Okay, it's been a while, and yes I have NOT slumped over my keyboard. I intend to resume posting stories here, just not right away. Personal reasons. 'nuff said.
Instead I am putting on my Grammar Nazi helmet.
Now "lose" and "loose" are not quite homonyms, in that one (lose) has a soft "s" sound, more like a "z" and the other (loose) has a hard "s" sound. To wit: looze as opposed to loose.
I know, counter intuitive but that's American English for you.
Got it?
Good.
Now, and this has cropped up in an SOL story I'm currently reading (name redacted to avoid embarrassing anyone) as well as on another web site I frequent.
To "lose" something is not to "loose" it.
If you "lose" something you can't find it.
If you "loose" something it means you have released it, untied it, set it free.
If you loose something you may, indeed, lose it. Not necessarily a bad thing. If I have a loose tooth I might eventually lose it.
Got it?
Good. Because I think I just lost my mind.