Santa Has No Claws

Claws are long, sharp finger or toenails on animals. (Between the cheetah’s teeth and claws, the antelope was soon dispatched.)

A clause is part of a sentence, or a part of a contract. (You are in violation of clause b, subpart three, so the contract has been invalidated.)

Claus is Santa’s last name. (Santa Claus)

Keep them straight this way: Claws and Werewolf both have a letter “w”. Santa’s name begins and ends with the letter “s”. When a lawyer invokes a contractual clause, you might want to say, “eek!” Both eek and clause contain the letter “e”.

~Marie

Don't Censor the Sensor

A sensor is a mechanical device that takes in information and relays it to a human being in a different location. The rovers on Mars have a large variety of sensors to measure temperature, humidity, and the composition of rocks and soil. My front porch light has a light sensor on it that turns it on when it gets dark and off when it gets light.

A censor is an individual who decides what may be written, broadcast, and said in public, based on the prejudices of the ruling class of a given society. A censor is also a metal ball used to burn incense in, and waved around, generally in a religious context.

Keep them straight this way: Sensor is related to senses. A remote mechanical sensor takes the place of human senses, to a very limited degree. Both words start with an "s". Censor is either related to incense, or censorship...and all three of those words have the letters “cens” in them.

~Marie

Which Witch is Which?

Which is an interrogative, which is a fancy word for ‘question word’. You use it when you are trying to determine the difference between two alternatives (Which was better, the book or the movie?), or the best among a group of choices (Which is the best route to Apache Junction?)

Witch is a noun, commonly used with a negative connotation. It can mean someone who practices either good or bad magic (The Wicked Witch of the West or Glinda the Good Witch in Oz), someone with a bad attitude (What a witch! A phrase commonly used when we really want to use another word that rhymes, but consider ourselves too genteel to utter in polite company). People often dress up as wicked witches for Halloween.  The word almost always refers to a female, as a male practitioner of magic is usually referred to as a mage, a wizard, or a magician. The word is also often used to describe an adherent of Wicca.

Keep them straight this way: Witch has a t in the middle of it, just like that other word we don’t like to use. Both witch and the other word always refer to a person. Which has an h in it, just like other question words such as Who, What, Where, and When.

~Marie

I Know You Said No

The word no is a negative. It means, well, no. It expresses disagreement with something someone else said or did. It is a shorthand word that, depending on the context, can substitute for an entire sentence. No can mean anything from a refusal to cooperate (“Will you take out the trash?” “No.”), a negative reply to a query (“Did you remember to put gas in the car?” “No.”), or a plea to someone to stop what they’re doing (a child screaming “No!” as Mom takes them out into the hall during a church service).

The word know implies knowledge. If you know something, it is a piece of knowledge stored in your brain for some period of time.

Remember which one to use this way: the word know is the first half of the word knowledge. The word no is a very short and simple word. If you want to tell your kids no, then keep it short and simple.

~Marie

The Maid Made the Bed

Made is the past tense of make. I can make something in the future, I can be making it now, or, once it is finished, I can proudly say that I made it.

The word maid had old roots in the word maiden, which refers to a young, unmarried female. In the days when people lived in huge houses and had live-in domestic servants, the word maid took on a new meaning as the job title of the young, unmarried women who cleaned the house. An old maid is an older, unmarried woman. In both maid and old maid, the term usually refers to a woman who has never been married, rather than a widow or divorcee, and is presumed to still be a virgin. Yes, I know that often does not apply today, but language is not good at keeping up with the times. I’m discussing language here, not current sexual practices.

Today, the word maid usually refers to a person, male or female, who works at cleaning other people’s houses. They are typically not live-in, but work either for themselves or for an agency, and clean several homes in a day’s work.

Remember the difference between made and maid this way: Make and made both end in an “e”. At my house “I” am the maid…and both of those words have an “i” in them.

~Marie

One to a Customer

The word soul refers to something which not all of the human race even believes in. Those who do believe in it usually think of a soul as the spirit which animates our body in life, and occasionally haunts our surroundings after death. Many believe that the soul passes to another plane of existence after death. However this blog is not a place to debate philosophy or belief systems, it is a place to learn about writers, writing, and the words that make books possible.

