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Have you ever had to alter a draft of your writing because you confused two homophones? It's easy to do online, but harder if you're using expensive stationery. And what about those instances where you didn't even realize you were using the wrong homophone? Knowing you've been doing it wrong for years can feel like a hangar-size mistake. Any idea where we're going with this? ๐ You might have spotted three sneaky homophones in the sentences above: alter, stationery and hangar. Each has a counterpart with a one-letter difference: an "ar" instead of an "er" or vice versa. And if you've ever used one of these words not realizing there was even another option, you're not alone. We've seen this mistake enough that we have entries for all three pairs of homophones in our style guide. Here's something that might help you keep it straight: Altars and hangars are stationary. Both "altar" and "hangar" refer to physical structures. You walk down the aisle to the altar at a wedding, and you store airplanes in a hangar. Things that don't move are stationary, while you write on stationery. But sorry, we can't come up with a handy sentence linking alter (to change), hanger (the things you put your clothes on) and stationery. Or maybe we can: You take your clothes off the hanger to alter your outfit to match your stationery. OK, that's a stretch. Can you do better? Hit reply and let us know. โค Team Stylebot
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Hone your writing skills and never use "hone in" again. Get writing tips, have fun with words and learn something new in a one-minute read each week by signing up for Stylebotโs newsletter.
If you waited with bated breath last week for the Ides of March to pass, you can thank Shakespeare. We already told you that he gets the credit for the lasting power of the Ides of March as a bad omen. He's also responsible for keeping bait's homophone "bate" around in another enduring phrase. We don't use "bate" very much anymore, but it came about in the 1300s to mean "to diminish" (and yes, its origins are tied to a shorter version of "abate," which is still commonly used today)....
Today is Friday the 13th, the second one of the year. And if today's association with bad luck isn't enough for you, then look no further than Sunday's bad omen: the Ides of March. So what do we make of these two inauspicious days? The origins of Friday the 13th being unlucky are hard to pin down, though Christianity and Norse mythology regard 13 as an unlucky number of dinner guests, according to Encyclopaedia Britannica. Britannica also points to other biblical references that regard Friday...
If you've been watching hockey this season or you're gearing up for this year's World Cup, you're likely familiar with the term hat trick. And if you're not, here you go: It's when one player scores three goals in one game. It's commonly associated with hockey and soccer, but it can apply to other sports, as well as to a series of three victories. But there are no hats in soccer, and hockey players wear helmets. So why the "hat"? "Hat trick" made its sports debut in cricket. When a bowler...