Little Book of Confusables

11 things you didn’t know about The Little Book of Confusables

Think The Little Book of Confusables is just a book about words? Think again. Here are 11 surprising reasons to buy the fun, invaluable guide to commonly confused words.

1) It’ll save you time

Mental block? Need to check which spelling you need? It’s quicker to get the answer you need using The Little Book of Confusables than Google.

Copywriter Matt Phil Carver put the book to the test and reported in his five-star review that it’s more than twice as quick as Googling.

Here’s Matt’s review…

Five star review of The Little Book of Confusables from Matt Phil Carver


2) It’s a godsend for comms teams

Comms teams, marketing departments, small business owners… make that anyone who writes.

Clare Laxton, Director of Communications and Influencing at Pause, tweeted:


Learning English as a foreign language? The Little Book of Confusables isn’t just a fab resource for translators and interpreters – it’s great for EFL students, and teachers, too.

Canadian reader, Jacqui, describes it as:

“Brilliantly laid out and a great addition to my writing guides collection. I highly recommend it for linguists and even ESL teachers.”

While MDGB says:

“As an in-house translator, colleagues regularly ask me to cast an eye over documents. An accessible usage guide as a desktop reference is very useful particularly as people ‘mishear’ a phrase that they wish to use. There are also helpful tips to help remember which homonym to use. Useful also for native speakers encountering the onset of language depletion in their mother tongue.”

Just four months after launch, The Little Book of Confusables has sold in 18 countries around the world:

Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Tenerife, the UK and the US.


5) Language professionals swear by it

Copywriters, editors, proofreaders, translators, marketing managers, authors… you’ll find glowing five-star reviews from all of them.

Because we all have language blindspots.

Tom Albrighton, author of How To Write Clearly, says:

“Every writer – in fact, everyone who writes – needs a copy of this book on their desk. It’s comprehensive, authoritative and, most importantly, great fun to read.”

Anna Gunning, director of Gunning Marketing, says:

“This book is amazing – no matter how many years you’ve been writing and no matter how much of a grammar nerd you are. It’s a book to keep next to your computer at all times.”


6) It’s jam-packed with commonly confused words

Almost 600, to be precise.

Starting with the obvious homophones, including AFFECT/EFFECT, PRINCIPAL/PRINCIPLE, ELICIT/ILLICIT and COMPLIMENT/COMPLEMENT.

Then there are the mishearings, like DAMPSQUID, DOGGY-DOG WORLD, WHITE AS A SHEEP and OUTER-BODY EXPERIENCE.

Finally, the word pairs that get misused time and again – from ACUTE/CHRONIC and LEND/BORROW to LIBEL/SLANDER and POISONOUS/VENOMOUS.

What’s your language blindspot? And which words have you been misusing your whole life?


7) It really is little!

Despite having 300+ pages, The Little Book of Confusables is a pocket-sized, easy-to-grab paperback.

Kirsty Brooks, owner of Little Batch, calls it:

“Concise yet packed. Chunky, yet pocket-sized. The best bits of Sarah’s Instagram tips in a cute and chunky book!”

And copywriter, Cat Roberts Young, says:

“No writer, English speaker or English language learner should be without a copy of this book. All the answers, perfectly pocket-sized, in a book that will never leave your desk.”

(You can even stand it up on your desk like a paperweight, should you wish to. Win–win.)


8) It’ll make you laugh

Yes, The Little Book of Confusables is a deliciously nerdy, wordy reference book, but don’t expect it to be dull!

It’s packed full of quirky, witty wordiness that’ll make you laugh out loud while you learn.

From examples like TORTUOUS/TORTUROUS/TORTOISE/TOTORO and WARRIOR/WORRIER/WARIO (and his world-famous fictional moustache) to catchy ways to remember the spellings that catch you out Every. Single. Time.

Sophie says:

“I didn’t realise until my mid-twenties that saying ‘bare with me’ was wrong and that it’s actually ‘bear with me’. I’d been propositioning people inappropriately for years! Loving this book as my new handy sidekick to avoid similar mistakes in future, and it’s got some brilliantly funny examples too!”

And Anne says:

“The definitions are silly and memorable and I will go back to this book just to remind myself of some of the differences – venomous/poisonous, marinade/marinate… but I’ll also go back to it for a giggle. Using sci fi, computer games, rappers… Ms Townsend entertains while making a point.”

JESTER of goodwill, anyone?!


9) It’s a fab gift

The Little Book of Confusables was awarded best stocking filler in the Christmas issue of WI Life magazine.

With a circulation of 200k, that’s a lot of stockings.

Nic H says:

“My 7 year old son and I read through this book together. We not only had a lot of fun but we learned some stuff i.e. became less confused about confusing words! This is a really nice stocking filler.”

And Eriketo says:

“Can’t recommend this book highly enough. Even if you don’t think you need it, you definitely do. And get one for all of your team/family/friends too while you’re at it.”

(Someone described it as ‘the perfect toilet book’. I didn’t know whether to be flattered or insulted – but apparently, that’s a good thing. If you’re into trivia and “I did NOT know that!” moments, you’ll love it.)


10) Your kids will pinch it 

One dad says:

“This cracking little book by Sarah Townsend is MAGICAL for keeping in the car. Especially on drives and school runs with the kids. A super-accessible format! It’s like having a stash of word Haribos on hand to whip out whenever the kids are getting a bit bored.”

I’m not an academic or an English graduate. Instead, I’ve 30+ years’ experience of using real-world, human language to help businesses get noticed – so The Little Book of Confusables is always accessible.

