This is A Way with Words, not to be confused with “Away with words!”
Today’s Illustration: the difference between the homophones canon and cannon.
Homophones, According to Vocabulary.com
A homophone is a word that sounds the same as another word but has a different meaning and/or spelling. “Flower” and “flour” are homophones because they are pronounced the same but you certainly can’t bake a cake using daffodils.
Canon & Cannon diagram by Sara Barkat.
Love Words? Try This 5-Prompt Mini-Series
Click to get 5-Prompt Mini-Series
I like my tea black (with a special love for Indian chai) and my novels long (give me sci-fi, fantasy, or 19th century to make me especially happy!)—though I’m always exploring beyond my known universe and will drink greens, reds, and oolongs, and read almost any genre or style that crosses my table. Speaking of the universe, I have a passion for learning about anything from black holes to the mysteries of time. When I’m not sitting by the window, sharing the sun with our little lemon tree, I can be found making lemon cupcakes and other confections, creating art (pen and ink, intaglio, and Prismacolors, please) or moving through the world on the toes of ballet or jazz dance.
Latest posts by Sara Barkat (see all)
- Good News—It’s Okay to Write a Plot Without Conflict - December 8, 2022
- Can a Machine Write Better Than You?—5 Best (And Worst) AI Poem Generators - September 26, 2022
- What to Eat With Dracula: Paprika Hendl - May 17, 2022
Laura (L.L.) Barkat says
I am relieved about the marshmallow 🙂
(And wondering why the cannon doesn’t seem to like Pachelbel 😉 )
Sandra Heska King says
So I wonder if you can fire a canon… or a Canon.
Bethany R. says
Such a fun educational tool. (Not tulle.)
Laura (L.L.) Barkat says
Ha 🙂
Laurie Klein says
Sara, your wit is the complete package: cerebral, literary, and visual! Love it. Your post also sent me on a Google search as I’ve always used the word homonym, a happy start to my Saturday.
ps A daffodil cake for deer, perhaps?
pps Last April a woman I know persuaded her small group to sip vase water from upended daffodil stems. All felt changed, by whimsy. No one turned yellow. 🙂