Tuesday Tricksters, August 9: Jalousie-Jibe
?? Susan Rooks ?? The Grammar Goddess
Editor/Proofreader: I help nonfiction writers and podcasters (& their guests) look and sound as smart as they are.??Cruciverbalist?? BIZCATALYST 360° Columnist????The Oxford Comma????Dog Rescuer??Spunky Old Broad??
Well, here we go with the latest installment of Tuesday Tricksters, words that sound alike (or nearly so), but mean something different and are spelled differently. Please remember that spellcheck will not help you here; if you spell the word correctly, spellcheck won't flag it.
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Jalousie (n.): A blind or shutter with adjustable horizontal slats for regulating the passage of air and light.
Jealousy (n.): a feeling of envy
- Make sure the jalousie is adjusted for the west sun.
- Sheila felt a strong pang of jealousy towards Amy.
Jam (n.): a difficult situation; a preserve made from fruit; (v.): to wedge or make stick to prevent movement; to pack full or tight; (informal): to improvise freely as in a jam session
Jamb (n.): the side piece(s) of a door or window
- Frank found himself in a real jam at work.
- Karen, jam that stick into the gate to hold it shut.
- All my shoes are jammed into the closet!
- Sarah, do you want a peanut butter and jam sandwich?
- John was painting the door jamb white this morning.
Jeans (n.): pants made out of denim cotton
Genes (n.): plural of gene, a hereditary unit: DNA
- Did Ted buy his new jeans to wear to school?
- Our genes hold many secrets about our health and heritage.
Jell (v.): to take shape or become clear; to crystalize
Gel (n.): a firm, galatinous substance; a jelly
- I need to wait a while for my ideas to jell.
- Be sure to boil the jam until it jells.
- Sharon found a new hair gel to try!
Jibe (v.): To shift a sail from one side of a vessel to the other while sailing; to cause a sail to jibe; to agree; (n.): the act of jibing
Gibe (n.): a jeer or a tease; (v.): to tease or mock
- I need to learn to steer and jibe a boat using just the sails.
- Your ideas jibe with mine.
- Jack was hurt when Ted made a gibe at him.
- Ted gibed at Jack's reluctance to dive into the pool.
The toughest words here are jell & gel, jibe & gibe, because they are often confused, and even the dictionaries sometimes allow one to be used for the other. If you're not sure which one to use -- if you EVER decide to use any one of the four -- see if you can find a good synomym instead.
Are any of the words new to you? Would you actually use jibe or gibe?
As always, I value your thoughts and comments.
For more definitions and examples of usage, check out www.yourdictionary.com.
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8 年Jiving all night through my dear Susan Rooks (The Grammar Goddess) or jiving my words towards impressing SHE.! 'Thank you sweetheart'
Speak Truth to Power
8 年I have had people say I peaked their interest. Did they climb a pique? A lady was put off by a dating profile because this man wrote "Hello their." One must proofread before setting up a profile.
Editor/Proofreader: I help nonfiction writers and podcasters (& their guests) look and sound as smart as they are.??Cruciverbalist?? BIZCATALYST 360° Columnist????The Oxford Comma????Dog Rescuer??Spunky Old Broad??
8 年Mark Andersen, I hit the wrong key! I had heard that word before, but I was a little hazy on its exact meaning. And jive is getting into the mix in some dictionaries. Grrrrrr.
There are goodies here, Susan Rooks (The Grammar Goddess). Some real goodies. I've heard a couple of these but never been made aware of the spellings. So had I dared to write them without benefit of dictionary (or Google), I might have committed a Gross Violation of the laws of (Grammar) Goddess and man. Meanwhile, I'll offer a refinement of the jamb description. They're the pieces beside the actual door or window--parts of the frame. Vertical jambs are side jambs; the one across the top is a head jamb (or "header"); doors don't often have a bottom jamb, but windows might have one, or they might have a sill. Thus endeth the lesson for today.
Pensioner
8 年Thanks Susan Rooks (The Grammar Goddess) for a new word jalousie. I just wonder with jam and jamb, whether a window or door is jammed or jambed open?