Tricky English Words
There's a Dictionary on it!
I got a library card! I searched the shelves for a fun book to borrow - I hadn’t checked out a book from a library since high school! And behold, on the shelf was this book that caught my eye; Dictionary of Tricky Words by Sarah K Williams1. I had to borrow it and see what fruits she discovered in the messy English language.
It’s a fun coffee table book; if you’re a native English speaker, all this goes over your head. Going through this book it really makes me think about how crazy English language spelling is and the exploration of making a new alphabet2 for us to use.
A lot of these examples are words that sound the same, especially when spoken, but the meaning and spellings can vary. I’ve added examples of the words used in sentences where I thought it would help out;
I picked out my top 6 in this book that really caught my eye.
The English language is so elastic that you can find another word to say the same thing. — Mahatma Gandhi.3
Allusion - Elusion - Illusion
Allusion: indirect reference. She alluded that the dog did indeed eat her homework
Elusion: avoid or escape. The zebra eluded the jaws of the crocodile
Illusion: something is not as it seems. The magician was using illusion in his show for the audience.
Hole - Whole
Hole - suppression or opening, a fault or slaw: There’s a hole in these socks.
Also, hole means awkward position: they left company in a hole with their resignation
Whole - entire or unbroken, complete number of something: How did you eat the whole cake?
Also, whole means a system of parts working together as a single unit: the team working together as a whole helped us win the game.
Oar - O’er - Or - Ore
Oar - a long pole with a broad blade at one end used for propelling or steering a boat
O’er - contraction of over: “But the Angelus Bells o'er the Liffey swells
Rang out in the foggy dew” - Fr.Charles O'Neil
Or - used as a function word to indicate an alternative: would you like coffee or tea?
Ore - a naturally occurring solid material from which a metal or valuable mineral can be profitably extracted
“To be fair, English is full of booby traps for the unwary foreigner.”
― Bill Bryson, The Mother Tongue: The Fascinating History of the English Language
Poor - Pore - Pour
Poor - lacking material possessions. Also means Less or inadequate: This store bought cheesecake is a poor substitute for mom’s homemade one. Can also be used as an expression of pity: Look at the poor puppy sitting in the rain.
Pore - a minute opening especially in an animal or plant. Also means to gaze intently and reflect or meditate on something: she pored over the new book she got.
Pour - to cause to flow in a stream: we poured the beer out of the bottle into the glass. Also means to supply or produce freely or copiously: we poured out our heart into this art project.
Seas - Sees - Seize
Seas - ocean, a great body of salt water that covers much of the earth.
Sees4 - to perceive by the eye. To recognize, examine, watch: Grandma sees what you’re doing, getting a cookie from the jar. So bring her a cookie as well.
Seize - to possess or take by force. And, take (an opportunity or initiative) eagerly and decisively: we seized the opportunity to help out at the markets.
Yore - Your - You’re
Yore - time past and especially long past
Your - of or relating to you or yourself or yourselves especially as possessor or possessors
You’re - a contraction of you are.
Above I mentioned a ‘new alphabet’, I was referring the Shavian alphabet! This alphabet is named after Bernard Shaw5(1856 – 1950); an Irish writer and playwright who didn’t like the way words in English were spelt. He wrote, quite frequently on the inefficiency of English language spelling with it’s silent letters and silly spelling (eg reflecting where the word came from rather than how it’s pronounced in english eg: pneumonia and knee).
Bernard Shaw advocated in his life for a phonetic alphabet - he didn’t get to see it in his lifetime unfortunately, but we have something to play with now with the Shavian Alphabet. For a better introduction into the Shavian alphabet and history, I’d recommend checking out Rob Words on YouTube below.
https://www.amazon.com/Ntcs-Dictionary-Tricky-Words-Complete/dp/0844257648
https://shavian.info/
https://preply.com/en/blog/learning-english-quotes/
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sees
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Bernard_Shaw