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Conference thebay::joyoflex

Title:The Joy of Lex
Notice:A Notes File even your grammar could love
Moderator:THEBAY::SYSTEM
Created:Fri Feb 28 1986
Last Modified:Mon Jun 02 1997
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:1192
Total number of notes:42769

374.0. "Heteronyms" by BAEDEV::RECKARD () Mon Jul 06 1987 08:26

    I plagiarized a list of 27 heteronyms from Richard Lederer's radio spot.
    For those of you for whom "heteronym" is not an everyday word, my
    dictionary defines it thus:  a word having a different sound and meaning
    from another, but the same spelling as _lead_ (to conduct) and _lead_
    (a metal)".  As "lead" is one of the 27, how many of the remaining 26 can
    you joyoflexers out there come up with?  (I'm sure this list is not
    exhaustive.)
T.RTitleUserPersonal
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374.1Surely not...WELSWS::MANNIONMon Jul 06 1987 08:346
    If I am not mistaken, these are homographs, whereas homophones sound
    the same but may be spelled differently. Both are types of homonym.
    
    My favourites are right, right, write and rite.
    
    Phillip (fillip)
374.2Through / ThrewAPTECH::RSTONERoyMon Jul 06 1987 09:531
     
374.3BEING::POSTPISCHILAlways mount a scratch monkey.Mon Jul 06 1987 10:129
    Re .1, .2:
    
    None of the examples meet the specification in .0:  Same spelling,
    different sound (and meaning).
    
    See topic 282, where there are around 40 of these things. 
    
    
    				-- edp 
374.4Can't wait to think up more!DAMSEL::RENOOn the 8th Day God Created HuskiesMon Jul 06 1987 14:318
    Those in .1 and .2 are _homo_nyms.
    
    What you want, .0, is read, past tense of read, which is present
    tense of read.
    
    See?  :-)
    
    -debbie
374.5APTECH::RSTONERoyMon Jul 06 1987 18:043
    Minute - 1/60th of an hour.
    
    Minute - very tiny.
374.6SSDEVO::GOLDSTEINMon Jul 06 1987 19:405
    polish - from Poland
    
    polish - make it shine
    
    Bernie
374.7WELSWS::MANNIONTue Jul 07 1987 05:133
    Would polish from Poland not be Polish polish?
    
    Phillip
374.8Shine and use it upTOPDOC::SLOANEBruce is on the looseTue Jul 07 1987 12:168
    If you shine up the can, you polish up the Polish polish.
    
    If you use all the polish while shining it, you polish off the Polish
    polish polish up.
    
    -bs
    
    
374.9BEING::POSTPISCHILAlways mount a scratch monkey.Tue Jul 07 1987 13:446
    Re .5:
    
    "Minute" was reported seven months ago, in topic 282.
    
    
    				-- edp
374.10The dear green placeWELSWS::MANNIONWed Jul 08 1987 05:219
    Polish is also what a drunken Glaswegian - of which there are supposed
    to be not a few on Sauchiehall Street on Friday night - would refer
    to the boys in blue as.
    
    Funny how these topics always wander off the original track, isn't
    it?
    
    Phillip
    
374.11but it's so much funDEBIT::RANDALLI'm no ladyWed Jul 08 1987 14:076
    I thought tangents were the whole purpose of this file.  
    
    I mean, anybody can stay on the subject. It takes real talent to
    come up with some of digressions we've explored . . .
    
    --bonnie
374.12digression in progress...DECSIM::HEILMANSpeak softly and wear a loud shirtWed Jul 08 1987 19:2315
>        I thought tangents were the whole purpose of this file.  

    If I digressed from this into puns about trigonometry (sined, sealed,
    delivered, I'm yours...) would that make this note a tangent digressing
    from a tangent?
    
    I never meta-tangent I didn't like...
    
    PS, I stole the "sined, sealed" pun from Buckeroo Bonzai, credit
    where credit is due...
    
    PPS, speaking of credit, I had to get someone to cosine my mortgage
    so that I could buy my house.
    
             
374.13YIPPEE::LIRONThu Jul 09 1987 07:2517
    I thought that heteronyms were words which differ in spelling,
    and pronunciation, and meaning, and basically have nothing
    to do with each other.
    
    To find examples of such pairs is not an easy task. One
    could offer:
    
    	Flamingo 	and 	station-wagon
    	I 		and 	antidisestablishmentarianism
    	Marks 		and 	Spencer
    
     but then how can you be absolutely certain they really 
     *never* met before ?
    
     	roger
         
     
374.14Who?WELSWS::MANNIONThu Jul 09 1987 08:458
    Or Marx and Spenser, which whilst heteronyms for themselves are
    homophones for Marks and Spencer, should therefore properly be called
    heterohoms, constitute a semantic field of multiple dimensions in
    themselves and write exciting political tracts in nine-line stanzas.
    
    Yes, that's it.
    
    Phillip
374.15Tennis elbow footMARVIN::KNOWLESThu Jul 09 1987 08:583
    I think .13 has it..  Weren't heteronyms named after Heteronymus
    Bosch, who spent his life finding reasons for associating pairs
    of words until he was stumped by aardvark and perambulator?
374.16DECWET::MITCHELLSat Jul 11 1987 05:177
    RE: .15
    
    Didn't Heteronymus Bosch paint a picture called, "The Garden of
    Wordly Delights?"
    
    
    John M.
374.17CLT::MALERSat Jul 11 1987 09:497
    re .15--
    
    I thought it was Zeus and potato he was stumped by.  Wasn't it he
    who discovered the obscure root of aardvark, namely "vark," pronounced
    in modern times "walk"?  This clearly relates to the root of
    perambulator, namely "lator," which of course is the basis for 
    "do the 'gator walk."
374.18While we're off the subject....IOSG::DUTTThu Jul 16 1987 08:263
    Did you know that Marx and Spencer are buried opposite each other
    in Highgate cemetary?