Revised as of
8 July 2023
She one the first prize for baked goods at the County Fair. Now, I’m not sure if the writer missed a few words, such as “she was the one who won the first prize” or if the writer didn’t realize that to have won something is pretty special and may result in a first place ribbon.
What I do know is that it threw me off my reading stride.
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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Part of Grammar: | |
Cardinal Number 1; Determiner 1; Pronoun 1; Suffix 2 | Morpheme: win
Noun 1 Plural for the noun: wins, won [Archaic] Gerund: winning, wonning [Archaic] Verb 2, intransitive 3 & transitive Third person present verb: wins, wons [Archaic] 3 |
Cardinal Number: The lowest cardinal number 1
Determiner:
Distinct from all others
A specified person, item, etc., as distinct from another or others of its kind
Pronoun: A person of a specified kind
[Third person singular] Used to refer to the speaker, or any person, as representing people in general Suffix: [Chemistry] Forming nouns denoting various compounds, especially ketones 2 |
Noun: The basic monetary unit of North and South Korea 1 Verb, intransitive: [win someone over] Gain the support or favor of someone by action or persuasion [win out] Manage to succeed or achieve something by effort [Archaic] To dwell 3
Verb, transitive: Acquire or secure as a result of a contest, conflict, bet, or other endeavor Gain a person’s attention, support, or love, typically gradually or by effort [win someone over] Gain the support or favor of someone by action or persuasion [Archaic] Manage to reach a place by effort
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Examples: | |
Cardinal Number: There’s only room for one person. Two could live as cheaply as one. It’s only another one hundred miles. World War I was referred to as the War to End All Wars. I need a one-bedroom apartment. They would straggle home in ones and twos. Her one concern is to save her daughter. Electronics is one of his hobbies. He put one hand over her shoulder and one around her waist. It looks like a glass tube closed at one end. It happened one afternoon in late October. He worked as a clerk for one Mr. Ming. The actor was one smart-mouthed troublemaker. He was one hell of a snappy dresser. All types of training meet one common standard. He’s a one-year-old. What can one expect? It’s half past one. I’ll be there at one. I’ll want a cool one after a day on the water. Did you hear the one about the chicken farmer and the spaceship? Yeah, right. She wears a one. Determiner: One is enough for now. Come in one at a time. Have you seen a one-eyed dog? He’s a one-legged man. She’s one girl in a million. That boy is one of a kind. Raise one hand and then the other . . . Which one is correct? Pronoun: It was her best apron, the white one. Do you want one? You’re the one who ruined her life! Eleanor was never one to be trifled with. My friends and loved ones were there for my birthday party. You never saw such a one for figures. One must admire him for his willingness. One gets the impression that he is ahead of the game. Suffix: “Quinones often serve as indicators that change in physical appearance, e.g., color, at or approaching the end point of a chemical titration, e.g., on the passage between acidity and alkalinity as are some chemical indicators of acidity or alkalinity and various dyes used to color certain types of fabrics” (Devi). “High ketone levels make your blood too acidic” (Ketones). |
Noun: A won is equal to 100 jun in North Korea and 100 jeon in South Korea. Verb, intransitive: Talent won out over bureaucracy. “Here advantage is that they lerneth hir grammer in lasse tyme, than children were wonned to doo” (Webster). Verb, transitive: The Pirates won 2–1. There are hundreds of prizes to be won. It was the sort of play that won them the World Cup. He won back their attention. Her sense of humor had won him over at once. Many had strived, but only one won the great contest. |
Derivatives: | |
Adjective: one-armed, one-click, one-dimensional, one-down, one-handed, one-horse, one-legged, one-man, one-off, one-parent, one-party, one-piece, one-pub, one-shot, one-sided, one-size-fits-all, one-star, one-step, one-stop, one-tailed, one-time, one-touch, one-way, one-woman, one-world, onefold Adverb: one-handed, one-sidedly Noun: one-design, one-dimensionality, one-eighty, one-liner, one-lunger, one-nighter, one-off, one-on-one, one-piece, one-step, one-teacher, one-to-one, one-track mind, one-trick pony, one-two, one-upmanship, one-worlder, one-worldism, oneness, oner, onesie Pronoun: oneself Verb: one-up, one-upped, one-upping |
Adjective: winless, winnable |
History of the Word: | |
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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.
Resources for One versus Won
Apple Dictionary.com
Devi, S.S. and H.M. Mehendale. “Quinone.” Encyclopedia of Toxicology, ed. 3 Science Direct. 2014. Web. 11 Dec 2022. <https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/quinone>. PDF.
Dictionary.com: won
Harbeck, James. “I Only Wanted to Explain This.” Sesquiotic. 16 Apr 2014. Web. n.d. <http://sesquiotic.wordpress.com/2014/04/16/i-only-wanted-to-explain-this/>.
“Ketones in Blood.” Medical Tests. MedlinePlus. n.d. Web. 11 Dec 2022. <https://medlineplus.gov/lab-tests/ketones-in-blood/>.
Webster, Noah. Dissertations on the English Language. Boston: Isaiah Thomas and Company, 1783. Project Gutenberg, 2014. <https://www.gutenberg.org/files/45738/45738-h/45738-h.htm>. PDF.
Pinterest Photo Credits
Kimi Raikkonen Won 2007 Brazil GP Side is Morio‘s own work and is under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons.