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Friday puzzle -- Sounds like

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Friday puzzle -- Sounds like

#1

Friday puzzle -- Sounds like

A homonym or homophone is a word pronounced the same as another, but with a different meaning. Best example in English is probably the three homonyms "to", "too", and "two". Another three-way set is "there", "their", and "they're", although I'm not convinced that anyone on the internet knows the difference! ;-)

Can you think of a pair of homonyms that have opposite, not merely different, meanings? In other words, two people could hear a sentence with this word in it, and, absent any context, come to exactly opposite understandings of what the speaker meant.

Re: Friday puzzle -- Sounds like

#2

Re: Grammar is one of my weak points.

But how about: What (wood, would) you be. (?) Thanks for the game, Alex.

Re: Friday puzzle -- Sounds like

#3

Re: Friday puzzle - Two spellings, many meanings 


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Re: Friday puzzle -- Sounds like

#4

Clarification and hint

Both Dale and Ed have provided good examples of homonyms, of which there are many. But this puzzle is asking not merely for homonyms with different meanings, but those with opposite meanings.

Hint: The two words that I am looking for are verbs. There is a third word, a plural noun, that is also a homonym of these two verbs (but whose meaning is unrelated to either of them. The verbs are things you would generally do outside, with different tools depending on which of the homonyms you are doing.

Re: Friday puzzle -- Sounds like

#5

Re: Clarification and hint

I would answer this question but I have a lot of work to do. First we are going to raze the old barn in back of our house and then some friends are coming over and we are going to have a good old fashioned barn-raising. Just too busy to help.

On a side note we were pulling in the car at my in-laws last weekend and my wife said "deer" and me being ever so attentive since she approves woodturning purchases said "Yes, honey" to which she responded "deer" and I said "how can I help you". Of course you guessed by the spelling she was trying to point out wildlife while I was being attentive.

Re: Friday puzzle -- Sounds like

#6

Re: Clarification and hint

I may need a ruling on this one. As I sat in my uncomfortably cold (chilly) kitchem I ate my uncomfortably hot chili.

Re: Friday puzzle -- Sounds like

#7

:-)

All the Rays on WC would surely agree that you gave Ray's best answer, and also the one I had in mind.

Re: Friday puzzle -- Sounds like

#8

Nah, first one was better

The food chili is not the opposite of the temperature chilly.

Especially when the chili, when left in the refrigerator may be both hot and chilly.

Re: Friday puzzle -- Sounds like

#9

Werewolf? There wolf.

oh deer

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