In one day, two of my friends have bothered me so much that I'm back to blogging, even if I'm only blogging a little bit.

It's not that I'm a grammar nazi. Well, maybe that's part of the reason. But, more importantly, we have to have standards in language, because standardized language is what creates clear communication.

Anyway, two quick word issues.

Issue 1: Lightening and Lightning
This is a very simple one. Lightening, with an "e" in it, means to make something lighter. A salon might perform a bit of lightening on your hair color. Or, a friendly neighbor might assist you by grabbing a grocery bag and lightening your load.

On the other hand, Lightning without an "e" refers exclusively to the electrical activity in the air. With this in mind, you can call a firefly a "lightning bug" with complete certainty.

It is interesting to note that, two centuries ago, Lightening, with the "e", was correct in both cases. But, one century ago, common usage had an apostrophe, creating the contracted form "light'ning' which, in modern times, has been dropped.

Issue 2: Ulterior motives
The word "ulterior" is almost never used these days, because people have no idea what word they are looking for. It's pretty common to see "alterior," which, frankly, isn't a real word by most standards. It means "intentionally hidden," since you asked.

The confusion might come from inadequate knowledge of Latin roots. "Alter" seems appropriate because it means "other" in Latin. You see this root in words like "alternative" or "alteration." And, it might be assumed that you're talking about "other motives." In reality, the etymology of this phrase uses a Latin root meaning "distant," which is more metaphorically tied to the meaning "hidden."