Welcome to this edition of Words For Thought, the blog on wordrefiner.com. Like many of the previous blogs we are looking at homophones. Words that sound the same but have different spellings and meanings. 
I understand how important it is to have an error-free manuscript. With over 40 years of experience, I have found that homophones give almost every writer fits and difficulties. Because we sound words out in our mind, it is easy to write the wrong word.
Let’s not forget typographical errors also, a slip of the finger on the keyboard can create a different word that may not be caught by a spell-checker. There are many groups of words that vary by only one letter, such as must, mist and most. These three words have vowels that are beside each other on the keyboard.
The correctly spelled word in the wrong context will not be flagged by most spell-checkers. Word Refiner is dedicated to uprooting all of these invisible errors and providing your document free of spelling errors that you want and deserve. I find invisible spelling errors in more than 95% of published books.

Now, onto today’s episode! Number nine in the series about quadruple homophones. High Score! #QuadrupleHomophones
Rhos is interesting and obscure, unless you live in the United Kingdom. Then you might know it is Welsh, and refers to a common geographical feature of Wales, the moors, which is an area of open and uncultivated land, sometimes referred to as heath or wold. The word is also used to refer to various areas and regions in and around Wales.
Secondarily, Rho is the seventeenth letter of the Greek alphabet.
Roes are eggs from fish. Fish eggs usually come in a large mass when compared to the size of the fish itself. Caviar is roe that has been salted, pickled, or preserved in some way and considered a delicacy by some people.
Another definition is of small deer found on the Eurasian continent. They are sort of red in the summer and grayish in the winter, and lack a visible tail. They have a shoulder height of 2 to 2 1/2 feet, weighing approximately 35 to 70 pounds.
A third definition is as an acronym, the first letter of each word is combined for ease of use of a commonly used phrase, a group of Rules Of Engagement, followed by military and police forces in many parts of the world.
Rose, is a woody, perennial plant that flowers and produces thorns also, in the plant genus of Rosa. There are over a hundred species and many thousands of cultivars. There are so many colors and differences, my favorite for scent are the tea roses.
Rows, in the simplest of definitions, a quantity of things lined up in an orderly fashion and several layers. For example, to play chess, the pieces must be lined up in the proper sequence in their rows.
Also, the lines of information in a table or database. The lines of stitches in knitting or crocheting.
Also, propel a boat with oars, third person present: He rows the boat across the lake.
 
There they are, four words with identical sounds.  If you use the wrong word your reader might think they stumbled on a hidden bump while reading and lose the reading momentum you worked so hard to create.  Use every tool available to prevent that from happening, do not give your readers a reason to abandon your story. Use Word Refiner, beta readers, critique partners, proofreaders and editors to ensure that your work is error free and as smooth as possible.
Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed this issue of Homophones Hurt Your Writing on Words For Thought.  Follow me on twitter: @wordrefiner, for more information about hazardous homophones search for #HomophonesHurtYourWriting or #TyposHurtYourWriting on Twitter.
Don’t forget the free offer for writers under the “Learn More” tab on our website. I have another excellent value for authors interested in promoting their book, see the "Review Your Book" tab on my website.

Words Have Meaning and Spelling Makes a Difference 
Copyright © 2018 Mark L Schultz 

Welcome to this edition of Words For Thought, the blog on wordrefiner.com. Like many of the previous blogs we are looking at homophones. Words that sound the same but have different spellings and meanings. 
I understand how important it is to have an error-free manuscript. With over 40 years of experience, I have found that homophones give almost every writer trouble at some point. Because we sound words out in our mind, it is easy to write the wrong word.
Let’s not forget typographical errors also, a slip of the finger on the keyboard can create a different word that may not be caught by a spell-checker. There are many groups of words that vary by only one letter, such as must, mist and most. These three words have vowels that are beside each other on the keyboard. I have blogged about many of these groups of words.
The correctly spelled word in the wrong context will not be flagged by most spell-checkers. Word Refiner is dedicated to uprooting all of these invisible errors and providing your document free of spelling errors that you want and deserve. I find invisible spelling errors in more than 95% of published books.

