Idle or idle means not in use--
His tools sat idle while he was ill.
The car sat idle in the garage while they were away.
When idle is used to refer to a person, it means not working, or doing nothing--
His wife always complained if he was idle for a moment.
She rarely spent an idle minute.
"Idle hands are the devil's workshop".
When idle is used to refer to a machine, it means that the machine is not being used, as in the expression "to let the car idle", meaning with the motor on, but sitting still--
Don't let the car idle too long; it wastes gas.
Her typewriter sat idle for weeks while she was on vacation.
Idle is also used to mean useless or ineffective--
That's just idle gossip.
They are just idle rumors.
Don't make idle threats.
"tears, idle tears..."
Idol or idol ( rhymes with idle ) means a religious statue that is worshiped or prayed to--
The plain people believe that any image might be used as an idol.
Many people think that all religious images are idols, if the images belong to a religion not their own.
Movie stars were once called "matinee idols".
Idyll or idyll ( rhymes with idle ) means something like a day in the country, or in an unspoiled natural place--it may mean the type of poem that is written about such a day, or it may refer to the day itself, and how it felt to be out of doors in a lovely setting--
The day was so lovely it lacked only a poet to write an idyll.
The visit to the park seemed like an idyll.
Now that you know that, you can say--
"In his idle moments, he dreamed of an idyll in which his favorite movie idol played a part."
Note--"idler" is an old-fashioned word for a loafer or ne'er-do-well--someone who lounges about and does nothing, usually a man--
The townspeople called him an idler, but his farm was prosperous.
"Idly" describes an idle state, or a state of inaction--
He stood by idly while the barn burned.
Note # 2--An "idolater" is someone who worships an idol or image--
The country parson was sure the big city was full of idolaters.
"Idolatry" means the worship of idols, or "magic" statues or images--
Idolatry was once a criminal charge.
Note # 3--"idyllic" describes a lovely scene of nature at peace--
The picnic was lively, and the setting was idyllic.
Words that sound the same when we speak may actually be two different words--which matters when we write them down. Spellcheck cannot help with this--it will show each word and the writer has to choose--to disambiguate them, if you will. I intend to update this daily, with another set of words it is possible to confuse, beginning with the simplest and most important. Questions and comments are welcome.
Showing posts with label idler. Show all posts
Showing posts with label idler. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
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