Certain sets of words in the English language tend to confuse people. I have found the following to be among them:
DESERTS / DESSERTS
We all know that desserts are sweet concoctions (or fruit), often served at the end of a meal. But though I’d heard the expression his just deserts all my life, I didn’t know how to spell that meaning of the word deserts. Then, after many years, I finally saw it written.
Whoa! I thought. Is that a correct spelling with only one S in the middle? And so I looked it up, and yes, that word deserts, pronounced just like desserts but meaning what is deserved, does indeed have only one S in the middle.
This particular noun desert (pronounced the same as the sweet after-dinner concoction but spelled the same as a vast, dry land, such as the Sahara) means deserved reward or punishment and is often used in the plural.
INCORRECT: The robber has been arrested and will no doubt receive his just desserts.
CORRECT: The robber has been arrested and will no doubt receive his just deserts.
ALSO CORRECT: Does the restaurant have any desserts on the menu?
P.S. I suppose the first example above could be correct it the thief’s desserts were something like, say, yogurt and prunes.
© 2023 Ann Henry, all rights reserved.