I did a double-take when I saw today’s New York Times headline “A Big Step in Roger Federer’s Comeback, but a Gantlet Awaits Him” because I always thought the correct word is gauntlet.
But I learned something new today, courtesy of Grammarist.
Gantlet was the original spelling of the word referring to a form of punishment in which people armed with sticks or other weapons arrange themselves in two lines and beat a person forced to run between them.
Both words are accurate, with slightly different contexts, although often used interchangeably now. The New York Times, of course, used the word properly.
Am I done learning today? Hope not.