quotient for content Merriam-Webster says that a quotient is: "the number resulting from the division of one number by another".

raddled for riddled The earth is as raddled as a Swiss cheese. New Scientist, 1996 You know, the famous Lipizzaner horses are all now raddled with syphilis. AA Gill, Sunday Times May 09 Raddled means reddened; something riddled is pierced through and through0.

raffish for scruffy or oafish Caitlin Moran Times Feb 6 A dude like Lawrence Llewellyn Bowen is raffish.

ragtag for ragbag In the drama, at least, the heroes of the Home Guard were a ragtag of volunteers. Guardian April 17, 2007 A ragbag is full of an assortment of rags.

raked over the coals for hauled over the coals, rake up for rake in, rake up for stack up Raven, forced to resign his army commission after raking up a mountain of gambling debts. ((Guardian Jan 09) James Howard Kunstler zestfully rakes Le Corbusier over the coals (Web) You stack up gambling chips (or metaphorically profits, knowledge, experience); you rake in the shekels (literally the croupier collects up forfeited stakes with a small rake, metaphorically you rake in profits, dough etc); or you literally rake up dead leaves, metaphorically rake up old scandals/quarrels/ emotional hurts. You rake over the embers of an old controversy or a dying affair of the heart; you haul someone over the coals as a punishment.

rap attention for rapt attention Rap is some kind of music popular with young people, me lud; if your attention is rapt you are spellbound. "Rapt" just means captured, but it has overtones of being kidnapped by the fairies.

reap havoc for wreak havoc You reap a harvest; to wreak is to wreck.

rebel rousing for rabble rousing You rouse a rabble, who may be a rabble of rebels.

recant for recount It subtly recants Chaucer's original tale. (amazon review) If you recant, you take back a confession or statement; to recount is to tell or retell a story.

redingcote for redingote Jane Shilling Times Jan 25 08 A redingote is "a woman's full-length unlined coat or dress open down the front to show a dress or underdress". It's French, from riding coat, so she is going back to the original.

redound for rebound Suddenly redounds upon them. Ian Sansom G 19 09 09 The Free Dictionary says redound means: To have an effect or consequence (deeds that redound to one's credit); to return or  recoil; to contribute or accrue. Resound means to resonate or echo. Rebound means to bounce back - what a rubber ball does if you throw it at a wall.

regutted for gutted We've regutted the kitchen... Homes Under the Hammer Surely you don't need to do it twice? Some people even remodernise their houses.

reined or rained supreme for reigned Horses are controlled by reins, the rain it raineth every day, kings reign.

renumeration for remuneration To renumerate is to recount; remuneration is payment.

reparti for reparteeEvening Standard April 19 07 Repartee is a witty comeback.

repatriate for return If you found a fiver in the street you probably wouldn't be able to repatriate it. Barrister on Breakfast, BBC1 You return a lost fiver to its owner; you repatriate someone when you return them to their own country.

replete (with) for complete The car was propped up precariously on a pile of bricks but was still replete with tyres. Guardian Feb 3 00 Replete with pubic hair. Guardian May 21, 2004 Something replete is overstuffed; if it's complete it has all its component parts.

requite for sate He requited his love in 622 long-term liaisons and countless sexual adventures. Guardian July 19 08 Unrequited love is not returned; to sate is to satisfy.

retort for report A retort is a sharp answer; a report is an explosion.

rift for riff A rift is a split; a riff is a cadenza or an improvised break.

right for rite The right of baptism. A right is an entitlement; a rite is a ceremony.

righteous for self-righteous A righteous person is good; a self-righteous person thinks he's good.

ring for wring The Tories in conference in Perth this weekend had George Osborne to ring Scottish withers. Peter Preston Guardian May 18 09 "It rings the emotions nicely." Guardian June 14 08 Hamlet said: "Let the galled jade wince, our withers are unwrung." LINK You wring out a wet cloth by pulling and twisting it.

riven with for riddled with Something is riven is split: you rive it and leave it with a rift; if your floorboards are riddled with woodworm they're full of small wriggling creatures.

roll for role, role for roll A demanding roll, on a role. A roll is a small loaf; a role is a part in play; when you're on a roll you're rolling merrily along.

rubbed for rammed The point was rubbed home. Observer May 2 04 You rub in an unpleasant fact; you ram home a point like someone loading a cannon.

run the gauntlet for run through the gamut "She ran the gauntlet of the emotions." If you run between two rows of people flicking you with wet towels (or heavy gauntlets), you run the gauntlet. Or does it come from "gantlet" and have nothing to do with gloves? Do we care? Metaphorically, you bypass or endure danger or criticism from many sources. The gamut is the Western musical scale of seven notes. If you run through the gamut, you include them all.