Word Confusion: Bing versus Binge

Posted April 21, 2016 by Kathy Davie in Author Resources, Self-Editing, Word Confusions, Writing

Revised as of
3 Sept 2022

I was reading along and enjoying the thought of the character enjoying her meal, shoveling it in . . . binging? Binging? Why would she be binging when she’s eating?

I just knew that was wrong. That the proper word was bingeing. And it turns out that I’m half right. The other half? Yep, the half of me that was wrong says binging is the alternative present participle.

So much for my great hoo-rah . . . *eye roll* . . .

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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Bing	Binge
Copper Mining Spoil Heaps, South Caradon Mine, 1978, is courtesy of Crispin Purdye under the CC BY-SA 2.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons. — Copper mining bings.	Seattle Pie-eating Contest is courtesy of Seattle Municipal Archives from Seattle, Washington, 2003, was uploaded by Jmabel and is under the CC BY 2.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons. — Looks like binge eating to me grin!
Part of Grammar:
Exclamation ¹; Noun ², ³, ⁴, ⁵; Verb, intransitive ⁶ Plural for the noun: bings Gerund: binging Third person present verb: bings Past tense or past participle: binged Present participle: binging	[Informal] Noun; Verb, intransitive Plural for the noun: binges Gerund: binging, bingeing Third person present verb: binges Past tense or past participle: binged Present participle: binging, bingeing
Exclamation: Indicating a sudden action or event ¹ Used to suggest a sharp ringing sound Noun: [Chiefly Scottish] A heap, especially of metallic ore or of waste from a mine ² [Dialectal, British] A heap or pile for storage A storage bin [Use an initial cap] A variety of dark red or blackish sweet cherry ³ A search engine on the Internet A packet of narcotics ⁴ [Slang] A prison cell used for solitary confinement ⁵ Verb, intransitive: [Obsolete] To go ⁶ To search for something on the Internet using Bing	Noun: A short period devoted to indulging in an activity to excess, especially drinking alcohol or eating Verb, intransitive: Indulge in an activity, especially eating, to excess To carouse To consume
Examples:
Exclamation: Bing! They’ve hit you with something. Noun: There are bings of old slag a few miles outside of town. That’s some bing of potatoes you’ve got. Proper Noun: Bing Crosby was an amazing singer. Bing is not my preferred search engine. Cherry season is coming up, and I am so looking forward to a bowl full of Bing cherries. Verb, intransitive: Bing off to your mum’s. I’ll bing it. He’s binging the term now.	Noun: He went on a binge and was in no shape to drive. Geez, she’s off on another spending binge. She’s a binge eater, especially with the chocolate. Verb, intransitive: Some dieters say they cannot help bingeing on chocolate. She keeps on bingeing and vomiting every day.
Derivatives:
	Noun: binger, binging
History of the Word:
Late 19th century and originally imitative dialect in the sense of sudden bang. Early 16th century from the Old Norse bingr meaning heap. 1920–25, Americanism. 1920s, bindle. 1950s, prison, the hole. 1560–70, origin uncertain.	Early 19th century is of unknown origin.

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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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