Mantel vs Mantle: Do You Know the Difference?

Mantel vs Mantle: These two spellings get mixed up all the time. Do you know the difference?

Mantel means the shelf over a fireplace, whether it’s made of brick or wood or something else.

Mantle, you can wear—it’s loose and sleeveless, oftentimes worn by superheroes or elves on quests, or used figuratively—the Mantle of Power. It can also mean the layer under Earth’s crust or “the fungal network around an ectotrophic mycorhiza that replaces the root hairs as an absorbing system” (Merriam-Webster).

While not the end of the world to confuse the two, here’s a mnemonic to help remember the difference: Turn the “l” at the end of “mantel” horizontal and you get a shelf!