Strap, Rule, Water

Rein – Reign – Rain

These three words are homonyms, which is a fancy way to say that they sound the same but mean something completely different. They're easy to mix up, but if you mix them up, you will look stupid.

I don't watch it myself, but there's a television series called "Reign," and it's about queens and kings and such. It would be a very different show if it were called "Rain" or "Rein." I would guess a show called "Rain" would be about water falling from the sky (sounds boring), while "Rein" would be about horses (could be interesting, if you like horses).

rein  [reyn]
noun

1. Often, reins. a leather strap, fastened to each end of the bit of a bridle, by which the rider or driver controls a horse or other animal by pulling so as to exert pressure on the bit. See illus. under harness.
2. any of certain other straps or thongs forming part of a harness, as a checkrein.
3. any means of curbing, controlling, or directing; check; restraint.
4. reins, the controlling or directing power: the reins of government.
5. verb (used with object)
6. to check or guide (a horse or other animal) by exerting pressure on a bridle bit by means of the reins.
7. to curb; restrain; control.

• "The painter must give a completely free rein to any feeling or sensations he may have and reject nothing to which he is naturally drawn."(Lucian Freud )
• "I need to rein myself in sometimes."(Kevin Pietersen)

This is a cliché that has to do with horses. Horses are controlled by reins: pulling back on the reins slows a horse down, while giving rein allows them to choose the speed. Reining someone in, therefore, means to slow them down, while giving (free) rein means to let them do as they please.

Reigning someone in is not an English phrase but, if it were, it would have something to do with monarchs. If you say you "reigned someone in," and you're a native English speaker, you look like a fool.

reign  [reyn]
noun

1. the period during which a sovereign occupies the throne.
2. royal rule or authority; sovereignty.
3. dominating power or influence: the reign of law.
4. verb (used without object)
5. to possess or exercise sovereign power or authority.
6. to hold the position and name of sovereign without exercising the ruling power.
7. to have control, rule, or influence of any kind.
8. to predominate; be prevalent.

"Better to reign in hell than serve in heaven." (Satan, Paradise Lost by John Milton)
"Let freedom reign."(Nelson Mandela)

If freedom reigns, it rules. Freedom can't yank us around with a bit in our mouths. It can't really reign either, since it's not a person, but that's beside the point.

Kings, queens, rulers, monarchs reign over their lands. Parents reign over their homes. The Pope reigns over the Vatican. I reign over my own body (most of the time). You reign over, not in.

rain  [reyn]
noun

1. water that is condensed from the aqueous vapor in the atmosphere and falls to earth in drops more than 1/50 inch (0.5 mm) in diameter. (Compared to drizzle)
2. a rainfall, rainstorm, or shower: We had a light rain this afternoon.
3. rains, the rainy season; seasonal rainfall, as in India.
4. weather marked by steady or frequent rainfall: We had rain most of last summer.
5. a heavy and continuous descent or inflicting of anything: a rain of blows; a rain of vituperation.

"Without the rain, there would be no rainbow."(G.K. Chesterton)

"Where I come from, rain is a good thing."(Luke Bryan)

When I was a child, I used to love standing out in the rain, letting it soak my clothes. My mom wasn't so happy when I came in all muddy, and now that I'm an adult I can see her point of view. Rain isn't so much fun for me anymore.

I'd rather be reining in a horse or reigning over a kingdom than standing out in the rain.

Can you weather this whether or no?

Which of the following sentences is correct?

1. I asked him weather or not he could help.
2. The weather report forecasts rain for today.
3. Weather or not I take an umbrella, I expect the whether shall be the same.
4. I don't know whether to laugh or to cry.

If you need a hint, two are correct and two are incorrect.

If you chose 2 and 4, you win! Sorry, I have no prizes. You just get the satisfaction of knowing how smart you are.

Definitions from Dictionary.com:

weath·er

  [weth-er]

noun

1.

the state of the atmosphere with respect to wind, temperature, cloudiness, moisture, pressure, etc.

2.

a strong wind or storm or strong winds and storms collectively: We've had some real weather thisspring.

3.

a weathercast: The radio announcer will read the weather right after the commercial.

4.

