Monday, February 11, 2013

auger, augur

Auger or auger means a tool used for boring,  like a drill bit--
He needs an auger to bore the hole.
A handle is used to turn the auger.

Augur or augur ( rhymes with auger ) means to predict or foretell the future, as from signs or omens--
These sales figures augur a good year, financially.
A new job is an augur of other new prospects.
Augur also means the Ancient Roman official in charge of foretelling the future--
The augur sometimes read the entrails of a bird.
They consulted an augur before deciding what to do.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"He broke his auger the first thing this morning, which later seemed an augur of his day."

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