iPhone Vocabulary Fail: Buttress and Bolster
This post from Damn You, Auto Correct! inappropriately inserts the word buttressed:
As a noun, a buttress is a structure, usually brick or stone, built against a wall for support or reinforcement; something resembling a buttress, such as the flared base of certain tree trunks, a horny growth on the heel of a horse’s hoof, or a projection from a mountainside; or just anything that serves to support, prop, or reinforce.
As a verb, to buttress means “to support or reinforce with a buttress; to sustain, prop, or bolster.”
The related word bolster means, literally, a long narrow pillow or cushion, but you can also use the word as a verb to mean “to support or prop up with or as if with a long narrow pillow or cushion; to buoy up or hearten.”
So, let’s get this straight — a buttress is a support for a building and a bolster is more of a support for your back when you sit down. But you can use both words to mean “to support.” An army can buttress its defenses, and someone can bolster your spirits with a care package.
Here is a previous post on the Vocabulary Blog about buttress.