This is Ook,the Orang Utan librarian who keeps watch over Bob's library of Terry Pratchett books. He is a hominid.
The word watch can be a verb [to look upon] πor a noun [a timepiece] ⌚. Such a word is a homonym. A word with one spelling and two meanings.
I came across a short list of homonyms recently which fascinated me - each had two syllables. But the stress was on different syllables, and that made all the difference. For instance
subject - what you learn at school
subject to force someone to do something
"I should do a blog post on that" I thought. And then I completely forgot about it. Till Thursday, when we happened to be in Waitrose. Bob had suggested we drop in for some Thai Red Curry Paste** and a yellow-sticker hunt. At the back of the store I saw this display
- curate - to select the best and moat appropriate for presentation
- curate - a member of the Anglican clergy.
So is this new range designed for Vicarage Tea Parties, do you think?
Here's a weekend quiz for you. A list of paired definitions. Between them, in brackets, the number of letters and the initial of the word in question. Remember, same word, but two pronunciations and two meanings. I will give the answers on Monday. The first one is obviously curate. The last two are a bit more challenging!
|
Member of clergy |
[6,C] |
Select best for show |
|
A trade agreement |
[8,C] |
Get smaller |
|
A gift |
[7,P] |
Attending |
|
Way in |
[8,E] |
Charm |
|
Disabled |
[7,I] |
Incorrect/without effect |
|
Tiny |
[6,M] |
60 seconds |
|
Stick out |
[7,P] |
Plan or design |
|
Rubbish |
[6,R] |
Turn down |
|
Gather together |
[7,C] |
A short prayer |
|
Create something |
[7,P] |
Fruit and Vegetables |
|
Ignore |
[8,D] |
Reduce in price |
|
Fault |
[6,D] |
Go to the other side |
|
Mouth wide open |
[5,A] |
God's love [Greek] |
|
Was miserable |
[5,M] |
A small scooter |


Got them! Also, walk in line/how to make something (P 7)
ReplyDeleteπ
DeleteThink I've got them all. That got my brain working. Regards Sue H
ReplyDeleteHave a good weekend
DeleteI've got all but 3 of them but will think about those. Fun!
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you will get there in the end
Delete