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The Ear Is Human: A Handbook of Homophones and Other Confusions
Alphabetically lists pairs of words that sound alike but mean different things and outlines the distinctions between them
- GenresReference
119 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1985
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 2, 2024
Please due knot judge me to harshly four taking three and uh haft months two reed this 119 paige book. It was lost four too of those months aft her my rug-rat nieces and nephews visited (hyding under a char), butt eye eventually found it again. All so, eye was just reeding it as eye wiled aweigh minuets hear and their and had other books witch eye was reeding wythe a porpoise going on at the same thyme.
Ok, ENOUGH with the homophone/near-homophone fun. Was it as obnoxious for you to read as it was for me to write?
James J. Kilpatrick was the editor of my local paper years ago, and one of the things he did was put out a grammar column on Sundays that I enjoyed. His talent for wordplay is superb, and he was always an enjoyable read in the dailies as long as you could stomach his politics. Since he and I are both conservative, I handled him just fine, but it was his prowess with the English language that truly impressed me.
In this book, he gives examples of errors found mostly in newspapers and magazines, and then he rather ostentatiously corrects them. (Pretentiousness is a quality that should be found in any self-respecting grammarian, and he exhibits the characteristic with flying colors). I found the book to be a most enjoyable read between his wit and many of the mistakes painting such colorful pictures in my mind. Here are a "cupola" examples. (Sorry, it looks like I haven't gotten the homophone fun completely out of my system yet).
"A classified ad in the Goldsboro (N.C.) Argus set forth an offer no red-blooded mariner could resist: '250-LB boat wench, used but in good condition. $150.'.... Ah, those seagoing girls of the Carolina coast!"
"The Roanoke Times & World-News painted a graphic picture of the rescue of campers whose campsite was swept away by a flood on the New River. 'When rescue workers arrived, Simpson had climbed a tree and Vickers was standing in water up to his waste.'"
A house for sale included a "unique laundry shoot" according to the Mobile Press Register.
Winch, waist, and chute were the wanted words respectively unless you're a particular sportswriter for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in which case they were the wanted words respectably.
Kilpatrick also occasionally makes observations on other oddities found in the English language. "It is no use asking me why sew and sow should both be pronounced to rhyme with hoe and slow, because these things are stumpers. Neither do I understand why the bow of a ship rhymes with the bough of a tree, and the bow of an archer rhymes with the toe of a shoe. These things were put into English to irritate the French, whose superiority about their language can be infuriating.... this is the sow that rhymes with hoe and not the sow that rhymes with plough. We will teach aliens a thing or two yet." And speaking of the "toe of a shoe," the Martin County (Fla.) News gave a movie review about a flick in which two teens needed to call a "toe truck," and several candidates for an election were "shoe-ins" according to several newspapers, a word which doesn't even exist because the rhyming "shoo-in" expresses the intent just fine, but "shoe-in" pops up all the time nonetheless.
By being the editor of a newspaper, taking a strong stand on issues, and having a nationally syndicated column, Kilpatrick caught plenty of flak in his day. He uses this book as a platform to address a couple of comments directed his way in the past. A reader noted in a letter that "Kilpatrick's comments were typical statements of those well-meaning, misguided, ill-informed, self-appointed saviors of the federal budget. 'The heart of his dribble centered around two points...'.... Well, it isn't dribble I write. No, indeed. I write drivel. Sticks and stones may break my bones, but those who mean to hurt my feelings with words had better get straight on the words."
One other thing I appreciated about the book was the fact that Kilpatrick is a conservative. Being a Stephen King fan I take his democrat jabs at my team peppered throughout his novels in stride because I enjoy reading his books more than I want to boycott his politics. The same applies to other writers who are writing something not related to politics and issues. If I limited myself solely to conservative novelists, grammarians, historians, etc, then my reading list would be quite short indeed. It's a pleasure to read slight jabs I appreciate sprinkled in a book for a change. This book was published in 1985 just after the Reagan/Bush-Mondale/Ferraro election, and... well... Just like with Dubya during his elections, there was no dearth of material at which one could poke fun at Mondale and Ferraro.
So, if any of the examples above tickle your fancy, then I suggest checking this out. I learned a few new words from it but was surprised to discover I already knew the difference between many of the homophones and other confusions.
Ok, ENOUGH with the homophone/near-homophone fun. Was it as obnoxious for you to read as it was for me to write?