The word sole has several meanings, ranging from only (as in the family’s sole supporter), through a fish (the sole was delicious), to the bottom of your shoe (I need to take my boots in to have the soles repaired).

Keep them separate by remembering that a soul is all about “U”, and if it’s not about “U”, then the word doesn’t have a “u” in it.

~Marie

Devising a Device

Devise is a verb that means you are coming up with a plan to make or do something. It is the planning stage of any project. You can devise a plot for a book, or devise someone's murder...which would make a good plot for a book, come to think of it.

Device is a noun. It is a tool of some sort.

You might use many devices to carry out the plan you devised. Remember them this way: a tool is a concrete thing. You can pick it up and hold it in your hand. Device has a “c” for “concrete”. An idea is abstract. If you tried to pick it up, it would slip through your fingers. Devise has an “s” in it, for “slip through your fingers”.

~Marie

The Bare Naked Bear

I know I spend a lot of time here defining pairs of homonyms, but there are so many of them that get abused and confused, and I feel I need to defend them. Most of the sets I write about are prompted by seeing them misused, generally in people's message board posts or on one or another of the websites I frequent.

Today the homonyms are bear and bare.

Bear, as a noun, is a large furry animal which may or may not be interested in ripping you to shreds on sight. That was one big, ugly bear! As a verb, bear means to hold up or support something, to bear a burden, or carry an object, to bear the Olympic torch, or to bring forth young or fruit to bear a child, or a tree which bears fruit.

Bare as an adjective means naked (bare legs), without the usual coverings (bare walls), or unadorned (the bare truth). If you look at all of these meanings, they can all be replaced with the word naked. The girl's naked legs, the naked walls, the naked truth. They are all without anything extra added.

Remember the difference this way: if you can substitute the word naked, use bare. Both of these words  have an e at or near the end. On the other hand, you would never say an ugly naked, and you would never consider carrying the Olympic torch naked. If you wouldn't do it naked, get the e as far from the end as possible...spell it bear.

~Marie

We're Altogether All Together

I often wonder why English has so many words that sound like each other and mean different things. It would be a much easier language to master without this problem.

The word "altogether" means something is whole or complete. Altogether, the warning signs gave me the impression the edge of the cliff was a dangerous location.

The two-word phrase "all together" indicates that people are gathered in a group. Make sure the children are all together before we leave the museum.

Remember it this way. If it's complete, then the words are one complete piece, altogether. If you have to group the two words together, they stand for a grouping of people, all together.

~Marie

A Peek at the Peak

Yet another homonym pair I often see getting abused.

A peak is the top of something; the highest point of a wizard's power, or the tippy-top of a mountain.

A peek is a quick look at something; a child peeking out from between her fingers, or a sneak peek of a book tucked in the back of another book.

Remember them this way: peAk has an "a" in it. "A" is for altitude, which is height. pEEk and EyE both have two of the letter "e" in them.

~Marie

I would like a piece of peace and quiet!

Ah, the never-ending grammar battle of which word to use. Piece and peace are homonyms, but they mean totally different things.

The word piece means part of a whole.

The word peace means freedom from war, or tranquility. I’m sure most people know the differences between the meanings, but many people spell one when they mean the other.

An easy way to remember which one you need and how to spell it: piece has an “I” in it; and piece begins with the letters p-i-e, so if you remember I took a piece of pie, then that should help your memory. Peace has an "a" in it, and when you have peace and quiet, you want to say "aaaaahhhhhh."

~Jenna

Allusions to Illusions make my Head Spin

An illusion is a distortion of the senses, revealing how the brain normally organizes and interprets sensory stimulation.

An allusion is a figure of speech that makes a reference to, or representation of, people, places, events, literary work, myths, or works of art, either directly or by implication.

These two words are often misused at least in conversation, if not in a literary sense. Illusion is what a magician does; he creates a world or a vision of something that isn’t real. He makes you believe what he shows you is genuine and factual, when in reality it is nothing more than sleight of hand tricks or redirection of your gaze while he manipulates objects before you.

Allusion is the act of reminding you of an earlier reference of an established fact or idea. If you were asked the question, “Do you like cherry trees as much as George does?” the speaker is referring to the youthful indiscretion of our nation’s first president, George Washington, cutting down cherry trees.  You are directing my attention to a bit of early history.

