More commonly confused words

Prophecy / prophesy

The noun prophecy refers to a prediction made by someone with religious inspiration, often a prophet. Prophesy is a verb meaning to predict something, the way a prophet would. One way to remember the spelling for the verb would be to think about the last two letters of the word, sy, which is almost the verb to say. We can tell ourselves a little story, such as that to prophesy means to say something the way a prophet would. If prophesy involves saying something, then the other spelling, prophecy, must be the thing that is said. Some usage examples:

• Certainly, all political players must discern the difference between prophecy and politicking.
• A bank run is an example of the more general concept called a self-fulfilling prophecy.
• Along with Kawita’s photos and videos of her experiments with a juicer, an ice shaver and a weight scale, there is Pannaphan Yodmanee’s stunning installation “Prophesy,” with Buddha figurines embedded in horizontal remnants of a concrete wall bearing a faded mural, one chunk suspended from the ceiling.
• In 1957, or BE 2500, at the mid-point of the Buddhist Era, there were fears that Buddhism and Buddhist society would suffer a decline, as the Buddha had prophesied that Buddhism would last only 5,000 years before the next cycle came.
• Sai Baba had prophesied that he would live till 96.
• Fear of being swamped by other cultures, plus a prophesy that Buddhism will eventually disappear, are stoking interfaith violence.
• Review: ‘Dheepan,’ About Sri Lankan Refugees, Looks Like a Prophecy.
• As if riding shotgun down the avalanche of these nightmares, here comes a scholarly and freshly translated edition of “The Prophecies,” by Nostradamus, this time stamped with the approval of the editors of the venerable Penguin Classics series.

Flair / flare

The noun flair means a special talent for something, or an individual style. Flare as a verb means to burn brightly. When it is used as a noun, flare can refer to something burning to create light and draw attention to an accident or other emergency. It can also mean something that is widened, such as a pants leg.  Usage examples:

• Thai footie fans still champs after tempers flare in Lao row.
• Lao police kept 25 members of a group called “Ultras Thailand” detained overnight after they (or at least some of them) set off flares in the terraces to celebrate their team’s second goal, just before the hour mark of the match. Not everyone likes having their hair singed with flares, so a fistfight broke out amid the acrid smoke.
• Printed flare-cut shirts are also paired with straight-cut culottes, creating an unexpected stylish yet refreshing look for a weekend in town or by the sea.
• Those who live alone are especially vulnerable if their symptoms flare up or if disaster strikes.
• Taking Thai entrepreneurial flair to the next level.
• Noodles with a creative flair.
• Suwan stayed in the business, working at several restaurants and collecting much more experience, as well as learning the intricacies of mixing, shaking and bottle flair through video clips on YouTube.
• Pure Glam by Gaysorn shines with celebrity flair.
• The competition judges participants on their skill in pouring a glass of Heineken beer, as well as their consistency, professionalism, service, and flair.

How to remember the different spellings for flair and flare? Again a little story may help. If we recall that flair means individual style, then the letter i in the word individual may remind us that the letter i is also found in the word flair. The other spelling, flare, deals with meanings not associated with individual style. Another possible way to get the spelling right might be to link the word flare in our minds with other words with the same final letters:

blare

glare

declare

If we are sure of the spelling of one of these words, then we have a strong hint about the spelling of the others too.

Bazaar / bizarre

The noun bazaar ‎refers to a marketplace, especially in the Middle East, usually crowded with many different vendors. The adjective bizarre means strange or odd. People interested in fashion usually do not have trouble keeping these two words apart, as a famous fashion magazine is called Harper’s Bazaar. The title of the periodical reminds us that it has to do with shopping, sales, and the marketplace. Students who are not interested in fashion might instead think of the three examples of the letter a in the word bazaar as three little merchants lined up one next to another in a marketplace. Or to think of the word bizarre as a strange business or biz.  If we think of the slang word biz, for business, when we think of bizarre, this can be a useful clue about the correct spelling. Some examples of usage:

• Bizarre use of Thai words spread by social media: poll.
• For more than two decades, bizarre and unreasonable freshmen initiations have been going on in Thailand. Let’s stop the bizarre and barbaric tradition.
• Line and Facebook are the most common places young people spot bizarre uses of Thai words, according to a survey conducted to mark National Thai Language Day today.
• Top 10 Bizarre Asian Trends That May Surprise You.
• When the Miss Universe Thailand organisation announced in October that a bizarre tuk-tuk costume, complete with headlights, handlebars and the national flag, was selected as the Thai national costume for the Miss Universe pageant, social media users responded with derision and laughter.
• Evidently the multitude of bizarre real-life things, places and customs that he’s chronicled over the years, culminating in the 2010 book “Bizarre Thailand”, are just not bizarre enough for the ex-Nation subeditor and former chief gadabout of Farang magazine, which he co-founded.
• The deals would be structured as exchanges, since Russia was also interested in Thai agricultural goods. “It would be bizarre if Russia is offering us in a one-sided style,” he said.
• To put this proliferation of billboards into context, Citylife counted the number of billboards found along Nimmanhaemin Road, Chang Klan Road’s Night Bazaar and the Airport Plaza Intersection.
• The popularity of gold ornaments has led to the setting up in every urban area of a special market, known as a Sarafa bazaar, which specialises in the making of gold jewellery.
• For 400 years the craftsmen and traders of Peshawar’s jewellery bazaar have cut, polished, set and haggled over precious gems dug from the rugged mountains of northwest Pakistan.
• I end up going with him to Swat’s Mingora bazaar, which is bursting with life though very different from how I remember it more than 10 years ago.

(All images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.)