WNW: Homophones, Take 3

Time for another round of homophones that are commonly confused.

Six more pairs in today's Word Nerd Wednesday:

rise/raise

Something rises on its own, like bread or the sun. Or yourself, if you're talking about getting out of bed in the morning.

A person or thing raises another object, like the curtain on a stage, or an employee's wage, or children.

Hint: The second word (raise) requires a direct object, like the curtain or the wage. It can't be alone:

I raised. We raised. He raised.

Nope. Those don't make any sense. We need a "what" that is the object of the raising.

everyday/every day

This one has its own WNW post, but in short, the single word (everyday) is an adjective, while the two-word version describes a time period. It answers the question, "When?"

Tip: If you can add "single" in the middle, you know you need the two-word version.

Brushing my teeth is an everyday thing.

I brush my teeth every (single) day.

fair/fare

If something is just and evenhanded, it's fair, like a test or a ruling.

What you pay to ride the bus is a fare.

shown/shone

Moments after my daughter comes home from school, I've been shown her latest creation. (Past tense of show.)

When something is very bright and shines (such as the sun), the past tense is shone or shined.

do/due

The most common way of using these wrong is like so:

She'll just have to make due with the current job schedule.

Nope. What you need here is DO:

She'll just have to make do with the current job schedule.

The other words, due means (among other things) when something is expected, like a library book or an assignment or a baby.

I think the confusion comes in with another definition of due: Something owned or rightfully belonging to someone, such as:

The teacher gave Scott his due.

Maybe people are thinking "make do" and "his due" mean the same thing? I don't know.

advise/advice

When you're asking for help on something, you may ask your friend to advise you. (VERB)

What your friend then gives you is advice. (NOUN)

I'm learning some fun Finnish terms for a project I'm working on. Maybe they'll show up in a future Word Nerd Wednesday!

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/eek

• If 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/discreet

I'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/boulder

• In 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/later

I'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/past

I 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 lot

Peeve, 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/idol

This 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.

WNW: Homophones Edition

Another edition of Word Nerd Wednesday with homophones brought to my attention by my trusty readers.

Lightning/Lightening

When a bolt of bright electricity shoots through the sky during a storm, that is lightning.

When dawn comes, the darkness is going away and the room may be lightening.

Lead/Led

I see these two words used interchangeably, both as the past tense form of what a follower does with a leader. The confusion likely happens because the past tense of the verb lead is led, which happens to rhyme with the metal lead.

Present tense: I walk through the forest and lead the way for those behind me.

Past tense: I walked through the forest; I led the way for those behind me.

Anyway/Any Way

If something happens in spite of someone's efforts, it takes place anyway.

If you wonder whether something is possible, you may ask if there is any way it could come about.

Throws/Throes

When Mark pitches a baseball, he throws it.

When Janet is dealing with emotional turmoil, she could be in the throes of depression. Someone else could be in the last throes of death, or in the throes of passion.

Threw/Through/Thru

First word here is simply the past tense of the one above: Mark threw the ball.

Something or someone passes through something else, such as a train through a tunnel.

An old-fashioned version of through is thru.

Peak/Peek/Pique

The top of a gable roof has a peak.

If you're peering around a corner, you may catch a peek at something secret.

The first page of a book may pique your interest.

All Together/Altogether

If something is very complicated, it could be altogether confusing. (In other words, completely.)

The family went to the store all together. (In a group.)

Have more homophones that confuse you? Send 'em in!