Unfortunately, the events of January 6, 2021, prompted me to move this Confusing Words post to the top of the list. My first thought was sadness; my second thought was how encouraging that every headline I saw used the correct word – capitol – when discussing what happened at the building, itself! I know, I’m probably the only person who had that thought 🤨. . .
Capitol, with an “o,” is used to indicate the government building(s). Capital is used to indicate the city where a capitol building is located (i.e. the capital of Florida is Tallahassee).
Knowing that definition, I was confused when answering a crossword puzzle clue about the “capital of Switzerland.” I immediately thought of Bern, but the answer had five letters and the third letter was an A. Hmm . . . it took me a while, but then I remembered another common use of the word capital is to indicate money. Ah hah! Switzerland’s money is the Swiss franc. Puzzle solved.
In 2020, we looked at social or sociable, less or fewer (with which I still have trouble), number or numeral, and historic or historical. More confusing words coming in 2021! Send me ideas for any posts by responding to this post or emailing me directly.
Happy 2021, right?