Oddly enough, writers seem to confuse this word confusion offpudding and off-putting. I’m gonna assume they’re hungry when they make this mistake.
The best I can say about offpudding is confusing it with off-putting because of unclear pronunciation. Or they’re on a diet and they are off pudding.
Off-putting is hyphenated and not run together and, like this post, annoying.
Um, no, this is not about golf.
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.
If you found this post on “Offpudding versus Off-putting” interesting, consider subscribing to KD Did It, if you’d like to track this post for future updates.
| Offpudding | Off-putting |
|---|---|
|
 — |
| Part of Grammar: | |
| Adjective | |
| Adjective: Unpleasant, disconcerting, or repellent Provoking uneasiness, dislike, annoyance, or repugnance |
|
| Examples: | |
| Adjective: His scar is somewhat off-putting. She was rankled by the off-putting remarks. Many people find the smell of this product off-putting. It’s very off-putting to see him do that |
|
| Derivatives: | |
| Adverb: off-puttingly | |
| History of the Word: | |
| 1820–30; off + putting, after the verb phrase put off. | |
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, Building Your Website, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Marketing Help & Resources, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, and/or Writing Ideas and Resources.
Resources for Offpudding versus Off-putting
Some of these links may be affiliate links, and I will earn a small percentage, if you should buy it. It does not affect the price you pay.
Apple Dictionary.com
The Free Dictionary: off-putting
Pinterest Photo Credits
Lego Mess by Luca Masters is under the CC BY 2.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons.
