unchartered for uncharted Unchartered means unlicensed; uncharted waters are unmapped.

unconscionable for unforgivable, unsupportable Unconscionable means excessive. Charles II apologised for "taking an unconscionable time a-dying".

under X's watch for on X's watch A watch is a period of time onboard ship ("Not on my watch!"). Do people think of it as "under X's gaze"?

uneerily calm for eerily Eerie things are spooky and weird. Maybe the writer was thinking of "unerring"

unerring for unwavering But while young family life broke the mould at No. 10, with it has come the unerring spotlight of the media. BBC Online July 21 2004 Unerring people never make a mistake (err); unwavering attention never deviates from its object.

unheralded for uncelebrated Jeremy Paxman, Newsnight July 4 00 If you herald something you announce its arrival;  if you celebrate it you throw a party because you're so happy it's arrived.

unkempt for beardless Unkempt people are scruffy (uncombed); beardless people are clean-shaven.

unscrupulous for unethical We do everything we can to avoid having clothes made in unscrupulous conditions, Peacocks spokesman Guardian 14 June 06 A person can lack all scruples and be unscrupulous; clothes can be made in conditions where regulations or morals don't operate.

unworldly for otherworldly Unworldly people are naive; otherworldly beings (spirits or aliens) are unearthly (eerie).

upbeat for uptempo People use upbeat when they mean uptempo (fast and jolly).  There's nothing "down" about a down beat - it's the one you come in on. But there's no such thing as down tempo.

uppermost for utmost/uttermost    The uppermost thing is on the top; the uttermost ends of the earth are the farthest from us.

virtual circle for virtuous      A virtual circle would be imaginary – or impossible. A virtuous circle is the opposite of a vicious circle.

vulpine for lupine     Last year Taylor Lautner revealed his true colours in The Twilight Saga: New Moon, assisted by CGI effects that instantaneously transformed the teenage hunk into a vulpine beast. (That would make him a were-fox.)

vagueries for vagaries Times April 2, 2007 Vagaries are quirks or eccentricities.

variation for variety Variation is difference; a variety is lots of different things.

vaunting ambition for vaulting Vaunting is boasting ("the much-vaunted..."; vaulting is leaping (pole vault). Shakespeare talked about vaulting ambition o’erleaping itself.

verdigris for verdure Merriam-Webster says verdigris is a green or bluish deposit especially of copper carbonates formed on copper, brass, or bronze surfaces; verdure is greenery.

vintage for pedigreeThis idea has a long vintage. Vintage wine has been maturing for years; a dog's pedigree is his family tree showing how well-bred he is.

vis à vis for versusVis a vis means face to face; versus means against.

vocal for vehement, vociferous Many art historians, influenced by vocal feminists... Guardian Sept 1 00 If feminists want to be vocal, all they have to do is speak; if they want to be emphatic they may be vehement; if they're vociferous they just won't stop talking.

vociferous for vituperative or insistent Vociferous people won't shut up; vituperative folks are insulting; insistent types just won't give up.

voracious for vociferous X was a voracious equality rights campaigner. Guardian March 09 Voracious means greedy, not talkative.

vouchsafe for revealThe whole wretched and diseased world of London poverty was vouchsafed to them. Peter Ackroyd Times Dec 30 08 Vouchsafe means to condescend to grant or bestow, says the Free Dictionary.

vox pop. for cliché Zen has become a Westernised vox pop. Skeptic Winter 2007 Vox populi (the voice of the people), vox Dei (is the voice of God). If you send a journalist out to get some vox pops, she will come back with some quotes from the crowd.

ware for wear Finely knitted day and evening ware. Crafts Council magazine Ware is cups and plates, or goods for sale; wear (ladies', men's) is clothes.

warming temperatures for rising temperatures The temperature rises and we all get warmer.

wax for talk (and talk) The more sincerely they wax on about... Zoe Williams in  Guardian October 29, 2008 The cliché is "to wax lyrical" - this means "to grow lyrical". Think of the moon waxing (getting bigger) and waning (getting smaller).

weaning for rearing "... Franco received a highbrow weaning at the Real Conservatorio, Madrid ..." Guardian June 29 2000 You wean a baby by adding solid food to its diet, gradually weaning it off milk.

weathered eye for weather eye A weathered old barn is distressed by rain and wind; if you keep a weather eye on the horizon you're looking out for a change in the weather.

websight for websiteA web site is where something happens, like a building site, or a site of outstanding natural beauty.

wedging closer for edging closer When you edge forward, you move in tiny increments.

weened for weaned The choice of homegrown rock'n'roll stars weened on Elvis.  Guardian Feb 19 2002 Ween is an archaic word for imagine or think. So if you have overweening pride you think too much of yourself. When you wean a baby you persuade it to move from milk to solid food.

Weltanschauung for Weltschmerz A Weltanschauuing is a worldview; Weltschmerz is world-weariness.

wetting the appetite for whetting If you wet something you dampen it; but if you whet a knife-blade you sharpen it.

wheedle it down for whittle it down Wheedling is pursuasion with charm; whittling is sharpening a stick with a penknife. They probably sound the same to some.

wheedle out for weed out Weeding is what you do to wild plants in your garden.

wicket for picket “white wicket fence” Picket fences are made of pointed wooden slats with a cross-bar. A wicket is a gate.

wide berth for warm welcome Religiously inspired Islamic terrorists have declared war on America. Why does Islam give such a wide berth to hate? Hadassah Magazine If you give someone a wide berth you take a detour around it at a distance.

wildly for widely wildly different, spread wildly etc.

wiles for wastes From the wiles of New Jersey Wiles are tricks; wastes are deserts.

winnow down for whittle down, winnow for burrow Winnow into someone's heart (imdb) When you winnow wheat you throw it into the air so that the wind separates the grain from the chaff; when you whittle a stick you shave it with a knife.

winnow for worm     He winnowed his way into her heart. (You winnow wheat to separate it from chaff.)

wisteria or wysteria for wistaria The creeper is called after a Mr. Wistar, but why fight it?

without further adieu for without further ado Adieu means goodbye; ado means fuss. They're easily confused as people probably say them the same.

without precedence for without precedent Precedence is the order of proceeding through doors according to rank; precedent means a previous occurrence.

wolverine for lupine or wolfish      "I just like to write about pervert killers with wolverine teeth". James Ellroy, Nov 09 A wolverine is a kind of giant weasel native to Norway; lupine means wolf-like.

wrapt for rapt     Wrapt is another way of spelling wrapped; if you're rapt you're enraptured, spellbound, or even transported.

wrest for gain    Horace then marries her in order to wrest control of Mansfield's company. TV Guide online. You can only wrest something away from somebody, or out of their grasp, but this usage is very common.

wrestle back control for wrest     Wrestling is a back and forth struggle; if you wrest something you sieze it someone' grasp after a quick wrestle.

wretch for retch    It makes me wretch. Tanya Gold Guardian April 23 09 A wretch is a miserable character; a retch is a dry heave.

wrought for fraught     Fraught with paternalistic crap. Guardian April 18 07 Wrought means worked - think of wrought iron; fraught means freighted.

wrought havoc for wreaked havoc Wreak is not the present tense of wrought, but is related to wreck, so "wreaked havoc" is a tautology. The Free Dictionary thinks we should let this one go.

yoke for yolk Along with thousands of others, I am propelled into the egg's very yoke. Misha Glenny BBC March 2, 2007 A yolk is part of an animal harness; a yolk is the centre of an egg.