Brian Garner, editor of Garner's Modern American Usage, has devised what he calls "Murphy's Law of Language," where two words that CAN be confused WILL BE confused.

These calamitous entanglements often stem from outright theft. A common word steals the meaning of a more obscure word, as when a narrow passageway is called a "shoot" instead of "chute," a person is described as "pouring" over a book instead of "poring," or a stream is said to be "teaming" with trout instead of "teeming."

In other cases, a rarely used, highfalutin word absorbs the meaning of a more pedestrian word. For instance:

— "Reticent," which originally meant "reserved, restrained," has come to mean "reluctant," e.g., "She was reticent to come with us."

— "Comprise," which originally meant "to consist of," is used to mean "to compose," e.g., "Five boroughs comprise New York City" vs. the correct "New York City comprises five boroughs."

— "Proscribe," which means "to prohibit," is used to mean the exact opposite, e.g., "The doctor proscribed a new medication to treat my rash."

In other cases, a word steals the meaning of a similar-sounding word with a slightly similar meaning:

— "Precipitous" means "steep, perpendicular," like a precipice, and describes physical objects. The adjective "precipitate" means "sudden, hasty, rash," and describes actions or decisions.

While "precipitous" and "precipitate" share shades of similar meanings (dramatic, sudden, risky), that doesn't excuse the widespread use of "precipitous" to mean "precipitate," e.g., "The precipitous actions of the CEO led to bankruptcy."

— The adjective "forbidding," derived from the verb "forbid," originally meant "difficult, impossible," as in a "forbidding wall" or a "forbidding mountain."

But in recent decades "forbidding" has adopted the meaning of the adjective "foreboding," which means indicative of coming evil, as in "a foreboding sign." So now you're likely to hear of a "forbidding prediction" or a "forbidding forecast."

— "Home in on" means to focus one's attention or one's direction on a single object, just as a homing pigeon heads home. "Hone" means to sharpen, either literally or figuratively, e.g., "He honed his plan as he honed his knife."

Because "home in on" and "hone" share a similar sense of concentrating, bringing something to a point, many people use "hone in on" when they mean "home in on."

A homing pigeon who winged back to the nest and announced, "Honey, I'm honed!" would be a very sharp pigeon indeed.

Rob Kyff, a teacher and writer in West Hartford, Conn., invites your language sightings. His book, "Mark My Words," is available for $9.99 on Amazon.com. Send your reports of misuse and abuse, as well as examples of good writing, via e-mail to [email protected] or by regular mail to Rob Kyff, Creators Syndicate, 737 3rd Street, Hermosa Beach, CA 90254.

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