Archive for the ‘Monday Meanings’ Category

Pause to check the meaning

Monday, March 5th, 2012

My daughters recently had a confusing conversation because of the incredible similarity between today’s Monday Meanings – sunscreen and skin care mixed in with dogs was a bit strange so here are the actual meanings for you!

paws: [noun] feet of a clawed animal. [verb] touch in a clumsy or dirty way
The mouse pulled thorns from the lion’s paws. Their dog paws me every time I wear white to their house! 

pause [noun]: a period without action or noise
There was a pause in the meeting while lunch was served.

pores: [noun] a tiny opening in membranes such as skin. [verb] be intent and focussed
A facial will open up your pores. He pores over his book whenever Mary goes out.

pours: [verb] to make something flow, such as out of a jug; a heavy flow, such as of rain or events.
Joan always pours the tea before the coffee. We will cancel our hike only if it pours in the morning.

Not so easy to show you how to remember which is which, other than that wild animals may have paws and jaws to watch out for! Do you have a way to tell pores/paws/pause/pours apart?

Oral or aural , spoken or heard

Monday, February 20th, 2012

The spelling and pronunciation are different, as are the meanings, of these two words but they are all similar enough to be misused without most people realising.

aural: [adjective] related to the ear or the sense of hearing
An aural learner may study better by reading notes out loud or discussing the concepts.

oral: [adjective] the mouth or related to the mouth
His oral presentation was fanatic but his written report was poor. Babies putting everything into their mouth is known as the oral stage of development.

You may be able to remember which is which by thinking of the O you make with your mouth being oral.

Elocution is an art, locution a style

Monday, February 13th, 2012

If you have ever tried acting or serious public speaking, you may well have thought about your elocution – but how about your locution?

locution: [noun] style of spoken language, a phrase or idiom
A linguist can easily tell people apart by their locution. 

elocution: [noun] how speech is delivered, the art of delivery speech
The actress changed characters predominantly by changing her elocution. 

To tell them apart remember that elocution is how you orally express your thoughts.

Wrongs meanings can eclipse the message

Monday, February 6th, 2012

A clear and simple message will always bring better results than a complicated or confusing message. However, even if your message is clearly write, one misused word can cloud the message and make it hard to understand or sometimes give the opposite meaning to your intention.

Make sure you know the meanings of eclipse, ellipse and ellipsis as you can eclipse your message by mixing them up!

ellipse: [noun] an oval shape
My daughter calls an ellipse a squashed circle!

ellipsis: [noun] a set of 3 dots to signify missing words
As a sole trader, Sally keeps all the profits… and accepts all the risks. 

eclipse: [noun] loss of light or splendour, generally due to something coming between the light source and the eye. Common use is mostly about the sun or moon but it can be used for other situations
Huddled in a corner, they froze as the hunting man eclipse plunged them into darkness. 

Note that ellipsis has more dots (as in “dot your i’s”) and means using 3 dots, and an eclipse includes a c for clouding over, and you’ll be using your words wisely!

Take counsel from the council

Monday, January 23rd, 2012

In business, you may well have to deal with your local council for registrations, permits and various services.

Yet are you sure of the spelling of council? Some spelling mistakes will be corrected by a spell check but sometimes it will lead you to writing counsel instead which will totally change the meaning of your sentence – make it completely meaningless.

council: [noun] an administrative or planning body or committee
The local council is responsible for assigning industrial and business zones in our area.

counsel: [verb] to discuss and debate, advise, talk over; a person’s views or intention
A business coach or mentor can counsel you about your priorities and objectives.

To remember which is which, think of the self involved in counsel.

Resolve your new resolution

Monday, January 9th, 2012

It’s early January and new years resolutions are still being discussed and worked on so today’s definitions are inspired by the word resolution…

resolve: [verb] decide upon (alone or as a vote), solve, analyse
After hearing all the evidence, the judge will resolve the custody question.
[as a noun, it means being steadfast, sticking to a course or showing mental resolution and strength]

resolute: [adjective] being determined, consistent, staying on track, focussed, purposeful
Hamish was resolute throughout the year and became due of his school.

resolution: [noun] something resolved or decided on, a formal decision or opinion from a meeting, solution to a question
The committee passed the resolution after only fifteen minutes.
[as a verb, it means resolving, deciding, analysing or  solving]

So you need to be resolute to resolve an issue and make a resolution. (Don’t say that too many times in a row!)

Does a suite suit you?

Monday, August 22nd, 2011

I was happily reading a blog post nicely laid out with tables and sub-headings when I came across a sentence “change your pricing strategy to suite your business needs.”
I’ll say no more other than to give a new pair of misused words…

suit: (verb) to be acceptable to or enhance something
Will it suit you to meet at 10am on Wednesday?
Does your pricing strategy suit your business needs? 

suit: (noun) a set of clothing, generally consisting of a jacket with pants or skirt; legal action; one of fur divisions in a pack of cards club, diamond, spade, heart); a romantic interest.
Most men wear a suit to a funeral.
Jason was very pleased when he won the law suit against his competitor.
Rachel’s hand of cards included every suit.
After three years, Elizabeth accepted his suit. 

suite: related things together as a set, such as a group of rooms in a hotel or a set of furniture for one room; music in one key but several parts
Jane ordered a new bedroom suite at the sales.

Spelling premier

Monday, May 30th, 2011

premier (adjective): first, especially for rank, time and importance
They supply only the premier business resources.

premier (noun): a political leader of prominence
Each Australian state has a Premier.

premiere (noun): the first public performance, usually relating to a play, music or movie
He was very excited to be invited to the premiere last week.

While premiere is very specific, the word premier can be used a number of ways – the adjective premier could even be use to describe the first performance although accepted usage indicates premiere as the preferred option.

Between these words

Monday, March 28th, 2011

Are you aware that among and between have quite distinct meanings and can’t be used in the same way?

among: surrounded by, part of, included with
Divided among a team of ten, five oranges didn’t go far.

between: fitting in, across or along a spectrum or group
They will provide between $2 and $5 per person for catering.

So you need to use between for two items, and among for more than two items.

A maternal berth?

Monday, February 28th, 2011

Sounding exactly the same, birth and berth are extremely different words and misusing them would lead to confusion…

birth: a beginning, especially relating to the beginning of life when a mammal leaves its Mother’s body
Parents see their baby’s birth as a turning point in their lives.

berth: a space for resting or sleeping, particularly relating to ships and trains. It can refer to a bed/bunk on a ship or train or a mooring place for a ship in a marina
The crew untied the ship from its berth on time for the departure.
Mary climbed into the top berth as the train sped past another village.

My tip for rememebring which spelling to use: a berth is a bed.