waistband.
“Waistband” is sometimes, in a gross error, written *”wasteband” — e.g.:
o “The women sucked in their breath and tried to push their belly-buttons into fleshy balloons over their wastebands [read ‘waistbands’].” Rebecca Walsh, “Dancers at Fest Bare Their Bellies, Escape Daily Grind,” Salt Lake Trib., 28 Aug. 1994, at B1.
o “He allegedly pulled a gun from his wasteband [read ‘waistband’] and pointed it at Fuller’s head.” “Kamiah Man Faces Two Assault Counts,” Lewiston Morning Trib. (Idaho), 4 Feb. 2003, at A11.
*Invariably inferior form.
For information about the Language-Change Index click here.
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Quotation of the Day: “No long complex sentence will hold up without parallel construction. Paralleling can be very simple. Any word will seek its own kind, noun to noun, adjective to adjective, infinitive to infinitive.” Sheridan Baker, The Practical Stylist 101 (8th ed. 1998).
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