Select the correct "G" words on this quiz, and you'll be a "G" whiz!

1. When the candidate realized he had committed a (gaff, gaffe), he felt like a fish hooked by a (gaff, gaffe).

2. He walked with a shuffling (gait, gate) through the garden (gait, gate).

3. The bachelor's opening (gambits, gamuts) ran the (gambit, gamut) from "Hi, I'm Ted," to "Is this seat taken?"

4. The lambs (gambled, gamboled) on the lawn of the (gambling, gamboling) casino.

5. After throwing down the (gantlet, gauntlet), Tom decided to run the (gantlet, gauntlet).

6. Labor unions and (gilds, guilds) began to grow during the (Gilded, Guilded) Age.

7. The evening news included (grisly, grizzly) details about an attack by a (grisly, grizzly) bear.

8. Deep in a jungle inhabited by silver (guerrillas, gorillas), the soldiers engaged in (guerrilla, gorilla) warfare.

9. The (gibes, jibes) the speaker heard from the crowd did not (gibe, jibe) with the warm reception he had received from the same audience a week earlier.

10. The chef who (garnished, garnisheed) the filet mignon worried that his salary might be (garnished, garnisheed) by a creditor.

Answers:

1. gaffe — a blatant mistake or blunder in etiquette; gaff — a large hook on a pole, also an ordeal, hoax or trick 2. gait — a way of walking; gate — a means of access, a swinging structure

3. gambit — an opening maneuver, often involving a tactical sacrifice to gain a strategic advantage; gamut — a full range or extent, originally referring to the full range of musical notes 4. gambol — to frolic; gamble — to play games of chance

5. Traditionally "gauntlet" has been preferred for the glove or challenge one throws down, and "gantlet" for the perilous line someone runs. But now "gauntlet" is widely used for both senses, e.g. "running the gauntlet. 6. guild — trade or labor association; gild — to cover with gold or superficial adornment

7. grisly — gruesome; grizzly — grayish, flecked with gray 8. gorilla — large ape; guerrilla — member of irregular military unit operating in small bands

9. gibe — a taunt, derisive remark; jibe — to fit, agree and, in sailing, to shift a sail from one side of a vessel to the other while sailing before the wind 10. garnish — to add decorative touches; garnishee — to seize a portion of a debtor's salary or property as repayment, though "garnish," a derivative of "garnishee," is now widely used to describe this financial action

Rob Kyff, a teacher and writer in West Hartford, Connecticut, invites your language sightings. His book, "Mark My Words," is available for $9.99 on Amazon.com. Send your reports of misuse and abuse, as well as examples of good writing, via email to WordGuy@aol.com or by regular mail to Rob Kyff, Creators Syndicate, 737 3rd Street, Hermosa Beach, CA 90254.

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