We learned the definition of a homophone way back last November when this blog began and we have covered a lot of ground since that time. Hopefully, by now you not only know the definition and several examples of a homophone, but also the value of understanding when to use the correct version when you come to a homophone crossroad. Using a dictionary or going to a site like http://www.yourdictionary.com/ will also help.
If, after researching several of these posts, you are still feeling a bit uneasy about using the right word, you might be able to dispel that level of discomfort by going to my website www.atlantafreelancewriter.com and requesting a special summary report of some of the most trickiest sound-alikes and the intelligent way to discern and use them.
Should this blog or the bonus from my website confuse, embarrass or disconcert you (and I certainly hope that is not the case), then you would say or write that such unnerving action would discomfit you.
Meanwhile, the best comfort I can offer is, when in doubt, to always use a dictionary.
My wife’s birthday is coming in September and we had a little discussion recently about the possibility of giving her a nice piece of jewelry as a present, such as a brooch (pronounced ”brōch”). Typically, a brooch is an ornamental clasp that pins to a garment. Unfortunately, she considers it more of an older woman’s type of jewelry. How was I to know?
How many times have you ever tried to broach a delicate subject such as a woman’s age and then later regretted bringing up the matter because it either offended someone or because it was controversial?
If you fail to live up to a promise of a gift, for example, or a law, you may be said to be in breach of a contract.
In that case, you can land up on your breech, or your buttocks.
Men’s fashion from the 1600s through the early 1900s featured breeches (rhymes with “witches” not with ”beaches”), or a type of knee-length trouser-like garment worn with stockings. The term eventually elided into a colloquial variant we now know as britches.
Now that we have all of this knowledge, it is important not to get too big for one’s britches!
If you have been keeping up with the latest grammar and homophone posts on this site, then you may be current with the thread of puns and witticisms that run like a strong current throughout this blog.
Sometimes, a local jounal or gazette will go by the term courant, as in The Hartford Courant, the country’s oldest continuous newspaper. The term, courant, comes from the French phrase, au courant, which means to be informed of current affairs.
Oh, and if you like PB&J sandwiches, the preserve to match your favorite brand of creamy or chunky peanut butter may come from a translucent red, white or black berry called a currant.
Hope these definitions add value to your vocabulary’s currency.
Too often people finish the above sentence with “flout it.” To flout, however, means to “disobey,” or to “treat with contempt.”
If someone has a sporty new car, or an expensive diamond bracelet, then they may “flaunt” it, that is, “show it off.”
Caution: don’t flaunt your new-found vocabulary knowledge , and, also, remember not to flout the rules of grammar.
The basis for the book and movie of this title date back to 1497 in Florence, Italy when Savanarola led the burning of books, artwork, fine clothing, mirrors, etc., anything that might cause a person to become vain about themselves.
Some people today are so vain that they have procedures to rid themselves of an uncomplimentary blood vein or two.
As we endure the trappings of today’s vanities, we often look to wonder which way the weather vane is blowing for the latest “got to have.”
As Carly Simon might sing: “You’re so vain, you probably think this post is about you…”
We all recognize the famous idiom of dangling a carrot on a stick as a reward. However, we have a few homophones with entirely different definitions:
A carat is the international unit of mass for describing gemstones and pearls, as in a diamond engagement ring. Some romanticists or, for that matter, even cynics, might see a similarity to the carrot incentive.
The term karat measures the purity of gold, as in 18-karat or 24-karat, the latter being as pure a setting as it gets for that two-caret diamond above.
Editors and writers will recognize a caret mark ^ as a proofreading symbol used when a word, phrase or punctuation mark needs to be inserted into a sentence. Less known is the fact that the caret is also utilized in statistics, mathematics, programming and music.
When it comes to digesting all of these particular homophones, it’s like that famous carrot-munching rabbit once said: “Eh, what’s up doc?”
Yesterday marked a milestone for the “Tabs on Writing” blog: the 100th post!
Remember that when writing numerals, any quantity for 10 and higher should be indicated in Arabic numerals, if you are following the Associated Press Stylebook. The numbers one through nine should be spelled in their entirety, e.g., one, two, three, etc.
Here are a couple of caveats: if a sentence begins with a number, either try to re-compose it, or, if unable to do so, then you should spell it out: Thousands of travelers were stranded due to the inclement weather.
Use Roman numerals when referring to wars, and for personal sequence of animals, people and, of course, Super Bowls.
Proper grammar and spelling of numbers - it all adds up to successful writing in the end.
Sometimes, it is proper word “et-itquette” to shorten our sentence structure in order to spare the readers their precious time, so the Romans have given us two tools to improve our writing manners, and they both begin with the letters “et.”
For many of us, however, it is difficult to remember which “et” to use, so here is an explanation:
Use etc., (which stands for et cetera, meaning “and the rest” – complete with a comma always - except at the end of a sentence, of course) when listing a group of things, e.g., Cars, trains, automobiles, etc., are all means of transportation.
On the other hand, use et al. (which stands for et alia meaning ”and others” – complete with a period always) when referring to a list of people, e.g., Smith, Jones, Williams, et al. from the fraternity graduated with honors.
If you don’t use the period, you will then have to change the Latin ending of alia to its proper masculine, feminine or neuter form (that’s way too much work).
My five-year granddaughter musingly loves to create similes for a song she learned in pre-K entitled: “Dancing Like a Leaf.” Her comparisons range from the sublime (snowflake) to the silly (elephant).
If she ever decides to compose a version of the song comparing all of the branches of an entire tree, then the melody would be re-named: “Dancing Like the Leaves.”
If you use the word leave by itself, it had better be to describe the action of departing. As a corollary to that verb’s proper usage, the word let pertains to allowing someone to do something or for something to happen.
Thus, the Beatle’s 1970 classic is grammatically correct as Let It Be,whereas Peter, Paul and Mary’s hit tune was Leaving on a Jet Plane. Did you know that John Denver composed that hit?
While we are still in the month of August, let’s take a look at two more homophonic words that begin with “aug.”
In Roman times, an augur was an official who acted as a soothsayer, interpreting the will of the gods through signs and omens. As a verb in modern times, augur means “to give promise of, or to presage an event.”
If you need to drill a hole in wood, an auger is a hand tool that was frequently used before the invention of electric drills. Certain bits used with a power drill are still called auger bits. In major farming and construction drilling for posts and telephone poles, a giant-sized, machine-driven auger is utilized.
Hope your future drilling and vocabulary efforts bode well for you.