Sparring

Spell check:

I've run into two stories here in the past week that think "sparing" is a form of "spar".

Sorry; "sparing" comes from "spare". Forms coming from "spar" (to practice fighting) add an extra "r": "sparred", "sparring".

As with "loose" and "lose", using the wrong one can change the meaning of a sentence, so it's not entirely out of annoyance that I bring it up. (But mostly.)

Eric