Pedal or Peddle or Petal: Grammar Tips

I’m not the best speller in the world, which is odd considering how much I read, but I am a stickler for getting general grammar correct. I break a lot of rules like starting sentences with and or because, but I do that purposely. I am a casual writer. Yet there’s nothing that drives me crazier then when a writer uses the wrong spelling of a word.

I try my best not to do it, but this happens a lot with today’s grammar tip examples: pedal vs. peddle vs. petal

Which is part of a beautiful flower, which is to sell something, and which belongs on a bike?

PEDAL

noun

a foot-operated lever or control for a vehicle, musical instrument, or other mechanism, in particular

• each of a pair of cranks used for powering a bicycle or other vehicle propelled by leg power.

• a foot-operated throttle, brake, or clutch control in a motor vehicle.

• each of a set of two or three levers on a piano, particularly (also sustaining pedal) one that, when depressed by the foot, prevents the dampers from stopping the sound when the keys are released. The second is the soft pedal; a third, if present, produces either selective sustaining or complete muffling of the tone.

• Music (usu. pedals) each key of an organ keyboard that is played with the feet.

• Music short for pedal note (sense 2).

verb

move by working the pedals of a bicycle : they pedaled along the canal towpath.

• [ trans. ] move (a bicycle) by working its pedals : she was pedaling a bicycle around town.

• [ intrans. ] work the pedals of a bicycle : he was coming down the path on his bike, pedaling hard.

• [ intrans. ] use the pedals of a piano, esp. in a particular style : [as n. ] ( pedaling) Chopin gave no indications of pedaling in his manuscript.

PHRASES

with the pedal to the metal informal with the accelerator of a car pressed to the floor.

PEDDLE

verb

try to sell (something, esp. small goods) by going from house to house or place to place : he peddled art and printing materials around the country.• sell (an illegal drug or stolen item) : [as n. ] ( peddling) certain youths who were involved in theft and drug peddling.• derogatory promote (an idea or view) persistently or widely : he criticized his fellow candidate for peddling risky ideas.ORIGIN early 16th cent.: back-formation from pedlar .

PETAL

noun

each of the segments of the corolla of a flower, which are modified leaves and are typically colored.

DERIVATIVES

ORIGIN

early 18th cent.: from modern Latin petalum (in late Latin ‘metal plate’ ), from Greek petalon ‘leaf,’ neuter (used as a noun) of petalos ‘outspread.’