cavalry/ Calvary

[Jonathan Lighter]

I've mentioned this metathetical pair before. The earliest ex. I have is 1918-19, but it must be generations older. (Check your Civil War diaries ! )  What makes this ex. interesting to obsessive-compulsives such as myself is that even the writer of a persnickety usage manual needs a subtle mnemonic to keep the two straight in her mind :

1982 Phyllis Martin _Word Watcher's Handbook_ (ed. 2) (N.Y. St. Martin's) 52  _Calvary/cavalry_  _Calvary_ is the place near Jerusalem where Christ was crucified. _Cavalry_ has to do with horses. I always remember the distinction between these two by associating _Calvin_, the Christian reformer, with the first and the word _cavalier_ with the second.

JL


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