Revised as of
4 July 2023
It does seem reasonable to confuse a fairy crossing with a ferry crossing except the fairy version has less water, in fact, it doesn’t have any water . . . just those mushrooms to make it a fairy ring that will ferry you to Fairy in this pair of heterographs.
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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| Fairy | Ferry |
|---|---|
Fairy Fantasy Magic bt diego9687 is in the public domain, via Pixabay. |
Buena Vista Ferry 06774 is Walter Siegmund’s own work under the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation, via Wikimedia Commons. — The Buena Vista ferry as seen from the east landing on the Willamette River in Oregon. |
| Part of Grammar: | |
| Adjective; Noun
Plural for the noun: fairies |
Noun; Verb, intransitive & transitive Plural for the noun: ferries Third person present verb: ferries |
| Adjective: Belonging to, resembling, or associated with fairies Of the nature of a fairy
Resembling a fairy or fairies, especially in being enchanted or delicate Noun: [Informal; extremely offensive] Contemptuous slang for feminine-like male homosexual A medium yellow-green color |
Noun: A boat or ship for conveying passengers and goods, especially over a relatively short distance and as a regular service
Such a service
A legal right to charge for transporting passengers by boat Verb, intransitive: Verb, transitive:
|
| Examples: | |
| Adjective: Ye canna use fairy gold. She must be using fairy magic. Yes, Cinderella, I am your fairy godmother. Noun: Stories that include fairies are within the fantasy genre. Gads, he’s such a fairy. Did you ever see such a fairy? Ach, that one. She’s away with the fairies, she is. It was a lovely fairy green she used in the bedroom. |
Noun: We’ll have to hustle to catch the last ferry. Using the ferry is such a quick way to cross the Channel and keep one’s car. Commuters between Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx have the option of using the ferry to get into Manhattan. Charon is the ferryman in Greek mythology who ferries the dead over the river to their fate. Verb, intransitive: The cars were ferried across the river. Verb, transitive: Helicopters ferried 4,000 men into the desert. In Naomi Novik’s Temeraire series, dragons were used to ferry army troops into battle. |
| Derivatives: | |
| Adjective: fairylike Noun: fae, fairyland, fay |
Adjective: unferried Noun: ferryboat, ferryman, ferrymen |
| History of the Word: | |
| Middle English and denoting fairyland or fairies collectively and from the Old French faerie, which is from fae meaning a fairy, from the Latin fata (meaning the Fates), which is the plural of fatum. | Middle English from the Old Norse ferja meaning ferryboat is of Germanic origin and related to fare. |
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 Fairy versus Ferry
Apple Dictionary.com
Merriam-Webster: ferry
Pinterest Photo Credits:
The Butterfly Ferry (a fairy on a butterfly postcard used in 1938; <http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ida-Outhwaite-Elves-Fairies-Series-72-The-Butterfly-Ferry-Fairy-on-Butterfly-/272693098856?hash=item3f7dc67968>) is part of Ida Outhwaite’s Elves Fairies Series 72 and is available (as of 22 June 2017) on eBay through Kent Renshaw with Potlatch Traders Postcards.
