly misunderstood terms, word meanings

Which is correct? The reason spam continues to make money for the people who send it is that a tiny number of recipients are _________ enough to respond to it. The trick is to send out a large enough volume...


July 29, 2012  10:52 AM

Quiz: Commonly confused words



Posted by: Ivy Wigmore
CIO, commonly confused terms, commonly confused words, Quiz

It's a wonderful thing, in many ways, but the Internet has a lot to answer to in other areas -- grammar not the least of them. We've got eggcorns, words that were created from mistakes, and bizarre misunderstandings that the Web seems to spread, if not actively promote. Can you select the...


July 27, 2012  3:34 PM

What’s the difference between an architecture and an infrastructure?



Posted by: Ivy Wigmore
commonly confused terms, commonly confused words, the difference between, word meanings

Which is correct? In information technology, an ___________ specifies the overall structure, logical components, and the logical interrelationships of an information system. a. architecture b. infrastructure


June 18, 2012  9:37 AM

A piece or apiece?



Posted by: Ivy Wigmore
commonly confused terms, ESL, grammar, one word or two, word meanings

Which is correct? The iPhone cases that are retailing for $45 were manufactured for $1 ______. a. a piece b. apiece


May 30, 2012  5:17 PM

Forego or forgo?



Posted by: Ivy Wigmore
commonly confused terms, commonly misspelled words, spelling

Which is correct? "We don't know whether platform or service is the direction enterprises are going to go —...


May 4, 2011  8:37 PM

Express / expressed



Posted by: Ivy Wigmore
Business writing, CIO, commonly confused terms, express permission or expressed permission, grammar

typing Which is correct? The copyright...