One error that’s cropped up a lot these past few weeks is mantle vs. mantel.
I’ve seen the error in two books I was working on (one historic, one contemporary) and on the closed captioning on the tv, and in a traditionally published book as well. It comes up pretty often!
Of course, some people don’t think of this as an error—that it’s just a UK/NA distinction, that both come from the same word and it’s fine to use them, etc. And that may be true in another decade or two.
But for now, I—and many editors and readers—do think of them as separate words.
So here’s a hint for recognizing the difference between the two.
One—mantle, is like a cloak, or like “The Layer of Earth) (tle are the last letters of this spelling)
Two – mantel is like over a fireplace—where you might put a TELephone (tel as the last letters)
It’s a minor thing, but I do think it gives a more polished/professional gloss to the novel to keep the two words distinct.
Any other ways you distinguish between the two? Or do you pay attention to the difference?