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Dec 11

The horde was know to hoard dried beef

Posted on Friday, December 11, 2009 in Homonyms/Homophones, Incorrect word usage

him, hymn
him means the male version of her
hymn means a song of worship

hoard, horde
hoard means to have a secret supply of something
horde means a large group of people

hoarse, horse
hoarse means a raspy voice
horse means a animal used for riding

Dec 10

That high hertz sound hurts the dog's ears

Posted on Thursday, December 10, 2009 in Homonyms/Homophones, Incorrect word usage

hertz, hurts
hertz means a unit of frequency
hurts means part of your body is in pain

hew, hue, Hugh
hew means to cut wood
hue means a shade of color
Hugh means a person’s name

hi, high
hi means hello
high means being elevated

Dec 9

This salve will heal her heel

Posted on Wednesday, December 9, 2009 in Homonyms/Homophones, Incorrect word usage

heal, heel, he’ll
heal means to make healthy
heel means the back of the bottom of your foot
he’ll means he will

heard, herd
heard means that you detected a sound
herd means a group of cattle

heed, he’d
heed means to comply
he’d means he had

Dec 8

Hey! Get that hay in the barn.

Posted on Tuesday, December 8, 2009 in Homonyms/Homophones, Incorrect word usage

halve, have
halve means to divide in half
have means to possess

hangar, hanger
hangar means a building for an airplane
hanger means a wire loop to hold a shirt

hay, hey
hay means cut, dried grass
hey means an exclamation to get someone’s attention

Dec 7

Répondez s'il vous plaît (RSVP)

Posted on Monday, December 7, 2009 in Email tips

Lately I have been sending emails that never get responses. I would be happy to just get a “yup” or “ok” in response.

Did my email ever arrive in their Inbox? Did it end up in their spam folder? Do I need to include RSVP? Do I need to request a delivery receipt?

Even if they plan a more detailed response later, they could at least tell me that with, “I’ll get back to you on this.”

For more email ettiquette tips, I recommend 101 Email Etiquette Tips. Please pay special attention to #14.

Dec 6

The hair on hares is usually called fur

Posted on Sunday, December 6, 2009 in Homonyms/Homophones, Incorrect word usage

hail, hale
hail means frozen balls of ice
hale means healthy

hair, hare
hair means what you comb
hare means an animal similar to a rabbit

hall, haul
hall means a corridor
haul means to carry

Dec 5

I guessed the contents of the guest list

Posted on Saturday, December 5, 2009 in Homonyms/Homophones, Incorrect word usage

grease, Greece
grease means a petroleum based lubricant
Greece means a country

groan, grown
groan means to make a low growling sound
grown means developed or advanced

guessed, guest
guessed means the past tense of guess
guest means one invited

Dec 4

The bull gored the gourd

Posted on Friday, December 4, 2009 in Homonyms/Homophones, Incorrect word usage

gored, gourd
gored means to be pierced by the horn of a bull
gourd means a dried and hardened shell of the fruit from a plant

gorilla, guerilla
gorilla means a large ape
guerilla means a soldier fighting by surprise raids

grate, great
grate means a horizontal metal grille in a gutter
great means very good

Dec 3

She knew the baby gnu was new to the world

Posted on Thursday, December 3, 2009 in Homonyms/Homophones, Incorrect word usage

gild, guild
gild means to coat with a thing layer of gold
guild means a group of tradespeople

gilt, guilt
gilt means a thin layer of gold
guilt means responsibility for wrongdoing

gnu, new, knew
gnu means an African antelope
new means recently made or created
knew means the past tense of know

Dec 2

The friar poured cooking oil into the fryer

Posted on Wednesday, December 2, 2009 in Homonyms/Homophones, Incorrect word usage

friar, fryer
friar means a member of a Christian order
fryer means a container for frying food

gait, gate
gait means the manner of walking
gate means a doorway in a fence

gene, jean
gene means a unit of heredity
jean means made of denim