key, quay

Key or key means a device to open a lock--
He lost the key and now he can't open the door.
Key also means a legend or guide, as on a chart or plan--
Look for the key that tells what the symbols on this chart mean.
Key is also a musical term meaning overall tone or mood--
Many people think music in a minor key sounds sad.
Key also means main or most important--
Let's go over the key points again.
Key means one of the buttons on a typewriter, a piano, or some other devices or instruments--
The shift key on my computer is stuck.
He is not sure which key to press.

Quay or quay ( rhymes with key ) means a wharf, or a place for a ship to dock--
The ship was tied up at the quay.
He liked to sit on the quay, watching the ships come and go.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"One of the key points of interest is the old quay, where the old wooden ships are docked."

Note--"key" also means a reef or low island--
We left the tent on the key; we'll go back to get it tomorrow.
Note # 2--"cay" also means a reef or low island--
That cay is a great spot to watch for dolphins.

par, parr

Par or par means a standard or equivalent, as in the value of currency or a share of stock, or an average golf score--
These bonds are offered for sale at below par, so they should be a good deal.
His usual golf score is just under par.
This hole is a par five.

Parr or parr ( rhymes with par ) means the young of salmon or some other fish--
The lake was stocked with parr last year, so the fishing should be good by now.
We have to throw the parr back; the limit is an 8" fish.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"He bought some stock in a salmon fishery at par, and dreamed of thousands of swimming little parr."

Note--"par."  ( with a period at the end ) is an abbreviation, probably for paragraph--
See par. 6, page 5.
Note # 2--"par" means a standard golf score, or the score a good golfer would achieve.  To score "under par" or "below par " is good--better than "par". To describe something as "under par" would  mean better than average, as a golf analogy--
He is a good golfer, and consistently scores under par.
Note # 3--a bond or a share of stock that is valued "below par" is being sold for less than a standard price, possibly because it inspires little confidence. As Wall Street jargon, "below par" means less than, or not as good as, average--good only if you're looking for a bargain--
I'd like to unload these bonds, even if they are sold at below par.
So, next time someone describes something as "below par", unless they are golfers or finance analysts, you'll have to ask them if that's good or bad ( why no one but golfers or finance analysts should use this bit of jargon).

stoop, stoup

Stoop or stoop means to bend over, or to lower oneself, literally or figuratively--
He had to stoop to get through the low doorway.
He wouldn't stoop to behavior like that.
Stoop may also mean a small raised platform or porch--
They sat on the stoop on warm nights.

Stoup or stoup ( rhymes with stoop ) means a drinking vessel or tankard--
He stopped at the inn each evening for a stoup of ale.
Stoup may also mean the quantity of liquid defined by the same drinking vessel or tankard--
A stoup was roughly equivalent to a pint.
Stoup also means a basin set into the wall of a church, used for holy water--
He dipped his fingers in the stoup and made the sign of the cross.

 Now that you know that, you can say--
"Some gave short measure of ale, but the publican wouldn't stoop to putting less than a stoup of ale in each stoup."
 

while, wile

While or while means during, or for a span of time--
Pay attention while our guest is speaking.
Don't talk while the movie is playing.
While may also mean the span or period of time itself--
We will go home in a little while.
Try to stay busy for a while.

Wile or wile ( rhymes with while ) means a trick, or an artful bit of  behavior meant to fool or deceive--
She had a cunning wile of always seeming to agree with people, now matter what she though of their opinions.
His wile of seeming too helpless to fend for himself lured many young women to him.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"While he was talking, she used the classic wile of seeming to hang on his every word."

Note--"wiles" is the plural ( more than one ) of "wile", meaning tricks, or  artful or cunning behavior--
He was afraid that each female he met was out to snare him with her womanly wiles.
"Whiles" is the third person singular ( he, she, it ) form of the verb ( action word ) "while", meaning to pass time idly and pleasantly--
He whiles away every afternoon looking for butterflies.
Note # 2--"wild" means untamed or growing naturally--
There are some wild onions growing in the yard.
"Whiled" ( rhymes with wild ) is the past tense ( yesterday, or some time ago ) of "while"--
They whiled away each day doing nothing in particular.

con, conn

Con or con means to perpetrate a scam or fraud--
That guyed tried to con us into buying swamp land in Florida.
He is trying to con the teacher into letting us go early.
Con may also mean the scam or fraud itself--
This e-mail sounds like a con. It's too good to be true.
Con is also slang for convict, or ex-convict ( someone who has been in jail )--
The con had a hard time adjusting to life outside of the prison.
Con may mean against, or opposed to--
Is he a pro or a con on this issue?