Usually, weathers. changes or vicissitudes in one's lot or fortunes: She remained a good friend in allweathers.

verb (used with object)

5.

to expose to the weather; dry, season, or otherwise affect by exposure to the air or atmosphere: toweather lumber before marketing it.

6.

to discolor, disintegrate, or affect injuriously, as by the effects of weather: These crumbling stoneshave been weathered by the centuries.

7.

to bear up against and come safely through (a storm, danger, trouble, etc.): to weather a severeillness.

8.

Nautical . (of a ship, mariner, etc.) to pass or sail to the windward of: to weather a cape.

9.

Architecture . to cause to slope, so as to shed water.

wheth·er

  [hweth-er, weth-]

conjunction

1.

(used to introduce the first of two or more alternatives, and sometimes repeated before the secondor later alternative, usually with the correlative or  ): It matters little whether we go or stay. Whether wego or whether we stay, the result is the same.

2.

(used to introduce a single alternative, the other being implied or understood, or some clause orelement not involving alternatives): See whether or not she has come. I doubt whether we can do anybetter.

3.

Archaic. (used to introduce a question presenting alternatives, usually with the correlative or  ).

pronoun Archaic.

4.

which or whichever (of two)?

Idioms

5.

whether or no, under whatever circumstances; regardless: He threatens to go whether or no.

While the two words sound exactly the same when spoken, they have very different meanings, and should not be mixed up when writing as this will cause much confusion.

Can a Name Be Misspelled?

The other day, I saw an article that snarked, "kids these days think 'Britney' is the correct spelling." Seriously? So, what is the "correct" spelling? Brittani? Brittney? Brittny? Britnee? Brittnee? Brittany? I'm pretty sure the writer would choose the last one—after they yelled at me to get off their lawn.

This got me thinking. What constitutes a "correct" spelling of a name? Is there such a thing? I believe there is and there is not.

If, like the aforementioned writer, you think there is only one true "correct" spelling of any given name, well, I hate to tell you this, but that's wrong. Almost every name has variants. Don't believe me? Check behindthename.com for yourself. Even John can be spelled differently. In fact, you can make up new ways to spell a name if you are a new parent and you want to name your kid J'onh or Marri or whatever. That's entirely up to you.

However, if you know someone named Teri, and you write it down as Terri or Terry—or anything else other than Teri—you are spelling it wrong. For example, my name is Esther and so very often, I have people writing it as "Ester" instead. This is wrong, because my name is spelled "Esther." If your name was Ester, I spelled it "Esther," that would be wrong too. If you called Britney "Brittany," that would be wrong. Each person's name is spelled a certain way that their parents chose for them (or, rarely, they chose themselves), and that is the correct spelling for their name.

However your name is spelled on your birth certificate, that is the correct spelling for your name—or if you use a nickname, you decide how it is spelled, and that is the correct spelling. But others with a name that sounds the same may have a different spelling, and that is the correct spelling for their name. Therefore, it is possible to misspell a name, but only when that name belongs to a specific individual and you are writing about that person.

Lead Vs. Led

One of the most common mistakes I see is the confusion of "lead" and "led." It seems that many people don't know how to use these words. So here's a (hopefully) simple explanation.

Lead

This word has two meanings and two pronunciations.

1. Pronounced LEED.
verb (used with object)

1.

to go before or with to show the way; conduct or escort: to lead a group on a cross-country hike.

2.

to conduct by holding and guiding: to lead a horse by a rope.

3.

to influence or induce; cause: Subsequent events led him to reconsider his position.

4.

to guide in direction, course, action, opinion, etc.; bring: You can lead her around to your point of viewif you are persistent.

5.

to conduct or bring (water, wire, etc.) in a particular course.

This can also be a noun, as in someone who takes the lead, or a leash.

Pronounced LED.
noun

1.

Chemistry . a heavy, comparatively soft, malleable, bluish-gray metal, sometimes found in its naturalstate but usually combined as a sulfide, especially in galena. Symbol:  Pb; atomic weight:  207.19;atomic number:  82; specific gravity:  11.34 at 20°C.

2.

something made of this metal or of one of its alloys.

3.

a plummet or mass of lead suspended by a line, as for taking soundings.

4.

bullets collectively; shot.

5.

black lead or graphite.

As in, pencil lead.

Led

This word has only one meaning and one pronunciation.

verb

simple past tense and past participle of lead.

