Palate vs. Palette vs. Pallet
How to use "palate," "palette," and "pallet" correctlyThis is an entry on my list of Common Errors in English Usage. Visit the main page for direct links to additional entries.
Palate, palette, and pallet all have the same pronunciation [PAL it or PAL ət], but they have very different meanings:
palate = taste (both sensory and intellectual)
experienced wine drinker with a discriminating palate
palette = range of available colors or elements
artist’s palette
palette of emotions that the author draws on in her stories
pallet = crude mattress; kind of platform
monks sleeping on pallets
Related Resources
Common Errors in English Usage: Errors in diction and idiom commonly made by native speakers of English
List of Common Errors in English Usage (PDF): Printable version of the complete list
Common Grammar Errors: A list of common errors in grammar (topics like subject-verb agreement and parallelism) as distinct from usage
List of Common Errors in English Usage: PDF version
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