Another Wacky Word pair that is commonly confused is that of “elude” and “allude.” Here is another time when roots and spin-offs of a word come in handy.
- Elude
- Related to elusive—“The word was so elusive. It just wouldn’t come to me.”
- I think of elude with exclude—I excluded the word from the program because its spelling eluded me. (That may or may not help you!)
- Allude
- Related to ludicrous: Hint—“What he alluded to was ludicrous!”
- Related to allusion—“He made an allusion to our previous conversation.”
Tricky Tricks to Help It Stick:
- What he alluded to was ludicrous (allud/lud).
- The word was excluded from the program because its spelling eluded me (exclude/elude).
