Common Mistakes: Sneak/sneaked (not snuck)

October 8, 2009: Issue 309

The preferred past tense of the verb sneak is sneaked:
Even on a budget, they sneaked a few luxuries into the kitchen.

Same for the past participle:
She discovered that dodder had sneaked into the garden and strangled the dahlias.

Don’t say snuck unless you’re trying to poke the language purists.

By the way, a milestone sneaked up on us last month. Jill Abeloe Mead closed the 10,000th session in the SIM Publication Schedule Database. She received a commemorative plaque and a box of goodies. Congratulations, Jill!

Back to Style on the Go Archive
Back to BHG Stylebook Table of Contents

Comments are closed.