Certain sets of words in the English language tend to confuse writers. I have found the following to be among them:
TENDER / TINDER
Perhaps it was due to a “dyslexic fingers” typo, but I was more than a little surprised to see the term “tinder love” in a brief description below the online cover of a romance novel. I tried to picture this “tinder love” in my head and came up with images of romantic passion igniting and suddenly bursting into flames, thoroughly engulfing the lovers and leaving them in a heap of ashes once consumed. No, I decided, surely this is not what the writer had in mind. And so I came back to reality and assumed “tender love” must have been the intended term.
Just to clarify, tender is an adjective with a number of meanings, but the one intended here would be gentle, expressing fondness or love. The noun tinder indicates something easily ignited (as in kindling) or something that incites or inflames (as in speech urging uprising or violence).
INCORRECT: His lovemaking was tinder and restrained in consideration of this being their wedding night.
CORRECT: His lovemaking was tender and restrained in consideration of this being their wedding night.
INCORRECT: You’d better throw some more tender on the fire before it dies out altogether.
CORRECT: You’d better throw some more tinder on the fire before it dies out altogether.
© 2017 Ann Henry, all rights reserved.