Bronte Follower: Blog

I have just uploaded a floor plan of the Williams house (as an appendix) and chapter 31. I've had the plan since shortly after I began writing Beth, but am only just getting around to posting it.

I've re-posted Chapter 30, again, as I did a relatively poor copy-editing job on it before.

See

http://learnyourdamnhomophones.com/

and

https://storiesonline.net/blogentry/49176

Additional homophones

ordinance - law, regulation

ordnance - weaponry, ammunition

serf - worker bound to land, subject to will of land owner (noun)

surf - waves near/on shore (noun); riding wave (verb)

site - location (noun); put in a location (verb)

sight - vision (noun, verb)

taught - past tense of 'teach' (verb)

taut - tight, no slack (adjective)

Tricksy word duos

arraignment - answering a criminal charge in court (noun)

arrangement - agreement; plan made in preparation (noun)

cloth - short vowel sound, rhymes with moth - fabric (noun); sometimes small pieces (e.g., washcloths)

clothe -- long vowel sound, rhymes with loathes - to dress something or someone (verb)

clothes - apparel, clothing (noun)

eminent - noteworthy, famous (adjective)

imminent - happening very soon (adverb)

loath - hard th sound - REALLY do not want (adjective) - "I am loath to let the car go for less than $5000"

loathe - soft th sound - hate (verb) - "I loathe insincerity"

is uploaded, continuing the previous chapter's naked sleepover.

In homage to Logan Leger and the original homophones explanation (http://learnyourdamnhomophones.com/)

Homophone - homo = same; phone = sound; not to be confused with homophobe (and to which some spell checkers change 'homophone'), which is a whole 'nother animal

A quick explanation about "damn" versus "damned" - The word "damn" is an exclamation and a verb.

Excl.: Damn, that was good. OR Damn! That was hot!
Verb: I damn you to hell!

[Quick aside: If one is not sure what the differences are among adjectives, adverbs, nouns, verbs, etc, one might want to think about learning those before attempting writing.]

However, through ignorance of grammar, 'damn' has been used in ways not acceptable, lo, those many, many moons ago when I was in school. Most dictionaries now accept this "incorrect" usage but being an old fogey, and one with something of a Don Quixote psyche, I frequently tilt at grammatical windmills (go ahead, google 'tilt at windmills;' I use it in the 'vain effort against adversaries' sense). When using a verb - in this case, "damn," as a modifier, one should use what is called a participle (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/participle). In this instance - as a reminder, "damn," that participle is nearly always the past participle - "damned" rather than the present participle - "damning."

Ex.: "that crazy-assed, damned principal" OR "learn your damned homophones"

Note that the construction is the same as if we traded "damn" for "fuck." Most speakers (or authors) don't say, "that crazy-assed, fuck principal." No, they don't. They use a participle, though with 'fuck,' it's nearly always the present participle, 'fucking.' Well, except in sentences like, 'I am fucked,' in which the past participle is used.

Nota bene: I have seen all of the below mistakes made in stories in online storytelling, such as here on SOL. I made one of those (blond/blonde) and was nicely corrected by MooseBreath. Thanks, MB!

My final note here: A large working vocabulary is good, as in writing or speaking, it gives more options and allows more precision! Learn one. Use it.

More damned homophones

Bare - naked
Bear - a large mammal (noun); withstand (verb)

Blond - male with pale hair (from French)
Blonde - female with pale hair (from French)

Coarse - rough (adjective)
Course - college class (noun); run (verb)

Cue - signal (noun, verb), billiards stick (noun)
Queue - line (usu. of people waiting)

Flair - style (noun)
Flare - fire, outburst (noun, verb)

Foul - disgusting
Fowl - a bird

Hoard - a collection of stuff (often ill-gotten) (noun); or the action to obtain such (verb)
Horde - a motley collection of, generally, people (often of barbarians)

Loose - not tight (adjective); or release ('loose the dogs of war') (verb) (pronounced with hard 's' ending)
Lose - misplace (verb); or give away or have taken (in the case of virginity) (pronounced with 'z' ending)

Naval - related to ships
Navel - belly button

Role - a part to play ('actor's role')
Roll - pastry (noun), move in circular manner (verb)

Shudder - shiver (usu. in fear/disgust)
Shutter - window cover (noun); or close (verb)

Straight - direct
Strait - narrow water body (Strait of Magellan); or constriction ('dire straits')

Vain - egotistical; or producing no result (adjective)
Vein - blood vessel; or a rock fracture containing wanted minerals (noun)

Vice - pleasure-based crimes or misdemeanors (pronounced with a hard 's' ending)
Vise - a clamp ('her pussy was like a vise') (pronounced with a 'z' ending)

Waist - between the hips
Waste - trash

And then there are

Peak - summit, mountain (noun)
Peek - quick look (noun, verb)
Pique - excite (verb)

Word duos that get fucked up

The first three items have similar construction, with the noun lacking the ending 'e.' In the first two, the noun is pronounced with a short vowel (as in 'bat' or 'bet') and with a hard 'th' (as in 'math' or 'meth'), while the verb is pronounced with a long a (as in 'bay' or 'bee') and with a soft 'th' (as in 'with'). However, British usage differs slightly from American usage in the bath/bathe dichotomy; I write from the American side of the common-language divide. In the third item, both are pronounced with a long vowel (as in 'beat'), but the 'th' ending is, as expected, hard for the noun, soft for the verb.

Bath - noun ('take a bath')
Bathe - verb ('go bathe')

Breath - noun ('take a breath')
Breathe - verb ('you should breathe')

Sheath - noun ('He sank his sword in her sheath.')
Sheathe - verb ('He wants to sheathe his sword in her.')

Accept - consent (verb)
Except - not alike ('all are the same except this one') (preposition)
Expect - anticipate (verb)

Among - comparison of more than two items ('among the three of us')
Between - comparison of two - and only two - items ('between you and me')

Chose - past tense of verb 'choose' ('Back then, I chose life.')
Choose - select, pick (verb) ('I now choose death.')

Clench - tightening of a body part ('My stomach clenched when I saw the body.')
Clinch - hug; or ensure win before game or season is over

Defiantly - in a boldly resistant manner (Amazing how often these are confused)
Definitely - absolutely, certainly

Every day - occurs on all days (noun phrase; 'I have to do that same damned thing every day.)
Everyday - boring, commonplace (adjective; 'the freaking everyday schedule of my life')

Opposed to - against something ('I am opposed to poor grammar.')
Supposed to... - required action ('I am supposed to go to Mom's for dinner.')

Staring - intently watching (form of verb 'stare')
Starring - being the headliner (form of verb 'star')