Lili Saintcrow
To “hone” something is to sharpen its edge. To “home in” is to find and follow the signal that helps a plane return to base.
Apr 2 at 4:37pmWeb
Show threadLili Saintcrow4d ago

Also, to “bail out” is to remove water from inside a boat so it may continue to float. To “bale out” is to jump from a plane. A “bailout” is when a company is kept afloat by an infusion of cash.

English is fun.

Show threadLili Saintcrow4d ago
To “reign” is to rule over something; “free rein” is when a horse’s reins (leather bridle straps) are held loosely to allow the horse its choice of speed and direction.
Show threadLili Saintcrow4d ago
No, really, I swear, English is fun!
Show threadLili Saintcrow4d ago
Using these terms precisely and correctly adds meaning (or in certain cases in-jokes and shades of irony) to one’s writing. It’s part of the fun of making art, and you must *know* the rules before you can break them *effectively*.
Show threadLili Saintcrow4d ago
(Not so incidentally, newspaper editors ought to know these differences, if only to appear of basic competence.)
Show threadLili Saintcrow4d ago

I’ll break grammar rules all day, punctuation ones idiosyncratically, and spelling occasionally when it pleases me. But by and large I want to break them *consciously*, to impart meaning.

Thus endeth the (small, irritated) lecture.

Show threadStoneface Vimes4d ago
@lilithsaintcrow and all of this has earned you a follow.
Show threadD. G. Marshall4d ago

@lilithsaintcrow

I have read a published novel where one page contained the following:

"Edit: Diffuse is to cause to spread out freely. You want defuse, which is to make less dangerous, tense, or hostile."

Show threadKeith Dawson4d ago

@lilithsaintcrow

The Treasury Secretary wanted to bale out the banks but the president rained him in.

Show threadHerzleid4d ago
@lilithsaintcrow YES.Thank you.
Show threadBytebro 🇬🇧 🇺🇦 🇬🇱4d ago

@lilithsaintcrow

I like words. Little posts like this make me happy 🙂

Show threadMichael W Lucas 4d ago

@lilithsaintcrow

"Romance and espionage writers understand "discreet" vs "discrete"" Challenge 2026--and every other year.

Show threadnethope4d ago
@mwl @lilithsaintcrow AMEN!!! to all of the above
Show threadLili Saintcrow4d ago
@mwl bwahahahaha omg don’t get me started on “peaks” vs “peeks”
Show threadEsslar24d ago
@lilithsaintcrow @mwl "Lead" instead of "led."
Show threadMy camera shoots fascists4d ago

@lilithsaintcrow @mwl

This discussion piques my interest in these words

Show threadOwen G. Richards - ANTIFAscist4d ago

@lilithsaintcrow

😇 Is this a general observation of "faux pas" usage of words?

Without mentioning homonyms - what about "bring" vs "take" / would have (done sth) vs had (done sth)?

Just curious...

Show threadAlexxKay3d ago

@lilithsaintcrow
And "pique"!

I have occasionally seen amateur porn writing referring to breasts in a way that either "peaks" or "peeks" could be correct, though not with the same meaning 🙂.

Show threadMikeStok4d ago
@lilithsaintcrow don’t forget rain!
Show threadCharnock4d ago
@lilithsaintcrow and "Rain" is just a state of existence here in Ireland
Show threadquixote4d ago
@lilithsaintcrow Thank you! Sometimes I think we need a CarTalk-style dope slap tradition. Did you just say something without knowing what it means? Dope slap!
Show threadLili Saintcrow4d ago
(I have read SO MANY WWII memoirs…)
Show threaddushinto4d ago

@lilithsaintcrow not sure about the plane one, I think that might be a British English vs. American English thing. We'd say 'bailed out of the plane'.

Like, just to add extra fun, there are two major versions of 'English'

Show threadLili Saintcrow4d ago
@rickpelletier The original term was “bale out” because one was thrown like a hay bale from the back of a farm truck. This was necessitated by the bulk of the parachute gear worn.
Show threadBernie Luckily Does It4d ago
@lilithsaintcrow I did not know that one!
Show threadbewilderbeast233d ago
@lilithsaintcrow Bailout: An infusion of OTHER PEOPLE'S CASH - taxpayers' money. They're corporate welfare queens, Ron Raygunz! Sorry, it just came out.. don't mind me..
Show threadAlexxKay3d ago
@lilithsaintcrow
Huh. I had never previously seen "bale out", but often "bail out". And there does seem to be some disagreement on this one: https://www.dailywritingtips.com/bail-out-vs-bale-out/
Bail Out vs. Bale Out - DAILY WRITING TIPS

Reading A Presumption of Death by Jill Paton, (St. Martin’s Minotaur, New York, 2003), I was distracted by the author’s frequent references to the necessity

Daily Writing Tips
Show threadAlexxKay3d ago
@lilithsaintcrow
I tend to be more descriptivist than prescriptivist, but it can be frustrating. English seems to be largely replacing the subjunctive "might" with "may". And the terms "latter" and "former" no longer have reliable meanings, so I've had to abandon them from my own speech and writing.
Show threadStoneface Vimes4d ago
@lilithsaintcrow thanks for that. This misusage infuriates me. And it's so common.
Show threadLili Saintcrow4d ago
@capnthommo As I said elsewhere, at some point the erroneous but more common usage might become correct by default because language is a living thing. Which is super cool, and helps me regard it philosophically, no matter the irritation.
Show threadSlash909uk4d ago
@lilithsaintcrow @capnthommo mmm etymology is fun 🙂
Show threadStoneface Vimes4d ago
@lilithsaintcrow yes. I can generally rise above it but hone/home literally gets under my skin😉