An editor would fight about this: Tousle vs. tussle

A lot of writers find their writing is quite disorderly where these two similar-sounding words are concerned.

Tousle means to rumple or mess up, such as your hair or bed sheets. To wit, Auntie Jane playfully tousled her young nephew’s hair.

Tussle means to have a physical fight or struggle. For example, The two sailors got got in a tussle over which one was buying Melissa a drink.

So, your hair may be tousled after you get into a tussle, but your hair never will tussle with you if you don’t comb it.

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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.