He had a tweet a few weeks ago that made me laugh at first and then cringe a little as I started noticing it in various places and different contexts.
Woodruff’s tweet was, “btw, nothing will ‘phase’ you unless you are on a Star Trek set. However, something might or might not ‘faze’ you.”
Faze according to merriam-webster.com is an “alteration of feeze to drive away, frighten, from Middle English fesen, from Old English fēsian to drive away” as of 1830 it means “to disturb the composure of.”
Phase “is a noun or verb having to do with an aspect of something.” You can phase something in or go through a phase.
So unless you’re writing science fiction avoid using phase to mean upset.
You should do a grammar post on how to respond when someone asks “how are you?” or “how are you doing?” The good vs. well answer is something that gets confused a lot, myself included.
Thanks for the suggestion, Steph. Consider it done!
-Aurora