James J. Kilpatrick was the editor of my local paper years ago, and one of the things he did was put out a grammar column on Sundays that I enjoyed. His talent for wordplay is superb, and he was always an enjoyable read in the dailies as long as you could stomach his politics. Since he and I are both conservative, I handled him just fine, but it was his prowess with the English language that truly impressed me.
In this book, he gives examples of errors found mostly in newspapers and magazines, and then he rather ostentatiously corrects them. (Pretentiousness is a quality that should be found in any self-respecting grammarian, and he exhibits the characteristic with flying colors). I found the book to be a most enjoyable read between his wit and many of the mistakes painting such colorful pictures in my mind. Here are a "cupola" examples. (Sorry, it looks like I haven't gotten the homophone fun completely out of my system yet).
sequenced/sequined
Curious things go through the absent-minded heads of people who edit copy. The AP reported from Pinedale, Wyo., on the town council's action in voting down a proposed ordinance to ban guns. "Before the council meeting, a woman in a sequenced dancing outfit and a person in a gorilla suit passed out balloons..."
I once interviewed a woman in a sequenced dancing outfit. She was a stripper by trade. Garment by garment, she went from a Southern belle in hoopskirts to a contemporary tigress in nothing at all. She was sequenced, all right, and everything came off bar by bra to a medley from Showboat.
The woman in Wyoming, to get back to linguistics, probably was in a sequined outfit. Some centuries ago sequins were small gold coins in the Near East; they're now the tiny metallic petals that adorn a dress.
"A classified ad in the Goldsboro (N.C.) Argus set forth an offer no red-blooded mariner could resist: '250-LB boat wench, used but in good condition. $150.'.... Ah, those seagoing girls of the Carolina coast!"
"The Roanoke Times & World-News painted a graphic picture of the rescue of campers whose campsite was swept away by a flood on the New River. 'When rescue workers arrived, Simpson had climbed a tree and Vickers was standing in water up to his waste.'"
A house for sale included a "unique laundry shoot" according to the Mobile Press Register.
Winch, waist, and chute were the wanted words respectively unless you're a particular sportswriter for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in which case they were the wanted words respectably.
Kilpatrick also occasionally makes observations on other oddities found in the English language. "It is no use asking me why sew and sow should both be pronounced to rhyme with hoe and slow, because these things are stumpers. Neither do I understand why the bow of a ship rhymes with the bough of a tree, and the bow of an archer rhymes with the toe of a shoe. These things were put into English to irritate the French, whose superiority about their language can be infuriating.... this is the sow that rhymes with hoe and not the sow that rhymes with plough. We will teach aliens a thing or two yet." And speaking of the "toe of a shoe," the Martin County (Fla.) News gave a movie review about a flick in which two teens needed to call a "toe truck," and several candidates for an election were "shoe-ins" according to several newspapers, a word which doesn't even exist because the rhyming "shoo-in" expresses the intent just fine, but "shoe-in" pops up all the time nonetheless.
By being the editor of a newspaper, taking a strong stand on issues, and having a nationally syndicated column, Kilpatrick caught plenty of flak in his day. He uses this book as a platform to address a couple of comments directed his way in the past. A reader noted in a letter that "Kilpatrick's comments were typical statements of those well-meaning, misguided, ill-informed, self-appointed saviors of the federal budget. 'The heart of his dribble centered around two points...'.... Well, it isn't dribble I write. No, indeed. I write drivel. Sticks and stones may break my bones, but those who mean to hurt my feelings with words had better get straight on the words."
One other thing I appreciated about the book was the fact that Kilpatrick is a conservative. Being a Stephen King fan I take his democrat jabs at my team peppered throughout his novels in stride because I enjoy reading his books more than I want to boycott his politics. The same applies to other writers who are writing something not related to politics and issues. If I limited myself solely to conservative novelists, grammarians, historians, etc, then my reading list would be quite short indeed. It's a pleasure to read slight jabs I appreciate sprinkled in a book for a change. This book was published in 1985 just after the Reagan/Bush-Mondale/Ferraro election, and... well... Just like with Dubya during his elections, there was no dearth of material at which one could poke fun at Mondale and Ferraro.
So, if any of the examples above tickle your fancy, then I suggest checking this out. I learned a few new words from it but was surprised to discover I already knew the difference between many of the homophones and other confusions.
August 3, 2016
Fun little reference for those confusing, similar, but different kinds of words. This book cleared up many of my personal "stinkers" and made me laugh at the expense of others' confusion.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews