Commonly Confused words -- L-Z

Lay	To place, put, set, or deposit something. An action performed on an object or person	Jim lay Blair gently on the couch, propping his injured foot on some pillows. Blair lay the blanket on the bed.
Lie	A falsehood. To position oneself. To recline.	Blair decided to lie down for a nap.
Laying	The act of putting something down, including ones self.	Laying his gun on the end table, Jim headed for the medicine cabinet.
Lying	To lie flat, prone. Falsifying something. To be dishonest. To be unreliable.	Lying on his back, Blair could see the cracks in the ceiling.

Lead	Present tense. To guide. To go ahead of and show the way.	Jim's lead allowed Blair to gaze at the scenery instead of the uneven pathway.
Led	Past tense and past participle of lead.	Blair led Simon to where Jim lay wounded.
Lead	A metal. This word is pronounced with a short 'e' sound. Go figure.	A satisfied smirk on his face, Simon hefted the gold painted lead bar in his hand. It had fooled a lot of people, even the men who'd tried to steal it.

Lose, Loose -- I've gotten these two mixed up myself. It's a matter of concentration to keep them straight, and I don't always concentrate hard enough. Then again, the old finger sometimes slips on the keyboard.

No one	Not any. Usually used to indicate the lack of people in a place or lack of agreement from any person present.	Jim and Blair explored the house cautiously, looking for the drug runners, but no one was there.
Noone	This is not a word, don't use it.	Is this 'noon' with an 'e' stuck on the end, or 'none' with an extra 'o'? Nah!

Past	The former, antecedent, finished, done, preceding, just gone by, long ago, yesterday, beyond, behind, through, farther.	Blair couldn't help but think fondly of the past two years he'd been living with Jim. Jim walked past Megan to sit beside Blair.
Passed	To advance. To proceed. To approach.	As he passed the old shack, Jim thought he heard movement coming from inside. Jim smiled at Megan as he passed her to sit beside Blair.

Peak, Peek, Pique -- If I read that someone's interest has been 'peaked' just one more time, I may just scream.

Peak	The top. The pinnacle. The summit. A protruding edge.	Simon hooked his climbing rope to the last pinion, hauling himself over the ledge, and onto the peak of Mount Whittling.
Peek	To look furtively, slyly or quickly.	Head lowered, Blair grinned to himself in triumph as he peeked at the scowl on Jim's face.
Pique	A feeling of irritation, resentment, or anger. To stimulate, arouse, or provoke.	Jim clenched his jaw, grinding his teeth together: Sandburg had managed to pique his anger -- Again -- without half trying.

Peace

A state of quiet or tranquility. Calm. Absence or cessation of war. Freedom from riot or violence. A state of reconciliation. Freedom from mental agitation. Spiritual tranquility.

The only sound in the loft, was the slow ticking of the clock. Jim sighed; peace at last.

Piece

A small portion of a whole. An object considered as forming one of a class or group. An instance. A firearm. A coin. A literary composition, play, picture, or musical composition.

Simon opened a baker's box just as Jim and Blair walked into his office.

Holding aloft a cherry pie, he said, "You guys want a piece?"

"Ho, ho," Blair cried, rubbing his hands together. "Do ducks like water?"

Jim smiled. "I think that means yes, Simon."

Plain	Flat. Smooth. Easy. Clear. Understandable. Straightforward. Guileless. Unlearned. Unadorned. Unvariegated. Homely. Not rich, as food. An expanse of level, treeless land; a prairie.	Jim smiled when he picked up the mail; another of Blair's packages, wrapped in a plain, brown envelope, had arrived.
Plane	In geometry, a surface such that straight line joining any two of its points lies wholly within the surface. Any flat or uncurved surface. A level of thought, knowledge, rank, etcetera. An airplane. A tool used for smoothing boards. A plane tree.	"C'mon, Sandburg," Jim tugged his partner out the door and across the field. "It's only a plane." "Only!" Blair balked. It's a biplane, Jim. A biplane!"

Pour	To cause to flow in a continuous stream. To send forth continuously. To gush. To rain heavily.	"You want a glass of lemonade, Jim?" Blair asked, pouring one for himself.
Pore	To gaze at steadily or intently. To study with care. A small orifice in a membrane or tissue.	Jim pored over the latest reports on the homicide he was working on, hoping to find a clue he'd missed.
Poor	Needy. Lacking in good qualities. Lacking in abundance. Deficient in vigor. Lacking fertility. Cowardly. Deserving of pity.	Shivering mightily, Blair decided that a covering of damp leaves was a poor substitute for a nice warm, dry bed.

Pray	To address prayers to a deity. To make entreaty. To beg. To say prayers to. To Entreat.	"God," Simon prayed. "Please let them come through this in one piece this time."
Prey	Any animal seized by another for food. To do for the purpose of booty, plunder, pillage. Anything made the victim of that which is hostile or evil. Robbery. To seek to take for food. To make a victim of someone. To exert a wearing or harmful influence.	As soon as they pulled up in front of the warehouse, Jim set his hearing on Blair. When he heard Blair's anguished cries, he reverted to the primitive sentinel, and Lash became his prey.

Precede	To go before. To preface or introduce.	Gun at the ready, Jim preceded Blair into the warehouse.
Proceed	To go forward.	Proceeding cautiously, Sentinel and Guide swept the entire building for the gang of thieves.

Prone	To lie face down, prostrate.	Two pairs of heavy hands holding him down, Blair struggled to keep his mouth closed and his head raised as he was forced prone into the sticky mud.
Supine	To lie face up.	His wrists and ankles were tied to short stakes, stretching him to his full length, and leaving Blair with nothing to do from his supine position except contemplate the stars.

