rob/steal ROB/STEAL When you rob a bank, you steal its money. You can’t rob the money itself. The stuff taken in a robbery is always stolen, not “robbed." List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/rob.html03/09/2005 15:39:51 role/roll ROLE/ROLL An actor plays a role. Bill Gates is the entrepreneur” s role model. But you eat a sausage on a roll and roll out the barrel. List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/role.html03/09/2005 15:39:51 root/rout/route ROOT/ROUT/ROUTE You can root for your team (cheer them on) and hope that they utterly smash their opponents (create a rout), then come back in triumph on Route 27 (a road). List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/root.html03/09/2005 15:39:51 sacred/scared SACRED/SCARED This is one of those silly typos which your spelling checker won’t catch: gods are sacred, the damned in Hell are scared. List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/sacred.html03/09/2005 15:39:51 sacreligious SACRELIGIOUS SACRILEGIOUS Doing something sacrilegious involves committing sacrilege. Don’t let the related word “religious” trick you into misspelling the word as "sacreligious." List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/sacreligious.html03/09/2005 15:39:52 safety deposit box SAFETY DEPOSIT BOX SAFE-DEPOSIT BOX “Safety” is rarely pronounced very differently from “safe-D” so it is natural that many people suppose they are hearing the word at the beginning of this phrase, but the correct expression is in fact “safe-deposit box." List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/safety.html03/09/2005 15:39:52 sail/sale/sell SAIL/SALE/SELL These simple and familiar words are surprisingly often confused in writing. You sail a boat which has a sail of canvas. You sell your old fondue pot at a yard sale. List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/sail.html03/09/2005 15:39:52 salsa sauce SALSA SAUCE SALSA “Salsa” is Spanish for “sauce,” so “salsa sauce” is redundant. Here in the U.S., where people now spend more on salsa than on ketchup (or catsup, if you prefer), few people are unaware that it’s a sauce. Anyone so sheltered as not to be aware of that fact will need a fuller explanation: “chopped tomatoes, onions, chilies and cilantro." List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/salsa.html03/09/2005 15:39:52 same difference SAME DIFFERENCE This is a jokey, deliberately illogical slang expression that doesn’t belong in formal writing. List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/samedifference.html03/09/2005 15:39:53 sarcastic SARCASTIC/IRONIC Not all ironic comments are sarcastic. Sarcasm is meant to mock or wound. Irony can be amusing without being maliciously aimed at hurting anyone. List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/sarcastic.html03/09/2005 15:39:53