Cut That Jive: Commonly Confused Word Sets
Some words sound so similar that they are mistaken for one another. Jive, jibe, and gibe fall into this category. I am also including a few other word pairs that I have recently seen abused in business writing.
Jive (verb, adjective or noun)
Slang meaning to speak (to) in a way that is exaggerated, insincere, flippant, etc., esp. in trying to fool or mislead.
Are you jiving me?
Don't give me that jive talk!
What kind of jive is that?
This word does not belong in business correspondence, including email.
Jibe (verb)
This was originally a sailing term that means to change the course of a ship so that the sails shift. In common usage, jibe is an informal term meaning to be in harmony, agreement, or accord: often used with with.
These invoices don't jibe with the balance sheet we received.
His account of the conversation doesn't jibe with hers.
You know the numbers won't jibe when we finally do the audit, so quit jiving me!
Gibe (jīb) (verb or noun)
He couldn't resist making little gibes at her every time she tried to make a point.
Your continual gibing is making the office into a hostile work environment.
I'm not jiving you now – quit making all those gibes!
Someone wrote to me recently to "complement" me on my "blogg". The kind thought was appreciated; the wrong word choices were not. He wanted to compliment me on my blog – and I hope you will too. (Visit www.worktalk.com/blog) Here's the distinction:
Complement (noun or verb) means allowing completion or the process of perfecting something.
They received a full complement of serving pieces for their wedding.
That scarf really complements your outfit.
Compliment (noun or verb) is a formal act of praise or congratulation.
The guests sent the gifts with their compliments.
I complimented her on her scarf.
So don't write complementary hors d'oeuvres will be served unless you have color-coordinated the food with the room decor.
And someone recently posted to a LinkedIn group: Do you have problems getting information about a perspective employer? Alas, unless he was writing to professional draftsmen, he was not talking about perspective employers; he meant prospective employers. Here is the difference between these two words:
To have or to use perspective (noun) means to view or depict all the elements of a scene in a way that shows an understanding of their inter-relationships.
Prospective (adjective) means likely to happen in the future.
When a prospective employer promises that its stock options are sure to triple in value, be sure to view that promise from the perspective of recent economic history.
What other words do you see commonly misused? Write to me at lizd @worktalk.com and I'll set the world straight in a Writamin. And that is no jive.
copyright 2010 Elizabeth Danziger
Questions and Answers
I'm not always grammatically correct and I often question whether or not I have chosen the correct word, punctuation or sentence structure. I also use the internet every day and so naturally whenever I have a question I head on over to Google (or open Firefox where Google is my homepage) and do a search. Over the course of my Google-ing journeys I have found some consistently great grammar websites that I often reference when I have a question.
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