Now, onto today’s episode! Number ten in the series about quadruple homophones. #HighScore! #QuadrupleHomophones
Gnu is a stocky antelope living on the plains of east Africa. It’s shaggy, has a beard and curving horns. It is also a minor computer operating system and free software favored by many hobbyists.
Knew is the past tense of know, which has to do with information found through inquiry, observation, or shared. An archaic definition includes use of the word as a euphemism for sexual intercourse.
New is something original, different, previously unknown, or improved.
Nu is the 13th letter of the Greek alphabet. It can also refer to the thirteenth star in an astronomical constellation. It is also a symbol used in equations and stands for frequency. A more common use is as a slang term for “new” used in talking about a variation of music or some other form of art or entertainment. It is even used in the name of a band “Nu Shooz” from Portland, Oregon. Finally, NU is the official postal abbreviation for Nunavut, a group of islands in the Canadian Arctic.
 
There they are, four words with identical sounds.  If you use the wrong word your reader might think they tripped on an unseen bump while reading and lose the momentum you worked so hard to create.  Use every tool available to prevent that from happening, do not give your readers a reason to abandon your story. Use Word Refiner, beta readers, critique partners, proofreaders and editors to ensure that your work is error free and as smooth as possible.
​
Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed this issue of Homophones Hurt Your Writing on Words For Thought.  Follow me on twitter: @wordrefiner, for more information about hazardous homophones search for #HomophonesHurtYourWriting or #TyposHurtYourWriting.
Don’t forget the free offer for writers under the “Learn More” tab on our website. I have another excellent value for authors interested in promoting their book, see the "Review Your Book" tab on my website.

Remember: Words Have Meaning and Spelling Makes a Difference.
​Copyright © 2018 Mark L Schultz 

Welcome to this edition of Words For Thought, the blog on wordrefiner.com. Like many of the previous blogs we are looking at homophones. Words that sound the same but have different spellings and meanings. 
I understand how important it is to have an error-free manuscript. With over 40 years of experience, I have found that homophones give almost every writer trouble at some point. Because we sound words out in our mind, it is easy to write the wrong word.
Let’s not forget typographical errors also, a slip of the finger on the keyboard can create a different word that may not be caught by a spell-checker. There are many groups of words that vary by only one letter, such as must, mist and most. These three words have vowels that are beside each other on the keyboard. I have blogged about many of these groups of words.
The correctly spelled word in the wrong context will not be flagged by most spell-checkers. Word Refiner is dedicated to uprooting all of these invisible errors and providing your document free of spelling errors that you want and deserve. I find invisible spelling errors in 95% of published books.

Now, onto today’s episode! Number nine in the series about quadruple homophones. #HighScore!
Oar has been with us for centuries. It is a pole with a flat blade at one end, it is used in an oarlock mounted on the edge of the boat. It is different from a paddle that is used freehand. This word comes to us from Germanic influenced by Old English, Danish and Norwegian.
O’er is a poetic contraction of over and has been in use in literary works for many hundreds of years. Google describes it as archaic so we know it has been around for a long time.
Or is such a short word, it is used as a conjunction to indicate a group of choices. It introduces a consequence if a certain condition is not met. It is also a Boolean operator in computer programming. From Old and Middle English, it had the idea of other. These are only a few of the definitions of Or, a sure sign that the word has been with us for many hundreds of years.
Ore has a primary definition in English of a naturally occurring material that a metal or something else of value can be extracted from. The secondary definition is the abbreviation of the state I live in, Oregon. No, not crazy, as some might think.
It is also the national currency of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It requires special punctuation in those languages.
 
