Wednesday's Words & Woes: Coarse and Course
?? Susan Rooks ?? The Grammar Goddess
Editor / Proofreader of business, nonfiction, and podcast content. ??BIZCATALYST 360° Columnist ????The Oxford Comma????Solopreneur??NOT A PODCASTER ??Dog Lover??Spunky Old Broad ??
Of course we're going to learn two more words today: It's Wednesday! And these two are featured today because I saw one of them misused in a post recently and realized that again -- someone depended on SPELLCHECK to do more than it can do . . . now, no coarse words, please!
Coarse (adj.) means many things including
- having a rough texture (coarse cloth)
- having large particles (coarse sand)
- lacking delicacy or fineness (coarse features)
- lacking in refinement or good taste; vulgar; crude (coarse joke)
Course can be a noun or a verb.
As a noun, it can mean
- a class you take in school (a grammar course)
- a specific path to follow (a race course)
- a way something progresses (in the course of time)
- a regular manner of procedure (the law must take its course)
As a verb, it can mean
- to proceed
- to hunt game with dogs (to course greyhounds after rabbits)
- to run or flow (the water coursed through the gullies)
Simple words, but if we're not paying attention -- or if we just didn't know there were two of them with an identical sound -- we can end up with the wrong one. That is and always will be the difficulty with homophones, so writers need to stay alert (or hire a really good proofreader).
For all of the various definitions of these or any other words you're not sure of, check yourdictionary.com -- it gives readers three or four dictionaries' definitions of the same words. I use it all the time (of course I do!).
What other words make you crazy? What else have you seen misused?
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Posts you may have missed last month
American Grammar Checkup: The Continuing Perils of Trusting Spellcheck
Tuesday's Tricksters, January 5
Wednesday's Words & Woes: Advice / Advise
Happy Friday to You!
American Grammar Checkup: Capital Letters
Tuesday's Tricksters, January 12
Wednesday's Word & Woes: Advice & Advise
Friday Fun Food Day, January 15
Monday's Grammar Checkup: QUIZ on Lie & Lay
Here We Go: Tuesday's Tricksters, January 19
Wednesday's Words & Woes: A Lot, Allot, Alot
Another Friday Funday, January 22
American Grammar Checkup: Another American Grammar Quiz!
Wednesday's Words & Woes: Loose & Lose
Oh! Look! It's a Frozen, Fabulous, Friday Funday!
February's Offerings So Far
American Grammar Checkup: It's a Numbers Game
Tuesday's Tricksters, February 2: Finally Some F Words!
Wednesday's Words & Woes: Their, There, They're
It's February. It's Freezing. It's Friday Funday!
American Grammar Checkup: Pity the Poor Semicolon!
Tuesday's Tricksters, February 9
Wednesday's Words & Woes: Peak, Peek, Pique
Beyond Grammar: 5 Ways to Make Your Posts Look More Professional
Frozen, Frigid, Friday Fun Day
Silly Sunday: Happy Valentine's Day!
American Grammar Checkup: Ellipsis Marks (aka Ellipses) -- Think THREE
Wednesday's Words & Woes: Breath, Breathe, Breadth
Thursday's Thoughts: Hiding Behind the Cloak of Invisibility
Another February Friday Food Funday!
Another Silly Saturday: The Animal Kingdom
American Grammar Checkup: Quiz Time on Colons and Semicolons
Tuesday's Tricksters, February 23
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As an international corporate trainer, I have worked worldwide for nearly 20 years creating and leading American grammar (U.S. only), business writing, and a variety of interpersonal communication skills workshops. I am also a copy editor and proofreader, mainly of business-related materials. My home base is in Massachusetts, but I will travel anywhere to help business professionals look and sound as smart as they are.
Author
9 年Susan, your articles are so helpful and educational, as well. I have frequently seen misuse of words, which I believe a lot errors can be attributed to rushing and not enough proof reading. Using spell check isn't the perfect solution and proof reading your own work has it's drawbacks. It is easy to not catch your own mistakes. I frequently see misuse of lose and loose, if you need another example.
PxDx - Patient and Digital Experience ( Amazingly Challenging Role & Re-Inventing.....(REI))
9 年Thanks for the post and enjoyed comments too. If definition is your post, examples are the comments ...
Coarse Course - AKA rough road. And this post reminded me of a previous life when I was an advertising copywriter (however briefly). I wanted to use a phrase like "spirit of energy coursing through your veins." The boss had never heard of coursing as a verb, and he was quite convinced I was dumb that day. "Coursing" got changed to "flowing" or "running," and the excitement of the phrase largely drained away in my estimation.
Server | Follower | Leader
9 年Of course there shall be no coarse words for you, Susan Rooks! Therefore, spread your course by making coarse managers sound as smart as of course they really are. Eventually, as you've reached the end of your course, you may retire and run the course of lying on the coarse sands of the beach. Finally, while watching the tidal course and listening to the calm sounds as they break upon the coarse rocky shoals, you shall find peace of course! I need a life! Ha! or get a Writing career with Dr. Seuss books, OF COURSE!
Quality Analyst: Saving the World, One Graph at a Time.
9 年When I saw your title my first thought was to offer a class on sand paper -- a course on coarseness, of course.