If a person’s long hair is wildly untidy, an allusion to Medusa’s head of snakes would be a comparison easily recognized.

The way I remember to keep these words separate is that if I believed in magic I could become ill; therefore I must keep the illusion of magic in its proper place. My brain is big enough to remember some of the most notable references of historical and literary work ever written, but not all of them, so my allusions may need to be researched for their sources so I may understand the reference to the subject under discussion. 

~Anne

The Boarder Crossed the Border

A border is an outline of some sort, which shows the boundaries of something. It can be a decorative swirl on or near the edge of a picture or greeting card. It can also show the boundaries of a country, an imaginary line drawn on a map to delineate where one government's power stops and another government's power begins.

A boarder is a person who rents a room, either from a private family or a boarding house. The price of the room usually includes meals, thus you are paying for "room and board". The term board, meaning meals, comes from medieval times when the great hall of the castle was turned into a dining room for the duration of a meal by trestle tables, which basically amounted to boards laid on sawhorses. At that time, many people worked in exchange for "clothing, room, and board", without receiving actual money for their labor.

Remember the difference by knowing that boarder and meal both have an "a" in them, and border and country both have no "a".

~Marie

A Lot of Alots

This post is going to be very short, because there isn't much to say on this subject.

The phrase "a lot" means "a large number of the creatures, items, or objects in question". It is used in sentences such as, "What a lot of chocolate bars!"

The word "alot" isn't a word. It means nothing. Don't ever use it. Ever. I mean it. It's seriously annoying to people who speak, read, and write actual English. Actually, it can mean anything you want it to mean, if you accept that it isn't really a word. There's quite an interesting post about the creature known as the alot on the blog Hyperbole and a Half.

Told you this was going to be a short post. ;-)

~Marie

Are you all ready already?

The phrase "all ready" means completely ready, or prepared. You are all, completely, ready. (My son is all ready for his big date). (The car is clean and gassed up all ready for prom night.)

The word "already" can be used to mean "previously" (He already left to pick up his date), or "so soon" (I can't believe he's already old enough to go to prom.)

Keep them apart by remembering that if you're completely ready, you are all ready, while if you're worried about the passage of time, it's already later than you think!

~Marie

Affect the Effect

Affect and effect are two of the most commonly abused words on the internet. It gets even more complicated when people try to explain the difference, because both words have multiple meanings, and both words are nouns as well as verbs.

Affect, as a verb, has two meanings: 1) to act upon or to move. (His words moved the crowd so deeply that many in the audience wept.) His words affected their emotions. 2) to pretend, or assume. (The nouveau riche wench tried to pretend she knew how to act in polite society and failed extravagantly.) Her affectation of the mannerisms of rich people only showed off her new-found money and snobbery.

Affect, as a noun, is a technical term in psychology and psychiatry. It is pronounced with the emphasis on the first syllable and refers to emotions.

Effect, as a verb, means to accomplish, to bring about, or to make happen. (Her hard work and diligence effected a change in the appearance of the neighborhood.)

Effect as a noun means a result or consequence. (There's a new study out on the damaging effects of excessive caffeine on the nervous system.)

The most often used forms of the words are affect meaning to act upon; and effect meaning a result. Remember them this way. The act comes before the result. Affect comes before effect in the dictionary. Her speech affected the crowd, causing quite an effect.

~Marie

It's Quite Quiet

“It’s quite quiet in here, isn’t it?” This sentence would be true in most libraries and other places where noise is to be avoided. These two words mean entirely different things, and yet they are often confused when being written.

Quite is an adverb and means entirely, as in the highest degree or to the fullest extent (It’s not quite as bad as all that!), or rather as in ‘to a considerable or great degree’ (It’s quite disgusting to think of living off eating grub worms!) and is often said in agreement with the subject under discussion (Don’t you think he needs to wash up before fixing our food? Quite!), or nearly, most often used with a negative to indicate that something has almost reached a state or condition and which may indicate an indefinite time frame (The dress is not quite finished.) Quite emphasizes exceptional quality, indicating something to be remarkably good, fine, attractive or otherwise admirable or impressive.

