In a recent informal survey, copyeditors and English teachers from around the world were asked about mistakes they frequently see in print or speech. This chapter includes some of the results of that survey. Don't feel as if you have to hang your head in shame if you see your own mistakes reported here; the point is to learn from them (and to promise yourself you'll never make them again).

Sometimes people hear certain nifty or impressive phrases and then later use those same phrases in their own writing or speech. Problems arise when they either misheard the phrase or remembered it incorrectly. What they end up writing or saying is close to the original, but it's not quite right.

The result is often a humorous take on the correct phrase (like a “doggie-dog world” instead of a “dog-eat-dog world”), and sometimes it's just plain puzzling (“beckon call” instead of “beck and call”).

The following are some of the more common mistakes of this variety, as reported by copyeditors and teachers. Have you made any of these mistakes? (Just nod silently. Now you'll know what to write next time.)