SELF-EDITING TIPS: The Dreaded Homophones

ho·mo·phone

/ˈhäməˌfōn,ˈhōməˌfōn/

noun

plural noun: homophones

each of two or more words having the same pronunciation but different meanings, origins, or spelling, for example new and knew.

Common examples you may see every day in your social media and text exchanges: to, too, and two, and their, there, and they're.

I keep a running list of homophones that make me blush when I catch my mistake, and I am continually adding more to check.

For example:

Pouring vs. Poring - pouring a cup of tea vs. poring over school books

Plaintiff vs. Plaintive - plaintiff in lawsuit vs. plaintive cry

Breech vs. Breach - deliver a  breech baby vs. moving into the breach

Phase vs. faze - phase of life vs. did not faze her at all

Here’s a larger list you might be interested in reviewing too. https://examples.yourdictionary.com/examples-of-homophones.html

I "know" the English language is tricky, and the list of homophones has "no" end in sight (not site.) We could even make it a game for long car rides: "Two Homophones in One Sentence."

What words give you pain? (Not pane.)