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Feb 19

I told him he would be tolled on that road

Posted on Friday, February 19, 2010 in Homonyms/Homophones, Incorrect word usage

told, tolled
told means the past tense of tell
tolled means to have been charged a toll

trussed, trust
trussed means secured or bound with ropes
trust means confidence in someone

vale, veil
vale means valley
veil means a covering meant to obscure the view

Feb 18

Two thousand is too many to count

Posted on Thursday, February 18, 2010 in Homonyms/Homophones, Incorrect word usage

to, too, two
to means heading toward a destination
too means also
two means more than one and less than three

toad, towed
toad means an amphibian similar to a frog
towed means being pulled behind something

toe, tow
toe means one of the five digits on the end of the foot
tow means to pull something behind

Feb 17

It it time to buy more thyme

Posted on Wednesday, February 17, 2010 in Homonyms/Homophones, Incorrect word usage

thyme, time
thyme mean a type of herb
time means past, present and future

tic, tick
tic means a facial twitch
tick means a clicking sound make by a mechanical clock

tide, tied
tide means the slow rising and falling of the ocean on a beach
tied means to be bound

Feb 14

He threw the ball through the tire swing

Posted on Sunday, February 14, 2010 in Homonyms/Homophones, Misspelled words

theirs, there’s
theirs means something belonging to a group of people
there’s means a contraction of there is or there has

threw, through
threw means that someone caused something to move rapidly through the air
through means to pass from one side of an opening to the other

thrown, throne
thrown means that something had been caused to move rapidly through the air
throne means an ornate chair for a king or queen

Feb 13

The tern made a sharp turn during flight

Posted on Saturday, February 13, 2010 in Homonyms/Homophones, Incorrect word usage

tear, terror
tear means to rip
terror means fright

tear, tier
tear means a drop of moisture from the eye
tier means a level

tern, turn
tern means a bird
turn means to change direction

Feb 12

Schedule your tee time after tea time

Posted on Friday, February 12, 2010 in Homonyms/Homophones, Incorrect word usage

tail, tale
tail means a flexible appendage to the rear of an animal’s body
tale means a story

tea, tee
tea means a beverage made by steeping dried leaves of the tea plant
tee means the area where a golfer hits their first shot toward the hole

team, teem
team means a group of people playing a sport
teem means to be stocked to overflowing

Feb 11

She paid tax when buying tacks

Posted on Thursday, February 11, 2010 in Homonyms/Homophones, Incorrect word usage

suite, sweet
suite means a group of connected rooms
sweet means having a pleasant taste

surge, serge
surge means a sudden rush
serge means a type of worsted cloth

tacks, tax
tacks means small nails with flat heads
tax means money paid to a government

Feb 10

This is an unusually straight strait

Posted on Wednesday, February 10, 2010 in Homonyms/Homophones, Incorrect word usage

step, steppe
step means one of the platforms in a staircase
steppe means vast cold, dry grass-plains

stile, style
stile means a vertical component of a door frame
style means a manner of doing things

straight, strait
straight means not crooked
strait means a narrow channel of water connecting two larger bodies of water

Feb 8

Due to a glue spill, the stationery was stationary

Posted on Monday, February 8, 2010 in Homonyms/Homophones, Incorrect word usage

stake, steak
stake means a long, slender, pointed piece of wood
steak means a slice of beef for broiling

stationary, stationery
stationary means incapable of being moved
stationery means writing materials

steal, steel
steal means to rob
steel means iron hardened with carbon

Feb 7

The sun shone on my son at the beach

Posted on Sunday, February 7, 2010 in Homonyms/Homophones, Incorrect word usage

son, sun
son means a person’s male offspring
sun means the star which the earth revolves around

staid, stayed
staid means serious
stayed means remained in place

stair, stare
stair means a series of steps
stare means to look fixedly at someone or something