5 Minute Grammar Lesson – Bare with me? or Bear with me?

on Jan 29, 2017, Updated Jul 20, 2020

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Welcome back to another 5 Minute Grammar Lesson! This week’s topic is BARE with me or BEAR with me. Which one is correct and what do they mean, anyway?

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Bare with me? or Bear with me?

A while back I wanted to write in a post, “Please bare with me…” But before I posted it, I decided I’d better look up the correct idiom. And it’s a good thing I did. Proofreading is important, y’all. And here’s why.

BARE with me?

Boy, am I glad I did! Because, “Bare with me” means to get naked with me. That’s not the intended meaning I had in mind at all because this isn’t that kind of blog. 😉 The verb BARE in this case means to uncover or reveal.

Bear with me?

The proper usage is BEAR with me. It means to hang on a minute while I go off on a tangent you probably don’t care anything about. The verb BEAR means to tolerate or be patient. I was initially confused by the meaning of the noun BEAR – I mean, what does a fuzzy mammal have to do with anyone being patient with me. I conveniently forgot that BEAR is also a verb…

And that’s it! That’s all there is to the pressing question, should you use BEAR with me or BARE with me. I know you were all dying to know. 😀

Want more grammar posts?

How to make the word PEOPLE possessive

And if you’re looking for helpful grammar resources, here are my top picks:

Grammarly – Instantly fix over 250 types of errors with this free web-based grammar checker!

Strunk & White Elements of Style

The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation

Eats, Shoots, and Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation

The Grammar Girl’s Quick & Dirty Tips for Better Writing

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