Word Confusion: Grill versus Grille

Revised as of
22 Nov 2022

This one does crack me up. Oh, not because of the word confusion as either spelling seems to be acceptable, but the whole idea of grilles for your teeth. I mean, ewww. I’m not sayin’ they’re wrong. And I am at that age that most would consider me an old fart, so that may well have a bearing on my opinions, but I think those ostentatious grilles are so tacky. And how do you clean in between them and your teeth? Do you get caught in someone’s grille if you get to kissing them too intensely? Can you imagine picking out grilled corn kernels from in between?

If I’m gonna get excited about grilles, it’ll be because some beautifully ornate grilles are covering the heat vents in my friends’ house. Or checkin’ out the grilles on a hot car. I see grilles on somebody’s teeth, my first reaction is gonna be “huh”? My second reaction? Laughter followed by snickers. Hmmm, Snickers, gotta go. Gotta find my stash . . .

Yeah, I get excited about grills too. Mmm, mm, mmmm . . . Steaks, hamburgers, grilled veggies . . . yum! Just don’t grill me on my favorite grilled foods!

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. Consider sharing this Word Confusion with friends by tweeting it.

Grill	Grille
BBQ by Martin Steiger is under the CC0 license, via Wikimedia Commons. — A Weber grill cooking meats.	Vintage Car at an Exhibition, 2004, Dülmen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, by Dietmar Rabich is under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons. — Looks like a cheerful grille to me.
Part of Grammar:
Noun; Verb, transitive Plural for the noun: grills Gerund: grilling Third person present verb: grills Past tense or past participle: grilled Present participle: grilling Variant spelling of: grille	Noun 1, 2 Plural: grilles
Noun: A metal framework used for cooking food over an open fire A gridiron A portable device for cooking outdoors, consisting of a metal framework placed over charcoal or gas fuel A dish of food, especially meat, cooked using a grill [Also grill room] A restaurant serving grilled food Verb, transitive: Cook something using a grill [Informal] Subject someone to intense questioning or interrogation	A grating or screen of metal bars or wires, placed in front of something as protection or to allow ventilation or discreet observation 1 The front opening on a car or truck designed to allow air to pass through to the engine and radiator [Frequently spelled grill] Your mouth, teeth 2 A cosmetic dental apparatus or any number of such apparatii affixed to the central and lateral incisors for purposes of “blinging”
Examples:
Noun: Dean better clean the grill before our barbecue this weekend. Tom is looking forward to a summer of grilled steak. I love the Chipotle Mexican Grill. They faced a grilling over the latest results. Verb, transitive: Grill the salmon for about five minutes. We were grilled about the party by his dad.	My husband is going to kill me. I dented the grille on his Mercedes. Many historic homes have decorative grilles over their heating vents. I just ordered a new racing grille for my Civic. Man, you gettin’ all up in my grille! My grampa just got a gold grille for his dentures, and damn do they shine.
Derivatives:
Noun: griller	Noun: griller, grilling, grillwork
History of the Word:
Mid-17th century from the French gril (noun), griller (verb), from the Old French graille meaning grille.	Its first known use was in 1686. Mid-17th century from the French, from the medieval Latin craticula, a diminutive of cratis meaning hurdle. Early 1980s.

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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.

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Resources for Grill versus Grille

Apple Dictionary.com

Urban Dictionary: grille

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Pinterest Photo Credits

Grills by John FeinsteinCalliopejen at en.wikipedia (flickr photoTransferred from en.wikipedia) under the CC BY 2.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons. I can’t find the original convertible photo.