There they are, four words with identical sounds.  If you use the wrong word your reader might think they tripped on an unseen bump while reading and lose the momentum you worked so hard to create.  Use every tool available to prevent that from happening, do not give your readers a reason to abandon your story. Use Word Refiner, beta readers, critique partners, proofreaders and editors to ensure that your work is error free and as smooth as possible.
Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed this issue of Homophones Hurt Your Writing on Words For Thought.  Follow me on twitter: @wordrefiner, for more information about hazardous homophones search for #HomophonesHurtYourWriting or #TyposHurtYourWriting.


Don’t forget the free offer for writers under the “Learn More” tab on our website. I have another excellent value for authors interested in promoting their book, see the "Review Your Book" tab on my website.

Remember: Words Have Meaning and Spelling Makes a Difference.
​Copyright © 2018 Mark L Schultz 

Welcome to this edition of Words For Thought, the blog on wordrefiner.com. Like many of the previous blogs we are looking at homophones. Words that sound the same but have different spellings and meanings. 
I understand how important it is to have an error-free manuscript. With over 40 years of experience, I have found that homophones give almost every writer fits and difficulties. Because we sound words out in our mind, it is easy to write the wrong word.
Let’s not forget typographical errors also, a slip of the finger on the keyboard can create a different word that may not be caught by a spell-checker. There are many groups of words that vary by only one letter, such as must, mist and most. These three words have vowels that are beside each other on the keyboard.
The correctly spelled word in the wrong context will not be flagged by most spell-checkers. Word Refiner is dedicated to uprooting all of these invisible errors and providing your document free of spelling errors that you want and deserve. I find invisible spelling errors in 95% of published books.

Now, onto today’s episode! Number eight in the series about quadruple homophones. #HighScore!

Hoard is a very old word; the first known recorded use is before the 12th century. It seems to have Germanic roots and has traveled through Old English to arrive in the modern day. Widely used for hundreds of years, it works as both a noun and verb in Modern English. A hoard is a collection of items of a highly desired nature set aside or stored for future use. To hoard is to stockpile or store items for an anticipated future need.
Extreme hoarding is now considered a severe psychological issue and the subject of multiple programs on television. Someone’s sickness is now our entertainment.
Horde is another old word; its first known use is 1555. It has come to us from Turkey and been modified in the language of Poland. It originally identified nomadic Asiatic groups of people.
Modern usage is typically a derogatory remark about a group of people. The horde of relatives descended upon the sickly billionaire when he was announced as entering hospice. It can also refer to a pack or swarm of animals, a swarm of mosquitos descended upon George as soon as he left the house.
Hoared is another ancient word. The first known use of Hoar is before the 12th century. The first known use as an adjective goes all the way back to the late 13th century, hoarfrost. It describes a feathery appearance, whitish or light gray in color.
Its origin seems to be Old Norse, and is thought to refer to gray or white hair, a sign to respect.
Whored is the past tense and past participle of whore. This word generally refers to a person who degrades themselves for personal gain, such as divulging secrets for money. More specifically and most commonly, whore refers to a woman or man who gives sex for money.
 
There they are, four words with identical sounds.  If you use the wrong word your reader might think they tripped on an unseen bump while reading and lose the reading momentum you worked so hard to create.  Use every tool available to prevent that from happening, do not give your readers a reason to abandon your story. Use Word Refiner, beta readers, critique partners, proofreaders and editors to ensure that your work is error free and as smooth as possible.
Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed this issue of Homophones Hurt Your Writing on Words For Thought.  Follow me on twitter: @wordrefiner, for more information about hazardous homophones search for #HomophonesHurtYourWriting or #TyposHurtYourWriting on Twitter.
Don’t forget the free offer for writers under the “Learn More” tab on our website. I have another excellent value for authors interested in promoting their book, see the "Review Your Book" tab on my website.

