Ahem

[marykaykare]

Dear Authors (and others)

You do not hone in on something. You HOME in on it. Hone is what you do to knives to make them sharper. It does not require the use of "in". Thank you.

This issue brought to you by Mary Kay's Pet Peeves.

Comments

Near Homonyms

[hazelchaz]

And when did people start using trolling when they mean trawling?

[vgqn]

Actually, trolling for fish with a baited line, as opposed to trawling with a net, is a venerable usage. Presumably that's where calling people trolls on the internet originally came from, because they're trying to lure people into responding to them, although I think the repulsive mythical creature meaning has a lot of resonance. A deliberate play on words by whoever first named them?

Trolling is also the punchline to one of my favorite Sven & Ole jokes.

Trolling

[hazelchaz]

I am pleased to have the correction. Thank you! I no longer have to conclude the L.A. Times is written by idiots because of that.

[vgqn]

Or did you mean that people use 'trolling' when they really do mean dragging a net? If so, le sigh.

[smofbabe]

And if I see "phased" for "fazed" one more time, someone is going to get cut with a sharply honed knife.

[filkerdave]

You can sharpen your kitchen knives by stabbing people who do that. Hone is where the heart is.