Monday, October 24, 2011

palate, palette, pallet

Palate or palate means the part of the mouth that tastes food ( called the roof of the mouth ), or the sense of taste--
This dish would please the fussiest palate.
The spicy food they serve isn't for my palate.
The food snob was sure that he had a very refined palate.

Palette or palette ( rhymes with palate ) means the oval or kidney-shaped board with a thumb hole that an artist uses--
She liked to watch him mixing the colors on his palette.
The palette, with its splotches of different colors of paint, was decorative in itself.
He used a palette knife to mix the colors.
Palette may refer to  a set of colors used in a decorating scheme, or for some other purpose--
The autumn palette of browns and golds made the room look warm.

Pallet or pallet ( rhymes with palate ) means a platform on which things are placed for storage, to keep them from a damp floor, or to make it possible to move or transport them--
That old wooden pallet will make good firewood.
We put the washer on a pallet because of the damp basement floor.
A pallet is also a mattress of straw, or concocted of household goods.--
They slept on a pallet on the floor.
Pallet may also refer to some kinds of specialized tools-
A pallet knife is used for mixing pastry.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"The aroma of dinner cooking roused his palate, as he sat on the pallet considering a new color palette for their home's decor."

Note--"palliate" ( rhymes with pal-he-ate ) means to make better or improve--
He hoped that a sincere apology would palliate her anger.
Palliate is used as a medical term, meaning to make symptoms better in a disease that can't be cured--
This prescription should at least palliate some of his tremors.
Note # 2-- "pal ate" ( two words ), means my friend has consumed--
I had some pizza, but my pal ate it.

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