Conn or conn ( rhymes with con ) means to steer a ship or to give orders for the steering of a ship--
Lieutenant, you have the conn.
The first time he had to conn the ship he was very nervous.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"He tried to con the captain into letting him conn the ship, although he had no experience."

Note--"Conn." is an old-fashioned abbreviation for Connecticut--
I found an old piece of mail addressed to Hartford, Conn.
Note # 2--"khan " ( rhymes with con ) is a title of nobility in the Middle East--
All of these camels belong to the khan.
Genghis Khan once ruled much of Asia.
Note # 3--"con-" is used as a prefix ( added to the beginning of a word ), meaning with, as in conjure or convince.
Note # 4--"con" is also used as a musical direction. Com is Italian for "with"--
This is meant to be played con brio.
Note # 5--"con." may be an abbreviation for continued--
Con. on page 5.

rack, wrack

Rack or rack means a frame or support for storing or displaying things--
You can hang your coat on the rack.




Rack also means to torture or cause pain--
He had to rack his brains to remember the password.

Wrack or wrack ( rhymes with rack ) means ruin or destruction--

The storm left nothing but wrack and ruin.
Wrack also means seaweed or debris cast up on the shore--
The wrack made it difficult to walk along the shoreline.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"Let's start on this scene of wrack and ruin by hanging the clothes on the rack."

Note--"racked" ( ract ) is the past tense ( yesterday, or some time ago ) of "rack", meaning to line up on or in a rack--
He racked the balls before starting the pool game.
Not to be confused with "racket" ( rack--ett ), meaning a lot of noise--
Tell them to stop that racket!
Racket may also mean a kind of bat or paddle used in some sports--
He forgot his tennis racket, so he went home to get it.

days, daze

Days or days is the plural ( more than one ) of "day", meaning a 24 hour span of time, or the time when the sun is out--
It has been three days since I called, and I haven't heard from her.




The winter nights are cold, but the days are pleasant.


Daze or daze ( rhymes with days ) means a state of mental confusion--
He seems to be in a daze. He doesn't respond to my questions.
The knock on the head left him in a daze for a few minutes.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"The exciting news had him in a daze for several days."

 Note--"day's"  ( with an apostrophe ) is the possessive ( belonging to ) of "day"--
The winter day's chill left him shivering.
"Day's" may also be a contraction ( short, informal form ) of "day is"--
The day's over. Let's finish tomorrow.
"Day's" might also be the possessive form of the proper name "Day"--
His favorite book was Clarence Day's.
Note # 2--"dais" ( usually pronounced "day iss" ) means the raised platform at one end of a room, often used by a speaker--
Everyone could see the speaker when he stood on the dais.

lumber, lumbar

Lumber or lumber means wood cut into boards--
How many board feet of lumber will this tree provide?
He went to the lumber mill to buy some boards to make shelves.

Lumber also means to move clumsily or awkwardly, said of someone large or heavy--
Moviegoers watched the zombie lumber towards them in horrified fascination.

Lumbar or lumbar ( almost rhymes with lumber ) means the lower part of the back, or the five vertebrae above and below the waist--
He is being treated for pain in the lumbar region.
One of his lumbar vertebrae is causing the pain.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"His gait is an awkward lumber because of the pain in his lumbar region."

bans, banns

Bans or bans is the third person singular ( he, she, it ) form of "ban",  meaning to prohibit or abolish--
If their church bans this book, they will go along with it.
Bans may also be the plural ( more than one ) of "ban", meaning a prohibition--
They violated the bans on nuclear testing agreed upon in the treaty.

Banns or banns ( rhymes with bans ) means a public notice of an intended marriage, as read in church--
The banns of marriage were read for the first time last Sunday.
Banns are usually read three times, in case anyone knows of an impediment to the marriage.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"If the minister bans the reading of the banns of marriage, they plan to attend church someplace else."

Note--"bands" ( nearly rhymes with bans ) may mean more than one band--
They are watching the marching bands on TV.
This bird has three bands on his leg.
"Bands" may also mean the third person singular ( he, she, it ) form of "band" meaning to group together ( people or creatures ), or to attach a band to--
See how the rabbit bands together for safety.
When he catches a bird, he bands its leg.

wheel, we'll, weal

Wheel or wheel means the round things used to propel vehicles and other devices--
The garage has a machine to take the tire off of the wheel rim.
One wheel was loose; he could tell by the way the car shook.

We'll ( rhymes with wheel ) is a contraction ( short, informal form ) of "we will"--
We'll stop for pizza after the movie.
We'll be there about 9 o'clock.

Weal or weal ( rhymes with wheel ) means well-being or prosperity--
The politician made a series of speeches about taxes and the public weal.
We pay our taxes to contribute to the common weal.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"Then we'll raise taxes again to improve the public weal, like a hamster in a wheel."

