People have been confusing "council" and "counsel" since the 16th century. Sometimes you put single words such as "yes" and "no" in quotation marks, and sometimes you don't. We investigate three weird oxymorons: "bridegroom," "spendthrift," and "fail-safe."

FOLLOW ALONG ON THE WEBSITE

'Council' or 'Counsel'? http://bit.ly/council-counsel

FOLLOW GRAMMAR GIRL

Twitter: http://twitter.com/grammargirl

Facebook: http://facebook.com/grammargirl

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/realgrammargirl

Instagram: http://instagram.com/thegrammargirl

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/grammar-girl

SPONSORS

http://magoosh.com (use the promo code GRAMMAR)

http://casper.com/savings (expires May 29)

http://stitcherpremium.com/grammar

GRAMMAR POP iOS GAME

Optimized for iPad: http://bit.ly/GrammarPopiPad

For iPad and iPhone: http://bit.ly/GrammarPop

GRAMMAR GIRL BOOKS

http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-girl-book-page