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

common property • community property
common property —property owned by a group of tenants in
a condominium; property which everyone has the right to
use: The bicycles were common property and anyone in the
apartment complex could use them.
community property —property belonging jointly to a mar-
ried couple: The couple decided to divide some of their com-
munity property and give it to their children before they left
to do volunteer work overseas.
common sense • commonsense
common sense —natural intelligence possessed by all people:
Most people think they have enough common sense to deal
with anything that might come their way.
commonsense —(attrib.) said of smth. demonstrating com-
mon sense: My commonsense idea is to have a safety net that
protects the neediest in our society.
community center • community home
community center —a place providing social, recreational,
and educational facilities for a neighborhood: A village hall
provides a community center for concerts, dances and other
events.
community home —(UK euph.) a center for housing young
– 85 –
community center

---

offenders: The prison became approved school. This is now a
dirty word — two dirty words — so it’s community home these
days.
compete against someone • compete with someone
compete against someone —enter into a contest with smb.:
The male riders are determined not to let the so-called jock-
ettes compete against them.
compete with someone —
1
. = compete against someone: We are
going to play and compete with them and, hopefully, we’ll
come out a winner. 2. endeavor to hold an equal place with a
person: These stores compete with shopkeepers, and induce
them to lower their prices.