Writers Tricks of the Trade ISSUE 1, VOLUME 9 | Page 17

Y OU D ON ’ T S AY !
P ESKY W ORDS T HAT S OUND A LIKE
By Mike Dennis and Morgan St. James
Mike and Morgan explore the pitfalls of the English language, because so
many words are misused. From words that sound alike, to ones that almost
sound alike—redundancies, oxymorons and words that don’t really exist but
are used every day. The list goes on, and we’re going to have fun with them in
every issue
MIKE: Well, Morgan, what’ve you got on
tap for this issue?
MORGAN: We’re taking a look at those
pesky words that sound alike, but have en-
tirely different meanings. You know, homo-
nyms. Or as they call them on Jeopardy,
“homophones”.
MIKE: Homophones?
MORGAN : Right. For example, “RESISTOR
vs. RESISTER”. I’m sure you know the dif-
ference between the two.
MIKE : Of course, but tell me anyway.
MORGAN : Well, you may remember read-
ing about the antiwar movement in the
1960s. One of those articles might say
something like, “Many people respected the
antiwar RESISTORS.”
MIKE : I would also add that many people
MIKE : Ahh, I see. So the RESISTER is the
one who opposes or stands in the way of.
Then it’s safe to say “MARSHAL vs. MAR-
TIAL” would fit right into our column,
right?
MORGAN : Right.
MIKE : So, if somebody says they’re going
to take up “MARSHAL arts”, then...
MORGAN : Then I would ask him if he’s go-
ing to do paintings of lawmen like Wyatt
Earp. Or maybe it’s a Marshall who also
wants to draw horses, or maybe cows.
MIKE: Alright. That’s enough for this time.
Wouldn’t it be cool if some of our readers
sent us their favorites? We could do a YOU
DON’T SAY column with their suggestions.
Just email to Writers Tricks of the Trade
Magazine
didn’t respect them at all.
MORGAN : Regardless of how you feel
about the antiwar “RESISTORS,” you would
have to ask yourself whether they were in
series or parallel. After all, a RESISTOR is a
device used in electrical circuits.
W RITERS ’ T RICKS OF THE T RADE
P AGE 12
S PRING 2019