Remember: Words Have Meaning and Spelling Makes a Difference 
Copyright © 2018 Mark L Schultz ​

Welcome to this edition of Words For Thought, the blog on wordrefiner.com. Like many of the previous blogs we are looking at homophones. Words that sound the same but have different spellings and meanings. 
I understand how important it is to have an error free manuscript. With over 40 years of experience, I have found that homophones give almost every writer fits and difficulties. Because we sound words out in our mind, it is easy to write the wrong word.
Let’s not forget typographical errors also, a slip of the finger on the keyboard can create a different word that may not be caught by a spell-checker. There are many groups of words that vary by only one letter, such as must, mist and most. These three words have vowels that are beside each other on the keyboard.
The correctly spelled word in the wrong context will not be flagged by most spell-checkers. Word Refiner is dedicated to uprooting all of these hidden errors and providing your document free of spelling errors that you want and deserve. I find invisible spelling errors in 95% of published books.

Now, onto today’s episode! Number seven in the series about quadruple homophones. High score!
Rite is a word that has been with us for hundreds of years. Rite started in Latin and came through Middle English before arriving here. It is a synonym or a truncation of the word ritual. It can mean a ceremony that is religious or social in nature. Saluting the flag and saying the pledge of allegiance is one example of a social rite or ritual.
Write is a word many of us are deeply familiar with. Many make a living by writing and many more want to. With a Germanic and Old English background; the most basic definition of “to write” means to put down marks, such as letters, words, or symbols on paper, with an instrument such as a pen or pencil.
We can write a letter or a book, a check or a song, a manual or a play. We can also underwrite an insurance policy. We can also cause a computer to write data in a specific location. This word has many different uses, unlike the previous word.
Right is a powerhouse word! It has traveled to us from Germanic roots, Old English and Latin. A very long-lived and widely used word for many centuries. It can function as a, noun, verb, adverb, adjective, an exclamation and filler word. It can mean correct, proper, justified, right hand or side, political, and in British English it can mean complete or absolute. It can be the opposite of wrong. It can also mean very, immediately, giving directions as in turn right at the bank. It can mean to repair, rectify or provide reparations. It can be used to show agreement or invite agreement, and it can be a filler word in conversation.
Wright comes to us from English and Old English. Its usage has increased steadily in the last couple of centuries. This word has a specific meaning, a maker or builder. It brings to mind someone who is a master of their craft. We use this word frequently in the theater world when we talk about a playwright. We also use this word in the construction trades, a person may be a millwright or a woodwright. There is a long running show on PBS, The Woodwright’s Shop. A millwright uses milling machines and lathes to shape metal.
There they are, four words with identical sounds.  If you use the wrong word the reader might think they hit an unseen bump while reading and lose the reading momentum you worked so hard to build.  Use every tool available to prevent that from happening, do not give your readers a reason to close your story. Use beta readers, critique partners, proofreaders, such as myself, and editors to ensure that your work is error free and as smooth as possible. 

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed this issue of Homophones Hurt Your Writing on Words For Thought.  Follow me on twitter: @wordrefiner, for more alerts about hazardous homophones search for #HomophonesHurtYourWriting or #TyposHurtYourWriting on Twitter.
Don’t forget the free offer for writers under the “Learn More” tab on our website. I have another excellent value for authors interested in promoting their book, see the "Review Your Book" tab on my website.

Remember: Words Have Meaning and Spelling Makes a Difference.
​Copyright © 2018 Mark L Schultz  
​

Welcome to this edition of Words For Thought, the blog at wordrefiner.com. Like some of the previous blogs, we are exploring typographical errors. Words that look almost the same, but have different spellings and meanings. To find more of these on Twitter, search for the hashtag: #TyposHurtYourWriting.
I understand how important it is to have a manuscript free of spelling errors. With over 40 years of experience, I have found that typos give many writers problems. Less than perfect typing can create hidden mistakes. I find these typos and other spelling slip-ups in 95% of published books.
There are many groups of words that vary by only one letter, such as came, dame, fame, and game. The correctly spelled word in the wrong context will not be flagged by most spell-checkers. The Hyper-Speller at Word Refiner is dedicated to exposing these hidden gaffes and delivering your document free of spelling blunders.

