Marquee and marquis - Mixed messages and misused words from A to Z

Marquee and marquis - Mixed messages and misused words from A to Z

Maybe this oxymoronic example is a bit removed from common usage, but it’s still a mystery of misuse. These two words are actually homonyms, as they sound the same, but bear very different spellings and meanings.

 

A marquee is a signboard, a lettered banner, or an awning. You might see a marquee over the entrance to an old-fashioned theatre. And a marquis is an elite, aristocratic, high society or royal member of the nobility. A marquis is the male counterpart to a marquess, even as a baron is the masculine form of a baroness.

Here’s how this plays out.

The marquis was miffed, mainly because he missed top billing on the marquee. So he called his marshall and marshaled his military to march on the metropolis and institute martial law.

Gee, what would Marky Mark say about that? Don’t mention it.

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Misused word pair

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 Abused and misused word graphics

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