Don’t be lightheaded: Toehead vs. towhead

A lot of writers get tripped up on this word’s spelling. Let’s see if we can wind up the string that acts as a tripwire.

When referring to a fair-haired, blond boy or blonde girl, towhead is correct. That’s because one of the lesser-known meanings of tow is a fiber made from flax, hemp or jute used to make thread. This tow is light-colored. Hence, someone with light-colored hair is a towhead.

Toehead, of course, makes no sense. Not all toes are light-colored, of course, depending on your race.

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My name is Rob Bignell. I’m an affordable, professional editor who runs Inventing Reality Editing Service, which meets the manuscript needs of writers both new and published. I also offer a variety of self-publishing services. During the past decade, I’ve helped more than 300 novelists and nonfiction authors obtain their publishing dreams at reasonable prices. I’m also the author of the 7 Minutes a Day… writing guidebooks, four nonfiction hiking guidebook series, and the literary novel Windmill. Several of my short stories in the literary and science fiction genres also have been published.