Carat and carrot are, of course, homophones. And this means that phrases such as ’24-carrot gold’ are commonplace. It’s an amusing mistake, but not when someone else finds it in your writing.
Carat
Carrot
My tip: carrots are root vegetables (and they will rot).
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I can’t remember ever seeing hoarse used when the writer actually meant horse (e.g. “I’m going to turn out my hoarse”) but it does seem common the other way round (e.g. “sorry, I’ve gone a bit horse”). That’s all the excuse I need to write a post that enables me to use a magnificent image of a magnificent animal.
Hoarse
Horse
My tip: hoarse is often harsh.
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Principal and principle are homophones. I’ve come across principal misused more often than principle, but it’s common to get them both confused. Principle is usually a noun but principal can be an adjective or a noun.
Principal
the most important or senior person in an organisationPrinciple
My tip: principal is spelled with an a, which is the first letter in the alphabet – and a principle is often a rule.
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Descent and dissent are homophones that may just be a tad topical. It’s definitely worth knowing the difference.
Descent
Dissent
My tip: to dissent is usually to disagree.
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Mixing up role and roll is a common mistake. Role is a noun, but roll can be a verb or a noun. You can find more comprehensive definitions of roll – I’ve just listed the main uses here (it’s a really long list otherwise) – but mine should give you an idea of the difference between the two words.
Role
Roll
to move by turning over and over; to rotateMy tip: associate roll with ball (balls roll and you can roll something pliable into a ball) and/or poll (you need to be on the electoral roll to use a polling station).
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Allowed and aloud are homophones. It’s a common mistake to use these two in place of each other. (Although I suspect some incorrect uses are because of predictive text functions.) Aloud can be substituted for ‘out loud’; allowed is the past tense of the verb allow.
Aloud
Allow
My tip: aloud is audible; allowed is permitted.
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Foreword and forward are often listed as homophones, but whether this is true for your own speech probably depends on regional variations. I pronounce them differently, but I believe that when spoken in some other (particularly American) accents they sound the same.
Foreword
Forward
My tip: a foreword is composed using words.
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You might be most familiar with these homophones as a brand of footwear (Dr. Martens) and a common male name (Martin). But if you find yourself writing or reading about wildlife, it is important to know the difference in that context.
Marten
Martin
My tip: a marten looks like a weasel; a martin is a bird.
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It’s nearly Christmas! To celebrate, I offer you some homophones that I have tenuously linked to the season: peal and peel.
Peal
Peel
I don’t have a simple mnemonic for remembering this one; if you have any suggestions, please let me know below. I wish you a very merry Christmas and a happy new year!
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This post is brought to you thanks to Johanna Levene:
“Next post? Mnemonic vs. pneumonic. Suggested due to my spellcheck’s struggle to spell mnemonic.”
Mnemonic and pneumonic are, as well as being nightmares to spell, frequently used in place of each other. It is also important to note that while most people are familiar with a mnemonic device, it is possible to refer to a pneumonic device (medical equipment used in relation to the lungs).
Mnemonic
Pneumonic
My tip: a mnemonic helps the memory; pneumonic is about lungs.
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Hannah McCall 