A dictionary of Confusable Phrases: More Than 10,000 Idioms and Collocations

some one • someone
some one —any person or thing in a named group: …she was
likely to be thinking about some one of the old books she read.
someone —some unidentified individual: Are you expecting
someone? I’m not in the way am I?
some other time • some time or other
some other time —on a different occasion in the future but
not now: I could go back there, I mean some other time.
some time or other —(also: at some time or other) 
1
. sooner or
later (implying the certainty of a future event): You can’t go on
for ever at any game, and not get tumbled some time or other.
2. on an occasion in the past: We have all heard of the déjà
vu illusion, and most of us have experienced it at some time
or other.
some time • sometime
some time —
1
. at some future time: Rehearsals have already
– 301 –
some time

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started and the record is expected to be released some time in
the autumn. 2. for a period of time: There is a class of women
who take lodgings, and after staying some time run away with-
out paying their rent.
sometime —
1
. = some time 
1
: I almost forgot to say that the
museum is slated for an opening sometime in the autumn. 2.
(attrib.) former: He is a man of peace, which goes well with
a sometime secretary of defense.
some times • sometimes
some times —certain times: While there are some times when
such a rule is necessary, there are other times when it’s not.
sometimes —occasionally; from time to time: We sometimes
went hunting deer when I lived in Germany.
someone to-be • would-be someone
someone to-be —is used with reference to a position or status
a person will have in the future: I met my wife-to-be, Elaine,
a few months later, and we were married in November. Cf.:
a has-been — said of smb. who is no longer effective in what he
does: Rocky is now a “has-been,” spending most of his time
retelling old boxing stories.
would-be someone —said of smb. intending to be a particular
kind of person: Bus conductors are having a busy time dis-
suading would-be passengers from trying to board their buses.