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Nov 30

The flocks wandered through the phlox

Posted on Monday, November 30, 2009 in Homonyms/Homophones, Incorrect word usage

flocks, phlox
flocks means several groups of sheep
phlox means a type of flowering plant

flour, flower
flour means a powder made from grinding wheat
flower means a plant

for, four, fore
for means intended to belong to someone
four means the number after three and before five
fore means toward the front

Nov 29

He had a flair for using flares when in distress

Posted on Sunday, November 29, 2009 in Homonyms/Homophones, Incorrect word usage

flair, flare
flair means a distinctive style
flare means a brightly burning light used in an emergency

flea, flee
flea means an insect
flee means to leave in a hurry

flew, flu, flue
flew means the past tense of fly
flu means influenza
flue means the pipe in a chimney

Nov 28

Washing his feet had become a feat

Posted on Saturday, November 28, 2009 in Homonyms/Homophones, Incorrect word usage

feat, feet
feat means a difficult accomplishment
feet means the plural form of foot

find, fined
find means to discover
fined means to be punished by the imposition of a penalty

fir, fur
fir means an evergreen tree
fur means hair on an animal

Nov 27

It would be easy to distinguish a fawn and a faun

Posted on Friday, November 27, 2009 in Homonyms/Homophones, Incorrect word usage

eye, I
eye means an organ that detects light
I means me

faun, fawn
faun means a mythological creature
fawn means a young deer

faze, phase
faze means to frighten or cause hesitation
phase means part of a sequence

Nov 26

Thanksgiving vocabulary

Posted on Thursday, November 26, 2009 in Misspelled words

autumn, not autum

Corn is also called maize, which is a strange spelling since it is a type of grain of the species Zea mays

pumpkin, not pumkin or punkin

giblets, not jiblets

grateful, not greatful

Nov 25

I thought the cab fare increase was fair

Posted on Wednesday, November 25, 2009 in Homonyms/Homophones, Incorrect word usage

dual, duel
dual means having two components
duel means combat between two people over honor

faint, feint
faint means feeling light-headed
feint means a movement made to confuse the opponent

fair, fare
fair means equitable
fare means money paid for transportation

Nov 24

The paper is a draft on draught horses

Posted on Tuesday, November 24, 2009 in Homonyms/Homophones, Incorrect word usage

doe, dough, do
doe means a female deer
dough means flour
do means a musical note

done, dun
done means finished
dun means brownish gray

draft, draught
draft means a preliminary document
draught means a horse that pulls a burden

Nov 23

I was discreet in locating the discrete signals

Posted on Monday, November 23, 2009 in Homonyms/Homophones, Incorrect word usage

die, dye
die means to cease living
dye means to permanently change color

disburse, disperse
disburse means to pay out
disperse means to distribute

discreet, discrete
discreet means not drawing attention
discrete means separable into individual parts

Nov 22

The pet deer was dear to her

Posted on Sunday, November 22, 2009 in Homonyms/Homophones, Incorrect word usage

dear, deer
dear means precious
deer means an animal

desert, dessert
desert means to abandon
dessert means a sweet food following a meal

dew, do, due
dew means moisture on grass in the morning
do means to accomplish
due means owed

Nov 21

The quarter note symbol triggered the cymbal hit

Posted on Saturday, November 21, 2009 in Homonyms/Homophones, Incorrect word usage

cymbal, symbol
cymbal means a round piece of metal in a drum set
symbol means a character representing an object

dam, damn
dam means something that holds water back
damn means to comdemn to hell

days, daze
days means the plural form of day
daze means to dull the senses