Tuesday, May 14, 2013

guys, guise

Guys or guys is the plural ( more than one ) of "guy", an informal term for a man or boy--
The guys want to go out for a pizza.
All the girls stood on one side of the room, and the guys stood on the other.
Guys is also the third person singular ( he, she, it ) form of "guy", meaning to make fun of--
His friend guys him about that, but he doesn't pay any attention.

Guys may also be the plural of "guy", meaning a supporting or guiding rope or cable--
He wasn't looking when he ran into the guys that supported and steadied the tent.
Guys is also the third person singular ( he, she, it ) form of "guy", meaning to support with a rope or cable--
If he guys this with a length of cable, it should be sturdy enough.

Guise or guise ( rhymes with guys ) means a semblance or assumed appearance, literal or figurative--
He perpetrated several kinds of fraud, using the guise of an itinerant preacher.
She wore the guise of a friend, but with a knife ready to stick in his back.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"The two guys on the news were in our neighborhood today, in the guise of door-to-door salesmen."

Note--"guy's" ( rhymes with guys ) is the possessive ( belonging to) form of "guy", meaning a man or boy--
That guy's car alarm is going off.
"Guy's" may also be a contraction ( short, informal form ) of "guy is"--
"This guy's in love..."
Note 2--"Guy" is also a man's given name--
We are waiting for Guy to go to the pizza place with us.
So Guy's might be a possessive form of "Guy"--
Is this Guy's backpack?
Or a contraction of "Guy is"--
Guy's coming with us for pizza.
Note # 3--not to be confused with "disguise", meaning clothing or makeup used to make someone look like someone else--
They'll never recognize you in that disguise.

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