This was an unexpected discovery. I stared at this passage I was reading, and it looked just a shade away from making sense. It took a while for me to realize that it was the wrong word, on the page, but the right word in intention.
The words were 'clinched' and 'clenched.'
Clenched means tightly gripped. I held the knife clenched in my hand. It's also used to describe how a jaw is held tightly, almost grinding the teeth together.
Clinched means that some plan, or deal, or abutment even, has been confirmed or established, or finalized.
It's possible that the two words have a common origin---I didn't check that out---but on the face of it, they're quite distinct words.
Added later:
One of the huge-est confusions in young-adult word-usage is than versus then.
Than is a word used in comparisons: bigger than, worse than, and so on. I can't say right off what part of speech it is; I'll have to look it up for you (a preposition?)
Then is a word used in logical statements: then I'll get going; or then there's no point ìn waiting for a bus. In each case, an incident or fact (called the antecedent) implies that it's reasonable to get going, or to not wait for the bus.
Again, as in previous examples, I think people are led to confuse the two words because they are often pronounced the same; they shouldn't be.
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