It is used in cases such as "Yesterday, I led the choir in singing 'Amazing Grace.'"

It is never correct to use "lead" as a past tense of itself. Do not say "Yesterday, I lead the choir in singing 'Amazing Grace.'" Bad. Very bad.

I see it all the time online, though. It drives me crazy, because I pronounce it LEED in my head, and then it sounds awful. "Are you aware of what leed to this?" Ugh. No. "Are you aware of what led to this?" Much better.

It's very simple: when it's a verb, it's spelled just how it sounds. Today, I lead. Yesterday, I led. Easy peasy.

Now, do it right. Please.

(All definitions from dictionary.com)

Let it Reign, Let it Rein, Let it Rain

Which is correct?

1. I reigned in my excitement.
2. I reined in my excitement.

Since the above is a metaphor that originated with slowing down a horse by pulling back on the reins, the correct answer is number 2. You cannot "reign in" anything; you "reign over" things. You know, like a king?


reign  [reyn]
noun
1.the period during which a sovereign occupies the throne.
2.royal rule or authority; sovereignty.
3.dominating power or influence: the reign of law.
verb (used without object)
4.to possess or exercise sovereign power or authority.
5.to hold the position and name of sovereign without exercising the ruling power.
6.to have control, rule, or influence of any kind.
7.to predominate; be prevalent.



rein  [reyn]
noun
1.Often, reins. a leather strap, fastened to each end of the bit of a bridle, by which the rider or driver controls a horse or other animal by pulling so as to exert pressure on the bit. See illus. under harness.
2.any of certain other straps or thongs forming part of a harness, as a checkrein.
3.any means of curbing, controlling, or directing; check; restraint.
4.reins, the controlling or directing power: the reins of government.
verb (used with object)
5.to check or guide (a horse or other animal) by exerting pressure on a bridle bit by means of the reins.
6.to curb; restrain; control.

These are both not to be confused with the water that falls from the sky.


rain  [reyn]  Show IPA
noun
1.water that is condensed from the aqueous vapor in the atmosphere and falls to earth in drops more than 1  / 50  in. (0.5 mm) in diameter. Compare drizzle (  def 6 ) .
2.a rainfall, rainstorm, or shower: We had a light rain this afternoon.
3.rains, the rainy season; seasonal rainfall, as in India.
4.weather marked by steady or frequent rainfall: We had rain most of last summer.
5.a heavy and continuous descent or inflicting of anything: a rain of blows; a rain of vituperation.
(definitions from dictionary.com)

When words sound the same, they are called "homonyms." Usually, the different spellings have different meanings, and should not be mixed up if you don't want to sound completely stupid.

Tenants of Faith?

I read online recently about someone who was "ridiculed for following the tenants of her faith." I immediately started wondering what a tenant of faith was, and imagined someone renting a room in a church or temple. However, how could one follow a person who rented a room in a place of worship? and why would you be ridiculed for doing so? That makes no sense. Obviously, they didn't mean tenants.


ten·ant   [ten-uhnt]
noun

1. a person or group that rents and occupies land, a house, an office, or the like, from another for a period of time; lessee.
2. Law . a person who holds or possesses for a time lands, tenements, or personalty of another, usually for rent.
3. an occupant or inhabitant of any place.

They meant tenets.


ten·et   [ten-it; Brit. also tee-nit]
noun
any opinion, principle, doctrine, dogma, etc., especially one held as true by members of a profession, group, or movement.

Doesn't anyone proofread anything anymore?

Diffusing the Situation

Which of the following sentences is correct?

1. The bomb squad diffused the bomb.
2. The bomb squad defused the bomb.

If you chose number 2, you are correct. The following is dictionary.com's definitions of the two words:

defuse:

verb (used with object)

1. to remove the fuze from (a bomb, mine, etc.).
2. to make less dangerous, tense, or embarrassing: to defuse a potentially ugly situation.

diffuse:

verb (used with object)

1. to pour out and spread, as a fluid.
2. to spread or scatter widely or thinly; disseminate.
3. Physics . to spread by diffusion.

You see that you cannot diffuse a situation. At all. Ever. Please don't write/say that you or someone else did that.

PS: I do not approve of spelling 'fuse' with a zed as above: "fuze." It just looks stupid.