crews, cruise

Crews or crews is the plural ( more than one ) of "crew", meaning a team or set of people, working at the same job or task--
There are three crews, one for each shift.
This is where the people from the train crews eat their lunch.

Cruise or cruise ( rhymes with crews ) means to take a trip by boat or ship, particularly to sail about, instead of going from one place to another--
They plan on taking a cruise to Florida.
His ship is on a cruise, and won't return for several months.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"There are crews of people, day and night, working to make this cruise a pleasant experience."

Note--"crew" also means the team that rows a racing shell or scull, so "crews" would mean more than one team--
The crews are warming up for the race.
Note # 2--"cruse" ( rhymes with crews ) means an earthenware bottle or jar for liquids--
She brought home a cruse of olive oil as a souvenir of her trip.

locks, lox

Locks or locks is the plural ( more than one ) of "lock", meaning a device used to secure a door or gate, among other things--
All of these locks are rusty; we'll have to buy new ones.
Do we have the keys for any of these locks?

Locks is also the third person singular ( he, she, it ) form of "lock", meaning to secure a door, gate, drawer, box, etc.--
Make sure to leave before he locks the gate.
If she locks the door while we're out, we won't be able to get back in.

Locks is also the plural of "lock", meaning a section of hair--
He wrote a poem about her auburn locks, but she was not impressed.
They called her Goldilocks, because of her blond hair.

Lox or lox ( rhymes with locks ) is a spread made of smoked salmon or herring--
I'd like a bagel with lox and cream cheese.
Will you buy some lox next time you go to the store?

Now that you know that, you can say--
"The deli owner always locks the case with the lox in it."

Note--"lox" is also a kind of rocket fuel--
Does this rocket run on lox?

urban, urbane

Urban or urban ( err ben ) describes a city, or some aspect of city life--
They left the farm to live in the city, but urban life didn't agree with them.
His daily commute on the subway was a convenient aspect of urban life.

Urbane or urbane ( err bane ) means sophisticated or worldly--
He considered himself urbane and sophisticated, but he nearly shrieked when he saw the bill.
He affected a suave and urbane manner, but she could see that he was nervous.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"Urban living has not made him sophisticated--that remark was anything but urbane."

Note--"suburban" describes a place just outside of a city, or an aspect of life in such a place--
The little suburban community didn't have the convenience of the city, nor was it as peaceful as a rural community.

must, mussed

Must or must describes an action that is imperative; something one ought to do, or should do-
We must do our homework before we watch TV.
You must be sure to unplug that before you remove the back.
Must is also used to express inevitability or certainty--
"Someday we all must die..."
There must have been a reason ...
Must is also used, informally, to mean something required or necessary--
The new phone is a must for the tech crowd.

Mussed or mussed ( rhymes with must ) is the past tense ( yesterday, or some time ago ) of "muss", meaning to make untidy or to leave in disarray--
She mussed her hair just before he took the picture.
His hair was mussed when he took off his hat.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"We must make sure that we don't leave the room mussed up; someone else will have to tidy it up if we do."

Note--"must" also means a kind of mildew or mold--
She didn't like the small of must in the basement.
"Musty" describes something that has mold or mildew on it--
What's that musty smell? We'll have to clean this with some bleach, or leave it in the sun.
"Mustier" is a comparative ( more or less than ) form of "musty"--
I washed it, but it smells even mustier.
Not to be confused with "muster", meaning to call or summon troops, or to assemble a troop-
The troops were ordered to muster at dawn.
"Mustered" is the past tense ( yesterday, or some time ago ) of "muster", meaning to assemble, or to be summoned to assemble--
The troops mustered at dawn.
Not to be confused with "mustard" ( rhymes with mustered ), the popular condiment--
Do you want mustard and ketchup on your burger?
Note # 2--"must" also means unfermented or new wine--
They tasted the must to determine if the wine would be good.
Note # 3--for trivia collectors, "musth" ( rhymes with must ) is a condition of frenzy or agitation that sometimes affects male elephants--
The elephants are not dangerous unless they are in musth.

patriot, expatriate

Patriot or patriot means someone who loves his or her country, or who supports or defends it--
He always wore a flag pin, and considered himself a patriot.
He was honored as a patriot who had served his country.

Expatriate or expatriate ( almost rhymes with patriot ) most commonly means a person who has left his or her country to live in another country, although it may be used as a verb, meaning to remove someone from his or her country, or to remove one's self--
He wrote his most famous novel while living as an American expatriate in Paris.
He lived as an expatriate for several years after the World War I.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"After living many years as as an expatriate, he returned to America and proved himself a patriot."

Note--an "expatriot" or "ex-patriot" would mean someone who once loved his or her country, but who no longer does, no matter where he or she lives--
He is so disgusted with the government that he now considers himself an ex-patriot.
Note  # 2--to "repatriate" means to return someone to his or her country--
We will try to repatriate all of the war refugees in the next several months.
Note # 3--not to be confused with "expatiate", meaning to expand or to enlarge upon a subject, in speech or in writing--
Once he begins to talk about politics, he tends to expatiate until he has exhausted the subject.

size, sighs

Size or size means the measure of magnitude, proportions, or dimensions--
What size dress does she wear?
These are the wrong size.
The size of the project was beyond their capability.

Size may also mean to measure the magnitude or dimensions of, literally or figuratively--
She gives a look meant to convey that she can size people up with a glance.

Size may also mean a kind of glue or stiffening agent applied to fabric or paper--
Make sure you wash the fabric to remove the size, before you work with it.
This paper is coated with a size that makes paint adhere better.

Sighs or sighs ( rhymes with size ) may be the plural ( more than one ) form of "sigh", meaning a loud  exhalation, or breathing out,  as an expression of despair, longing, or sadness--
His forlorn sighs could be heard in the next room.
His dramatic sighs made her wonder if he was insincere.

Sighs may also be the third person singular ( he, she, it ) form of "sigh", meaning to exhale loudly, as an expression of despair, longing, or sadness--
When he sighs she ignores him.
He sighs with despair every time we mention it.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"His lovelorn sighs begin again every time he wonders about the size of the ring."

Note--"assize" (one word,  more commonly assizes ) means a session of a law court--
The case will be heard at the next assize.
We will find out when the case is tried at the November assizes.
Not to be confused with "a size" ( two words ), meaning a measure of dimensions or magnitude--
These shoes are a size too small.
Note # 2--the plural ( more than one ) form of "size" is "sizes"--
These shoes are two sizes too small.

lacks, lax

Lacks or lacks may be the plural of "lack", meaning a need, or the absence of something necessary or desirable--
Their eager attitude won't make up for their other lacks.
Platitudes won't make up for the lacks in this plan.

Lacks may also be the third person singular ( he, she, it ) form of "lack", meaning to need or to be missing or without--
This stew lacks something--maybe it needs some salt.
He lacks the means to get back and forth to work, now that he doesn't have a car.
This school lacks discipline.

Lax or lax ( rhymes with lacks ) means loose or weak, as of order or discipline--
The general warned against lax discipline in camp.
The principal's lax enforcement of rules is causing something close to mayhem.
This school has a lax disciplinary policy.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"The supervisor lacks confidence in the system, and his enforcement or the rules is lax."

Note--"LAX" ( all capitals ) is the abbreviation or code for Los Angeles airport--
I saw a tag on my luggage that said LAX, but I'm going to New York!