Claire Handscomb says:

“I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It should be on every desk or bookshelf and on the essential reading list in every university. However good we think we are at writing, we all need a little help with some of the idiosyncrasies of the English language!”

And input from my 19-year-old son before he headed to uni (to study English and creative writing, appropriately) means The Little Book of Confusables is down with the kids.

Or whatever the kids are saying these days.


11) It’s gorgeous 

Author of The Creative Nudge, Kevin Chesters describes The Little Book of Confusables as:

“The perfect mix of aesthetic and usability! I love it. You’ll keep returning again and again.”

Copywriter Catherine Every, says:

“What a brilliant little book that I suspect will spend more time on my desk than on my bookshelf! It’s a gorgeous thing too, with a distinctive size and a fabulous typeface, so it’s just lovely to browse through.”

I’ll leave the last word to William Morris:

“Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.”

The Little Book of Confusables is both. You’ll wonder how you ever managed without it.


Treat yourself or your team to a copy of The Little Book of Confusables from Amazon, or get a signed copy direct from me and end the confusion in your life!


 

Lets vs let’s: simple tips to remember the difference

Do you know when the word LETS needs an apostrophe and when it doesn’t? Let’s take a look at the difference (see what I did there?).

When to use LETS without an apostrophe

LETS and LET’S both have the same root word: LET, which means allow, or permit.

Without the apostrophe, LETS is the third-person singular present tense form of the verb LET.

Use it in sentences where LETS can be replaced with either ALLOWS or PERMITS.

For example:

The key LETS you unlock the door.

The app LETS you meet new people.

When to use LET’S with an apostrophe

LET’S with an apostrophe is a contraction of two words: LET and US.

Use it when you’re encouraging someone to do something.

For example:

LET’S go to the pub.

LET’S buy a drink.

LET’S do it.

LET’S go!

Of course, if you want to sound more formal, you might prefer to use LET US.

LET US go to the park.

Worth knowing…

The word LETS can also be used in a property sense (real estate, if you’re using American English) to describe a rented property.

For example:

The agent handles a number of property LETS in the local area.

Get more tips in The Little Book of Confusables

Confusables: LETS vs LET'S. Simple spelling tips to remember the difference, from The Little Book of Confusables

LETS vs LET’S. Excerpt from The Little Book of Confusables by Sarah Townsend.

Formerly vs formally: top spelling tricks to help you decide

FORMERLY or FORMALLY: which is which? Top spelling tips to remember the difference.

FORMERLY or FORMALLY – they sound the same but their meanings are very different.

So, what do these words mean – and how do you decide which spelling you need? It’s easy.

These simple spelling tips will help you decide whether you need the word FORMERLY or FORMALLY.

Formerly

FORMERLY means something that happened before, or in the past. The clue is in the root of the word: FORMER.

For example:

“I changed my name when I got married. I was FORMERLY known as Sarah Saunders.”

Formally

FORMALLY means in accordance with etiquette or convention. It’s easy to remember when you know it starts with FORMAL.

For example:

“These days, I’m FORMALLY known as Ms Townsend.”

I hope this helps you to remember the difference between FORMERLY and FORMALLY.

Get more tips in The Little Book of Confusables

Confusables: FORMALLY vs FORMERLY. Simple spelling tips to remember the difference, from The Little Book of Confusables

FORMALLY vs FORMERLY. Excerpt from The Little Book of Confusables by Sarah Townsend.

Number vs amount: top tips to remember which is which

Number vs amount: this simple tip will help you remember the difference

Of course you could! Here goes:

To start with, it can help to know that things you can count are called count nouns, and things you can’t count are called mass nouns.

Use AMOUNT for things you can’t count (mass nouns):

  • the amount of rain
  • the amount of information
  • the amount of coffee

Use NUMBER for things you can count (count nouns)

  • the number of rainy days
  • the number of facts
  • the number of cups of coffee

Simple as that: if you can count it, use NUMBER. If you can’t, use AMOUNT.

Did you know?

The same rule applies for LESS and FEWER, which are equally commonly confused.

Bonus tip

Once you know this, you can apply the same logic to MANY and MUCH.

Use MANY for things you can count, and MUCH for things you can’t.

For example:

  • Using too MANY words can confuse your message.
  • Too MUCH confusion can prevent customers from buying your products.

Get more tips in The Little Book of Confusables

Confusables: NUMBER vs AMOUNT. Simple spelling tips to remember the difference, from The Little Book of Confusables

NUMBER vs AMOUNT. Excerpt from The Little Book of Confusables by Sarah Townsend.

Aloud vs allowed: top tips to remember the difference

ALOUD vs ALLOWED: which is which? Tips and tricks to remember the difference.

ALOUD and ALLOWED are easy to confuse. The fact that the two words sound the same – they’re homophones – means people commonly mix them up.

Here are my simple tips to remember the difference between ALOUD and ALLOWED.

ALOUD means out loud. Remember that this spelling ends in LOUD.

“I’m just thinking ALOUD.”

ALLOWED means permitted. Remember it starts with ALLOW.

“You are ALLOWED to read ALOUD.”

In its verb form, ALLOWED is that past tense of ALLOW.

“She ALLOWED him to read ALOUD.”

Get more tips in The Little Book of Confusables

Confusables: ALOUD vs ALLOWED. Simple spelling tips to remember the difference, from The Little Book of Confusables

ALOUD vs ALLOWED. Excerpt from The Little Book of Confusables by Sarah Townsend.