Here are explanations for some of the more difficult words and phrases in the text:

Explanations of Difficult Words

• Merits a lot of discussion: This phrase means the topic is worthy of a lot of conversation and consideration. It suggests the subject is important and has many different angles to explore.

• Crops up so much: This is an informal way of saying something appears, happens, or comes to attention frequently.

• Analogy: An analogy is a comparison between two different things, intended to help explain or clarify a concept. The text uses the analogy of learning to drive to explain how to approach proofreading.

• Invaluable advice: This means advice that is extremely useful and so helpful that its value cannot be measured in money.

• Maniac: In this context, it's an exaggeration used to mean someone who drives recklessly and without regard for safety. The advice is to assume others will make mistakes so you are prepared.

• Complacent: This describes being smug or uncritical about one's own abilities or situation. The text suggests that expecting mistakes prevents you from becoming complacent and makes you a better writer.

• Take corrective action: This means to take steps to fix a mistake or a problem.

• Homophones: These are words that sound the same but have different meanings and spellings. The text provides examples like "brake" and "break," or "there" and "their."

• Self-help list: A personal list you create to help yourself, in this case, to track words you commonly misspell.

• Distorts the correct message: This means to twist, misrepresent, or give a false impression of the intended message.

---

Explanations of Difficult Phrases

• Cut and paste my Word document: This refers to the simple electronic process of copying text from one document and pasting it into another. The text explains that this didn't happen, which led to errors.

• Final proof before publication: A "proof" is a trial version of a document (like an advertisement) that is made to be checked and corrected before the final printing. Seeing the "final proof" is the last chance to catch mistakes.

• Outsource responsibility: This is the main point of the text. While you can "outsource" or hire someone else to do a task (like writing or advertising), you cannot transfer the responsibility for the outcome. If the outsourced work is flawed, the blame and negative consequences still fall on you.

• The backlash becomes yours: This means that the negative reaction or criticism resulting from a mistake will be directed at you, even if someone else made the error.

• Running spellcheck and grammar check in the right variety of English: This means using the correct setting for your audience, for example, using a U.S. English spellcheck for an American audience versus a U.K. English spellcheck for a British audience. Different varieties of English have different spellings and grammar rules.