The abundance of homophones (or words that sound alike or almost alike) in the English language has been both a blessing and a curse. For one, it has given many poets the opportunity to play with words to make their works resonating; and for another thing, it has confused so many writers which word is... Continue Reading →
Today’s installment is a three-way word war among pique, peak, and peek—all enemies and pet peeves of editors. These homophones send writers into a spiral of uncertainty when it comes to word choice, particularly in the context of one expression: when something excites you and captures your attention, does it pique, peak, or peek your... Continue Reading →
you knew how i was broken, how i didn’t have enough of myself. you knew from the start: i had doubts, i was insecure, i felt inadequate, i was hurt. you knew i had my guards up, my walls towering, myself protected. i surrendered all these to you because you showed me that you knew.... Continue Reading →
Today's installment of Word War is rather different as we are going to compare two phrases instead of standalone words. So let’s begin with the now clichéd engager: When you are representing your department, do you act on behalf of or in behalf of everyone else? Which of the two expressions is correct? Well, both... Continue Reading →
When you make the same mistake again and again, would you describe your behavior as something that happens continuously or continually? These terms, along with their adjective forms continual and continuous, are often used interchangeably in speech and writing, obviously because they both come from the verb continue. But style guides urge writers to practice... Continue Reading →
One night, in a barn far far away from the city life, two little piglets were staring at the night sky, brightly amused by the sparkle of the stars. The other animals in the barn were asleep, while the others were busy minding their own business. These little piglets have been together for sometime in... Continue Reading →
When you’re trying to be careful about your actions or behavior or both, would describe yourself as discreet or discrete? This pair of homophones has driven writers and editors alike crazy as the confusion between them are normally observed in writing. So which one means “careful” and what does the other one mean then? Discreet... Continue Reading →
When you tell people to move from one place to another, do you tell them to come to or go to that location? In 2016, I was assigned in Tacloban City to take care of our training there. One day, we were at the pantry during our break, and I was eating some sandwiches with... Continue Reading →
One summer afternoon, as the sun was about to set, a tiny and beautiful butterfly came flying over a meadow where the most extraordinary flowers grow. The butterfly, tired from flying, landed on a strange, beautiful flower. The flower, strange beyond compare—at least to the butterfly—has a long, erect, and spiraling stem with tubular flowers arranged... Continue Reading →
In my Word War post yesterday, I mentioned that bring and take have the same equivalent “in most, if not all, languages in the Philippines.” I have received several direct messages from people saying that there are only two languages in the Philippines—Filipino and English. What about the rest, like Hiligaynon, Bisaya, Waray-Waray, Kinaray-a, Chavacano,... Continue Reading →
Wonderlost 