Quite, Quiet -- These two are hard because it's so easy to get the 'e' and the 't' backward when you're typing.

Sink, Sank, Sunk -- It's not Sink, Sunk, Sunk. It's also not Sunk, Sunk, Sunk.

Sink	To go beneath the surface. To descend toward or below the horizon. To penetrate a softer body. Present tense.	Stunned, Simon watched his new boat sink to the bottom of the bay.
Sank	Same as above only present perfect tense.	Cigar dropping unnoticed from his mouth, Simon sank onto the dock, his legs unable to hold him upright.
Sunk	Still same as above, only past tense.	"It's sunk," Simon whispered, tears dripping off his chin.

Sit

To be seated. An intransitive verb. Its principal parts are sit, sat, sat.

"Sit!" Jim commanded, pointing at the couch, jaw clenched.

Eyes wide, Blair sat.

Set

To place. To put. A transitive verb. Its principle parts are set, set, set.

Jim set his gun on the table.

Blair set his laptop on his bed.

Simon set his cigar in the ashtray.

They all rushed to Jim's truck and took off for the police station.

Staring, Starring -- This is another toughie. There's only a one letter difference between these two words, but they have entirely different meanings.

Staring	To gaze fixedly, usually with admiration, fear, or insolence. A conspicuous glare. To affect in specified manner. A steady, fixed gaze with wide-open eyes.	Simon's eyes swept the room, staring his people into silence.
Starring	To set or adorn with spangles or stars. To mark with an asterisk. To transform into a star. To present as a star in a play or motion picture. To shine brightly. To play the leading part.	Blair stepped slowly up to the microphone, facing a sea of reporters, and wishing he did not have the starring role in this little Greek tragedy that was his life.

Sweat, Sweet, Suite, Suit -- A slip of the finger will turn sweat to sweet, suite into suit, or visa versa. On the other hand, sweet and suite are often pronounced exactly alike, as are suite and suit, but they don't mean the same thing.

Sweat	To perspire. To exude moisture in drops. To condense moisture in drops on a surface. To ferment. To work hard. To suffer. To heat until it melts. To force moisture from. To wait through anxiously and helplessly.	Jim wiped his brow: it was so hot, that even breathing made him sweat.
Sweet	Agreeable to the sense of taste; having a flavor like that of sugar. Fresh, as opposed to salt, sour, or rancid. Gently pleasing to the senses. Agreeable to the mind. Having gentle, pleasing, and winning qualities. Easy. Smooth. A beloved person.	Jim took a big bite and grinned; he was in heaven. There was nothing like a glazed donut, sweet and warm and straight from the pan.
Suite	A succession of things forming a series (sweet). A number of connected apartments (sweet). A set of furniture (soot). A form of instrumental composition (sweet).	"Wow!" Blair exclaimed. "Would you look at this place? What a suite."
Suit	A set of outer garments or armor to be worn together. An outfit or garment for a particular purpose: bathing suite, space suit. In card playing, any one of the four sets of thirteen cards each that make up a pack. A proceeding in a court of law in which a plaintiff demands the recover of a right or the redress of a wrong. Archaic: entreaty; petition; supplication. The courting or courtship of a woman. To meet the requirements of. To please; satisfy.	"Quit wiggling." Jim lightly punched Blair on the arm. "I'll never get this tie tied." "I can't help it." Blair squirmed. "This suit itches."

Then	At that time. Therefore. Comes after the current activity. For that reason. In that case.	Jim checked the front door to make sure it was locked, then he checked the windows.
Than	A conjunction. It's used after an adjective or adverb to express comparison between what precedes and what follows. It's sometimes considered a preposition.	Jim and Blair arrived later than expected to the mayor's ball. Jim would rather cut off his right arm than harm Blair.

There, Their, They're -- These three words do not mean the same thing. They are not interchangeable: do not use them as if they were. Sorry. This is another of my 'big' pet peeves here, so I get a little militant about it. <g>

Though, Through, Throught, Thought -- This is one of my own peccadilloes here, I just can't help but put a 't' on the end of 'through'.

Though	Notwithstanding the fact that. Even if. And yet. Still. However.	Even though Blair is the guide in their relationship, Jim has autonomy of movement.
Through	From end to end, side to side. Covering all parts of. In the midst of. On account of. Completely. Entirely.	Jim breezed through the bullpen like a small tornado, pulling Blair after him by sheer force of will.
Throught	This is not a word.	Don't even go there.
Thought	To use one's mind. Meditation. Cogitation. To think. To form an opinion.	Jim smiled at the sight of Blair in repose, his thoughts written all over his face.

To, Too, Two -- These words are not interchangeable. They do not mean the same thing.

To	To go toward. Conveys action or physical movement. Coming to a conclusion.	Jim came to the realization that his heightened senses were in his life to stay.
Too	It means also, or over much.	"Well, I'd like to go, too," Blair said.
Two	A number.	"We live at eight fifty-two Prospect," Jim told the cabby.

Write	To trace or transcribe letters, words, numbers, or symbols, on a surface. To communicate by letter. To produce by writing.	"The murder witness is in Interrogation Room Three," Simon told Jim. "The recorder isn't working, you'll have to write everything down."
Right	Conforming to moral law. Correct. True. Accurate. Properly placed. Affirmative.	"Right, Simon." Jim pulled Blair after him as he left the Captain's office.
Wright	One who does mechanical or constructive work.	Jim got out his notebook. "What do you do for a living, Mr. Almandine?" "I'm a millwright," he answered, fiddling with his coffee cup.