Revised as of
29 June 2023
Yes, I have run into a few of these cereal vs serial word confusions, but not many. I’m mostly doing a comparison ’cause I like the words . . .!
I do tend to devour books, and I particularly like serials, i.e., books in a series. Easy enough to notice if you look over my list of urban fantasy and paranormal romance series that I’ve read . . . *grin* . . . I have definitely been known to enjoy cookies and milk as I read, but you’ll never find me shredding a book into a bowl and pouring milk and sugar over it! Ick . . . the ink gets all blurry.
If you find you do have a problem telling the difference, remember that cereal and corn both start with a c.
Word Confusions . . .
. . .started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.
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Cereal | Serial |
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— |
|
Part of Grammar: | |
Adjective; Noun
Plural for the noun: cereals |
Adjective; Noun
Plural for the noun: serials |
Adjective: Describes a type of container Noun:
|
Adjective: Consisting of, forming part of, or taking place in a series
[Of a criminal] Repeatedly committing the same offense and typically following a characteristic, predictable behavior pattern
Noun:
|
Examples: | |
Adjective: Grab those cereal boxes. We had low yields for cereal crops this year. Noun: I want cereal! My favorite hot cereal in childhood was Cocoa Wheats. |
Adjective: Magazines are a type of serial publication. They’re calling them serial killings now. Elizabeth Taylor’s short marriages were a type of serial monogamy. He’s a a suspected serial rapist. He was a serial adulterer. One example of using a serial comma is “an Italian painter, sculptor, and architect”. Noun: I recently finished a serial of David Weber’s Honorverse. Someone suffering from OCD is exhibiting serial behavior. “Serial tasking is a kind of hybrid between multitasking and singletasking” (Lee). |
Derivatives: | |
Adjective: noncereal Noun: noncereal |
Adjective: nonserial Adverb: nonserially, serially Noun: nonserial, seriality |
History of the Word: | |
Early 19th century, as an adjective, from the Latin cerealis, from Ceres, the name of the Roman goddess of agriculture. | 1846 from series + -al, perhaps suggested by the French sérial. |
C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!
Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.
Resources for Cereal versus Serial
Apple Dictionary.com
Lee, Joel. “Single- vs. Multitasking: What’s Best for Productivity?” Make Use of.com. 5 August 2015. Web. n.d. <http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/single-vs-multitasking-whats-best-productivity/>.
Pinterest Photo Credits
The “Cereal Killers” post by Mitchell Wells at Horror Society, is a crack-up with sixteen different cereals horrorfied by artist Joe Simko. If you like, you can buy Cereal Killer cards over at Wax-Eye.com. At the least, go have a look, lol. Image used with Simko’s permission.