Note--"well" ( no apostrophe, rhymes with bell ) means in a good way--
He does that well.
She plays well.
Well also means not ill or sick--
Get well soon.
Well is also a deep hole dug in the ground as a source of water--
He went to fetch some water from the well.
Note # 2--"common weal" ( two words, or rarely, one word, "commonweal"  ) means the common lot or level of prosperity--
Free public schools were meant to improve the common weal.
"Commonwealth" ( one word ) means a political entity, like a state or province--
I am a resident of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Canada is a member of the British Commonwealth of Nations.
Note # 3--"common wealth" as two words, could be used in a sentence--
They pooled their money, since with their common wealth they could afford to buy the car.

wither, whither

Wither or wither means to shrivel up from lack of water, as of a plant--
If it doesn't rain soon, all the flowers will wither.
The plant will wither in this dry room.

Whither or whither ( rhymes with wither ) is an old-fashioned word meaning where--
"Whither goest thou?"
He went whither his fancy led him.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"Whither should we plant this flower, so that it may not wither in the sun?"

Note--"withers" may be the third person singular ( he, she, it ) form of "wither"--
If you don't water a plant, it withers.
"Withers" may also mean a part of a horse, sheep or cow, where the back meets the neck--
He measured the horse from hoof to withers.
Note # 2--"with her" ( two words ) means accompanied by ( with ) something or someone belonging to a female ( her )--
She went out to lunch with her mother.

senate, sennet

Senate or senate means an assembly or legislature--
He is campaigning for a seat in the senate.
He isn't old enough to serve in the senate.

Sennet or sennet ( rhymes with senate ) means a trumpet or horn flourish, used as an introduction--
We need a trumpet player for the sennet announcing the king's entrance.
The duke's every entrance and exit will be marked by a sennet.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"A sennet will mark the entrance of Caesar into the senate."

Note--"sennit" ( rhymes with senate ) means a flat braided rope used on a ship--
He wove a length of sennit to use on his boat.
Note # 2--"senate" is capitalized when it is used as part of a proper name--
The United States Senate is made up of two senators from each state.
"Senate" may be capitalized when it is used as a substitute for the proper name--
The Senate will be in voting on the bill this morning.
"Senate" is not capitalized when used as a "generic" term--
Not every state has a senate.

grisly, grizzly

Grisly or grisly means gory or gruesome--
Even the reporters were sickened by the grisly scene.
The description of the crime conjured up a grisly image in his mind.

Grizzly or grizzly ( rhymes with grisly ), meaning gray, or streaked with gray,  is a type of American brown bear--
The campers were sure they saw a grizzly bear, so they moved to a new campsite.
He got a good shot of a grizzly fishing in a stream.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"The grizzly attack on the hiker left a grisly scene."

Note--"gristly" means having a lot of cartilage or "gristle", said of meat--
They complained to the waiter because the steaks were gristly.

timber, timbre

Timber or timber means logs or trees used for lumber--
Lumberjacks supposedly yell "timber" as they cut down a tree.
They will need a lot of timber to build a ship.

Timbre or timbre ( rhymes with timber ) means tone or sound quality, usually of a voice or musical instrument--
Her voice was recognizable by its unusual  timbre.
This has a timbre that is something like a clarinet.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"The oak timber that framed the stage gave some of the instruments a different timbre."

Note--"timbrel" means an instrument something like a tambourine--
"...bring hither the timbrel, the pleasant harp with the psaltery."

tureen, terrine, terrene

Tureen or tureen is a large covered dish for serving soup or other dishes--
She ladled the soup from an ornate tureen that had been her grandmother's.
She used a hollow pumpkin for the stew, instead of a tureen.

Terrine or terrine ( almost rhymes with tureen ) is a sort of meat loaf, or a loaf made of ground or chopped vegetables or meat--
The first course was a terrine of beef in aspic.
Her recipe for vegetable terrine was a closely guarded secret.

Terrene or terrene ( rhymes with terrine ) means of or from planet Earth--
The Martians had difficulty breathing the terrene atmosphere.
The terrene beings have sent a spacecraft to the outer planets of their solar system.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"After the terrine of pork, she set a tureen of soup on the table, redolent of fresh terrene ingredients."

fisher, fissure

Fisher or fisher means a person or animal who catches fish--
He wanted to be a fisher of men, as described in scripture.
Fisher also means a small animal something like a weasel--
The fisher chased a squirrel, but he couldn't catch it.

Fissure or fissure ( rhymes with fisher ) means a crevice or crack made by two parts separating--
A fissure opened up in the road, too wide for a car to pass over.
Fissure may also mean the action of separating to form a crack--
The next earthquake may cause that crack to fissure into a deep cleft.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"The fisher ran into the fissure in the bank, and disappeared."

swayed, suède

Swayed or swayed is the past tense ( yesterday, or some time ago ) of "sway", meaning to move back and forth, literally or figuratively--
The sign swayed in the wind.
The political commercial swayed public opinion. 

