WNW: Homophones the Sequel
I keep a running list of homophone blunders I come across, and when it gets long enough, we get another Word Nerd Wednesday featuring the latest fun.
7 more word pairs to keep straight:
eke/eekIf you're struggling to make ends meet, you eke out a living, meaning you get it with great difficulty.When you open the pantry and a mouse scurries between your feet you shriek, "Eek!"
discrete/discreetI'm going to be honest; this is a word pair I regularly pause to think over to make sure I get it right.When I write a novel, it's discrete, individually distinct from any other.If Sammy hears a juicy piece of gossip, she knows how to be discreet by using good judgment and not blabbering it about publicly.
bolder/boulderIn high school, I was generally too shy to speak up. I had to learn to be bolder in class.I used to live on a street named after a huge gray boulder , a stone taller than my ten-year-old self.
latter/laterI've seen this pair mixed up a lot lately, with the second word used as the first, even by highly educated folks. It has me scratching my head. A refresher:Laura had to to decide between buying the red or green blouse and opted for the latter . In other words, she's now the proud owner of a green blouse, since it was listed second.Had Laura arrived at the store an hour later , the green one might have already been sold, so she'd have bought the red one.passed/pastI address this pair in my grammar book, but it bears repeating. The first word here (passed) is a verb that already happened:As Dave rode his bike to work, cars passed him awfully close.The other word (past) could be either a noun or a preposition. (It can also be an adjective, but let's keep it simple for today.)Noun: Tell me about your the last three years of your past .Preposition: Scott walked right past Julie without recognizing her.
allot/a lotPeeve, peeve, peeve. First of all, note that I didn't write alot. That would be because it's not a word. You need the space between the A and the LOT. TWO words. For the love.
The two words in action:Pete planned to allot thirty minutes for his lunch break at work.On second thought, make that forty-five. He was starving and knew he'd eat a lot.
idle/idolThis is a recent confused pair. I'm guessing it has something to do with the popularity of American Idol. (Although if that's true, wouldn't more people know the difference? It's a puzzler.)Janice planned lots of activities for summer to keep her children from being idle .Jenny's mother wished she'd find someone else to look up to instead of her idol , Lindsay Lohan.The other day, I borrowed a book from my dad that will likely inspire future WNW posts and will definitely bring me lots of nerdy joy: Diction of Confusing Words and Meanings.
I'm salivating already.
© 2011 Annette Lyon, all rights reserved
7 more word pairs to keep straight:
eke/eekIf you're struggling to make ends meet, you eke out a living, meaning you get it with great difficulty.When you open the pantry and a mouse scurries between your feet you shriek, "Eek!"
discrete/discreetI'm going to be honest; this is a word pair I regularly pause to think over to make sure I get it right.When I write a novel, it's discrete, individually distinct from any other.If Sammy hears a juicy piece of gossip, she knows how to be discreet by using good judgment and not blabbering it about publicly.
bolder/boulderIn high school, I was generally too shy to speak up. I had to learn to be bolder in class.I used to live on a street named after a huge gray boulder , a stone taller than my ten-year-old self.
latter/laterI've seen this pair mixed up a lot lately, with the second word used as the first, even by highly educated folks. It has me scratching my head. A refresher:Laura had to to decide between buying the red or green blouse and opted for the latter . In other words, she's now the proud owner of a green blouse, since it was listed second.Had Laura arrived at the store an hour later , the green one might have already been sold, so she'd have bought the red one.passed/pastI address this pair in my grammar book, but it bears repeating. The first word here (passed) is a verb that already happened:As Dave rode his bike to work, cars passed him awfully close.The other word (past) could be either a noun or a preposition. (It can also be an adjective, but let's keep it simple for today.)Noun: Tell me about your the last three years of your past .Preposition: Scott walked right past Julie without recognizing her.
allot/a lotPeeve, peeve, peeve. First of all, note that I didn't write alot. That would be because it's not a word. You need the space between the A and the LOT. TWO words. For the love.
The two words in action:Pete planned to allot thirty minutes for his lunch break at work.On second thought, make that forty-five. He was starving and knew he'd eat a lot.
idle/idolThis is a recent confused pair. I'm guessing it has something to do with the popularity of American Idol. (Although if that's true, wouldn't more people know the difference? It's a puzzler.)Janice planned lots of activities for summer to keep her children from being idle .Jenny's mother wished she'd find someone else to look up to instead of her idol , Lindsay Lohan.The other day, I borrowed a book from my dad that will likely inspire future WNW posts and will definitely bring me lots of nerdy joy: Diction of Confusing Words and Meanings.
I'm salivating already.
© 2011 Annette Lyon, all rights reserved
No comments have been added yet.