Now, onto today’s episode!

We have 12 different four-letter words that end with -ump. That means you have 11 opportunities to create a hidden error that won’t be found by many spell checkers. Let’s look at this list of terrible typos.
 
Bump is a very busy word! It works as a noun and a verb, a physically active word as well as archaic and internet slang. A light strike of your elbow can cause funny feelings, a jolting collision, a bulge in an otherwise smooth surface, a small increase in sales, roughly textured fabric used as a lining. Overbooking a commercial airline flight can result in passengers being denied a reserved seat. Roller derby displays a considerable amount of jolting and banging of participants. A drunk in the early 17th century or moving an internet post back to the top of the list.
Dump is more prosaic. It has mostly to do with disposing of garbage or storing materials such as ammunition for the military. It also refers to moving computer data off the network, a hard drive, or off-site. It can also refer to a place as undesirable to be in. A boy might abandon his girlfriend, a country might export goods at an artificially low price, and a frustrated student might drop textbooks at the front door for no good reason.
Gump is mostly a foolish or dim-witted person. Part of the title of a book and movie called “Forrest Gump”, a story about a simple-minded man with good intentions who gets involved in significant historical events by happenstance.
Hump is a rounded protuberance on the back of a camel or some other beast. It can also refer to an abnormality on a person’s back. It can also be a small round mound of earth. As slang it means to carry something over a distance or sexual intercourse.
Jump has many definitions. Push yourself off the ground with your legs. Go over a barrier. Certain athletic competitions include this activity, some with horses. Dramatic or unexpected increases in economic activity. Jumping the gun means leaving the starting line before the proper time. When a person is mugged. Most of us jump when startled. You capture an opponent’s checker. Start a car using battery cables from another car.
Lump is a relatively small mass of a substance, usually irregular in shape. It can be a bump under the skin caused by an injury or disease. A large, slow-witted person. You can group several things together with little regard for distinct differences. I don’t care if you like it or lump it, I am getting my job done.
Mump is a word that may be more familiar to speakers of British English. It means to cheat, mumble, and imitate. Archaic definitions include begging.
Pump is a device designed to move liquids, and gases, or fill a tire with air. Trying to extract information by persistent questioning. Before the advent of ABS, pumping the brakes of a car was good advice to avoid or rectify a skid. A vigorous and prolonged handshake feels like you are being pumped. Finally, a particular design of women’s shoes, low cut, no strap, and a low to medium heel.
Rump is the hind part of an animal or the lower back of a bird. Also a person’s buttocks.
Sump is a pit or hollow that collects water. Many homeowners have sump pumps under their homes to move the water away that would otherwise collect with deleterious effect to the structure.
Tump is another British English term. It refers to a small rounded hill or a clump of trees or vegetation.
Yump is a term from road rally racing, probably British English, it refers to the moment when the wheels of a vehicle leave the ground after cresting a hill at high speed. It sounds suspiciously like the word jump, with a foreign accent. What do you think?
 
There they are, 12 words with similar sounds and the same last three letters.  If you use the wrong word, the reader could feel like they lost their footing and fell down,  as they read your book. They may feel like leaving your story because it is too hard to figure out what you are trying to say.  Do everything in your power to prevent that from happening, do not give your reader a reason to close your book. Use Word Refiner, beta readers, critique partners, proofreaders and editors to ensure that your work is error free and as smooth reading as possible.
 
Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed this issue of Typos Hurt Your Writing on Words For Thought.  Follow me on twitter: @wordrefiner; for more Hazardous Homophones and Terrible Typos search for #HomophonesHurtYourWriting and #TyposHurtYourWriting on twitter.
Don’t forget the free sample of “proofreading your book” for writers under the “Learn More” tab on http://www.wordrefiner.com/.
I offer another service at a great value, see the “Review Your Book” tab.

Remember: Words Have Meaning and Spelling Makes a Difference. 
Copyright © 2017 Mark L Schultz ​