‘Make do and mend’ was a popular slogan during World War 2, designed to encourage people not to needlessly throw out clothing that could be repaired and repurposed. That in itself is a very Lifehacker-friendly idea, but it is not our topic today. Instead, we’re here to remind everyone that the correct expression is ‘make do’, not ‘make due’.
Picture from Ecouterre
There’s not much more to say on that point. ‘Make do’ is correct; ‘make due’ is absolute nonsense. As with the example of ‘without further ado’, the error presumably comes about when someone hears the expression and assumes the wrong spelling.
This error came to my attention when it showed up in a recent US Lifehacker article. A quick search through our archives showed it had appeared on a frankly distressing number of occasions in the past; I have now corrected all those examples. Mistakes do happen, but we can fix them. Accuracy matters.
Lifehacker’s Mind Your Language column offers bossy advice on improving your writing.
Comments
6 responses to “Make Do If You Must, But Don’t Make Due”
My personal pet hate is when someone exclaims or writes ‘Wallah !’ instead of ‘Voila !”, or debut as a flat ‘dayboo’, instead of using the appropriate inflection.
And then I remember to thank the world that I have the time and luxury for such things, instead of having to consider where I’ll be getting my next meal from.
Better than people saying “de-butt”.
What what in de-butt? 😛
Yes to this.
I saw this for the first time recently and I was shocked.
I think “repurposes” in the first sentence should be “repurposed” with a d.
Absolutely correct. Muphry’s Law strikes again!
And… Erm…
It is because Americans do not pronounce the yod. Thereby, do and due sound the same.