Quiet has so many meanings that I’m listing them each with an example within parentheses just following the meaning. Not noisy (in the quiet of the forest), still (in a quiet corner of the room), done in private (I’d like a quiet word with you.), undisturbed (a quiet life away from publicity or trouble or disturbances), relaxing (a quiet evening at home), not showy (a quiet wedding instead of the grand, showy, pretentious thing her mother wanted), restrained (the doctor’s quiet manner), unspoken (not expressed in words, as in a sense of quiet optimism), not busy (in the bad economy business is a little too quiet), calm or motionless (a quiet sea), to become calm and quiet or make somebody calm and quiet (He sang lullabies to quiet the baby. Will you all just quiet down please?), to allay anxiety (He spoke softly while quieting her doubts.), on the quiet (done secretly; Give the widow this money strictly on the quiet so she won’t know it came from me.).

Nearly all of these can be summed up as being low in audible volume, acting in a calm manner, or some combination of the two.

Dictionary.com has quite a cute quote I’m sharing with you today. "Better is a dry morsel with quiet than a house full of feasting with strife." -unknown author

Because of the diversity of the meanings of both words, the only hook I came up with to aid your memory is a bit absurd, but may help. When you want things to be quiet or to be done quietly, you want to suppress public notice or to keep it silent. The word silent has two syllables, and so does the word quiet. Quite most often may be substituted with the word yet or yes, and all three of them have only one syllable. Inane hint? Quite!

~Anne

Con-GRAD-Ulations!

Thirty years ago when I graduated from high school, I got a lot of well-wishing cards from family and friends. All of them conveyed the same wish, to congratulate me on my graduation. Most of the cards said “Congratulations Graduate” on the front. One of them had a cute kitten wearing a cap and gown, and the caption, “conGRADulations”. I thought it was pretty cute, how the “card people” had combined the words “congratulations” and “graduate”. Obviously a lot of other people thought it was cute too, and the card sold well. Now, you almost can’t find a graduation card that spells “congratulations” properly. I even see people writing the misspelled version as they “congradulate” their friends who are getting engaged, married, having a significant anniversary, and giving birth.

“Congratulations” is a word that conveys the intent to pass well-wishes on as a person celebrates an achievement. “Congradulations” is a hybrid word made up by a greeting card company. It is barely appropriate as a bad pun for people graduation from high school or college. It is never appropriate on any other occasion. Please, congratulate responsibly!

~Marie

The Teeming Crowd was Teaming Up on Me

Teaming is a verb, and is the act of working together as a team. It is a group of people forming a team in order to work together  to accomplish a specific purpose, such as winning a game, unloading a boat, or pummeling a common opponent with snowballs. It’s almost always followed by the word “up”.

Teeming is an adjective, and is used to indicate that there is a crowd present, as in the teeming crowd, or the teeming station.

Remember which is which by knowing that it takes all the people to make a team. “All” and “Teaming” both have an “a” in them. On the other hand, if the people are just crowded together, use teeming, which crowds together two of the letter “e”.

Anyway, Finish Your Homework Any Way You Want To

An interesting pair of misused words; a big thank-you to dictionary.com, where I get my definitions.

The word “anyway” (one word) is an adverb with two meanings: first, it can mean, in any case; anyhow; nonetheless; or regardless; as in, Whether you like it or not, I'm going anyway. It can also be used to continue or resume the thread of a story or account, as in Anyway, we finally found a plumber who could come right over.

The two-word phrase “any way” means “in any manner”. You might use it to say something like I know you’re a competent carpet layer. Finish the room any way you want to, so long as it looks good.

The letter combination “anyways” is often used in place of “anyway”, especially when used to resume a story, but do not be deceived: it is not a real word, and no matter how much people use it, it will never be correct grammar.

How to tell which one to use: If you can substitute the words “in the” for the word “any”, use the two word phrase. If “in the” doesn’t fit the sentence, use the single word “anyway”. Using the above examples, it doesn’t make sense to say, Whether you like it or not, I'm going in the way. It also doesn’t make sense if you say, In the way, we finally found a plumber who could come right over, so both of these sentences call for the single word. However, it does make sense to say, Finish the room in the way you want to, so long as it looks good, so you know to use the two word phrase. Never use the single word “anyways”.