Suède or suède ( rhymes with swayed ) means brushed leather--
She doesn't want to get her suède coat wet in the rain.
"Don't you step on my blue suède shoes."

Now that you know that, you can say--
"The sale price swayed her decision to buy the suède jacket."

Note--"Swede" ( sweed, always capitalized ) means a person from Sweden--
The Swede told them about the midnight sun.
Not to be confused with "swede" ( not capitalized ), meaning a rutabaga or turnip--
You may call it a swede or a rutabaga, but it's still a turnip to me.

bullion, bouillon

Bullion or bullion means gold, in the form of ingots or as a commodity--
He invested his savings in gold bullion.
She checked the rise and fall in the price of bullion several times each day.

Bouillon or bouillon ( usually pronounced to rhyme with bullion ) means clear broth or meat stock, most commonly beef broth--
A hot cup of bouillon make will warm you up in cold weather.
Strain the bouillon through a fine sieve.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"They sipped beef bouillon while discussing the sale of some gold bullion."

lesser, lessor

Lesser or lesser means the smaller or least important of two alternatives--
He thought his choice was the lesser of two evils.
The windows are a lesser concern. Let's get the roof fixed first.

Lessor or lessor ( rhymes with lesser, almost ) means the person who rents or leases something to someone else--
Put the landlord's name in the space for the  "lessor".
The lessor leases the property to the lessee.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"Calling the lessor was a lesser concern; the plumber was more important."

epic, epoch

Epic or epic means of monumental proportions, as in the heroic deeds described in an epic poem--
He described learning to use the new program as if it were an epic tale of heroic adventures.
The story has been made into a twelve-part epic, with a new episode each week.

Epoch or epoch ( almost rhymes with epic ) means a period of time, most commonly a particular period of history--
Many people consider the personal computer as the start of a new epoch in communications.
To historians, the voyages of Columbus mark the beginning of the modern epoch.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"The epic voyage into space marked the beginning of a new epoch--the space age."

Note--you may encounter "e-pic" ( ee pick ) online, an uncommon abbreviation of "electronic picture"--
She posted an e-pic of the new baby on Facebook.

martin, marten

Martin or martin is the name of a small wild bird--
He put a purple martin house on a pole in the back yard.
That bird looks like a martin, but I'm not sure.

Marten or marten ( rhymes with martin, almost ) means wild creature something like a weasel--
The dog saw a marten, and he's chasing it.
Marten stoles were once fashionable.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"There is a marten in the yard, sitting under the birdhouse, hoping to catch a martin."

Note--"Martin" is a man's given name--
Martin Luther might be considered the first protestant.
"Martin" or "Marten" are also surnames--
Do you spell that "Marten" or "Martin"?

white, wight, wite

White or white means the color made of the absence of color--
The snow has turned the whole world white.
She wanted her wedding cake to have white frosting and pink roses.

Wight or wight ( rhymes with white ) is an old-fashioned word for a person or a supernatural being--
He was sure some other wight was in the forest, as he could hear odd noises.
He did not know if the wight of his vision was a person or a spirit.

Wite or wite ( rhymes with white ), historically,  is a term for a special fine or tax imposed by the king--
He had to pay a wite of ten shillings for disturbing the peace.
A wite of five shillings was levied on anyone who didn't serve in the army.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"The poor wight turned white with fear when he heard the amount of the wite imposed on him by the king."

Note--the "Isle of Wight" is a real place--
They visited the Isle of Wight as part of their tour of England.
Other proper names ( of a specific or particular place ) will always be capitalized--
The White Mountains are beautiful this time of year.

farrow, pharaoh

Farrow or farrow means to give birth to a litter of piglets--
The sow with probably  farrow later this evening.
Farrow may also mean the litter of piglets--
He's trying to get a picture of the farrow, out in the barn.

Pharaoh or pharaoh ( rhymes with farrow ) means a king or ruler of ancient Egypt--
The pharaoh ordered  them to provide their own straw for the bricks they made.
The pharaoh had a gold cobra on his crown.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"The sow was named Cleopatra, so they named each piglet in the farrow after an Egyptian pharaoh."

Note--"faro" is a card game played by gamblers--
He lost all of his money playing faro, and had to borrow money to get home.
Note # 2--"farro" is a kind of whole wheat usually cooked as cereal--
A nice hot bowl of farro will keep you warm on a snowy day.
Not to be confused with "Faeroe", a group of islands belonging to Denmark--
They stopped at the Faeroe Islands on their way to Iceland.