"Sinked Isn't Even a Word."

A couple of days ago, my family and I were all piled in the car, heading to my mom's house for dinner when, somehow, we got on the topic of iPhones. My 13-year-old daughter, M, was complaining because my husband had had to delete some photos, videos, apps, etc. from her 8G iPhone a few days before in order to run an update - when they hadn't been saved to her laptop yet. So, I asked him, "Why didn't you back her phone up before you started deleting stuff? And when was the last time her phone was even synced?"

Before he could even respond, however, M interjected with "Mom, SINKED isn't even a word! The past tense of 'sink' is 'sunk'" Yes, she went there - trying to challenge the English major (not trying to sound arrogant here. It's just a running joke in our family. You don't challenge Mom when it comes to grammar, unless you want to get schooled. Haha).

So, that lead to an entertaining conversation about sync v. sink. Initially, I tried taking the responsible, logical  approach and use it as a teaching opportunity - explaining to my daughter's impressionable mind that "sync" is short for "synchronize" (then proceeded to give her a definition of the word), whereas "sink" is to become submerged (like in water) or to descend.  I then gave her an example, saying that I SYNCED my phone to the computer to back it up, but the last time it was SINKED (hehe) was when I was taking a bath a year or so ago and she accidentally dropped it in the water after I had just finished telling her NOT to bring the phone to me while I was in the bathtub. Doh! She didn't find my attempt at humor very amusing though. Hehe.

That's when my husband decided to be clever and add in his two cents. "Yeah," he said. "And do you know what it means to be "in sync"?

So I started to explain that it's when two people are on the same page or are working in harmony on something.

"No," He replied with a triumphant, sly grin. "It means you are a gay boy band from the 90's." Haha.

And there you have it, folks - a logical and descriptive clarification of sync v. sink. ;)

Source: twowritingteachers.wordpress.com via The Purple on Pinterest

Hold the phone! What's a homophone?

So, it occurred to me today while responding to a friend's comment on one of my facebook posts that something we are often taught in grade school is not expounded upon correctly - not entirely anyway. 

You all know by now, I am sure, that I am quite the grammar/spelling nerd. I am sure you all will also remember that grammar lesson (maybe in second grade or so?) where you were taught all about homonyms. You know - words like to, two, and too, right? This is not entirely correct. Let me just clear something up really quickly. Homonyms are actually words that are spelled the same and are pronounced the same, but have different meanings. Ex: "May" (as in the month of May), and "may" (as in, "May I please have another cookie?"). The former example that I gave (to, two, and too) is actually an example of a group of words called homophones. They are words that sound the same, thus they have the same pronunciation (like homonyms, which also have the same pronunciation), but are spelled differently. 

I know it's a little confusing (and oh-so-irrelevant. haha), but for those of you who are visual learners and like to see things drawn out in pictures, I found this graph on diffen.com:

So technically, all homonyms are homophones because they all sound the same, but not all homophones are homonyms, because they are spelled differently.  It's like the square. All squares are rectangles because they have four sides; however, not all rectangles are squares because not all rectangles have four equal sides. Make sense? 

Aren't you glad I cleared that up? I am sure your lives have all been improved upon considerably now that I've shared this profound knowledge with you. I know, I know. You can all sleep soundly tonight. You're welcome. Haha. ;) 

Now - in other, more significant news: The Purple Lady's half-birthday bash is winding down this weekend, so I thought I would give you all one last reminder of the awesome giveaways she has been hosting over at All Things Purple. 

Day 7: One box set of the Janitors series, by Tyler Whitesides

Day 6: One copy of Drawing out the Dragons, by James A. Owen

Day 5: Two dozen of the best pumpkin cookies ever from The Luckiest - This giveaway is open to residents of the Las Vegas metropolitan area only. 

Day 4: Custom order of one dozen gourmet cupcakes from Silver Spoon Catering - This giveaway is only open to residents of the Northern Utah area.

Day 3: Amethyst Healing Crystal

Day 2: Cragbridge Hall, Book 1: The Inventor's Secret, by Chad Morris

Day 1: Blackmoore, by Julianne Donaldson

If I calculated correctly, all of these giveaways end tomorrow night at midnight, so hurry on over to All Things Purple and get those last entries in. :)

Spelling B for the funny bone. ;)

Brian Regan does spelling B humor ALMOST as well as Weird Al does grammar. ;)

Happy Friday! :)

P.S. Just a friendly reminder; too, that you can still get in on The Purple Lady's half-birthday bash giveaways. But don't delay, the festivities end today:

A one-hour free photography session with Underground Photography

Tag templates from Simply You Simply Me

Book and/or gourmet cupcakes

doTerra essential oils trio pack



related link:

Frivolous Friday

A spelling lesson on crack! ::evil grin::

This is hilarious...and absolutely brilliant! :)

No introduction is even necessary. It speaks for itself. ;)

10 words you need to stop misspelling!

Source: twowritingteachers.wordpress.com via The Purple on Pinterest

Frivolous Friday

Who here loves Fridays? I do, I do. :) Not only because they mark the beginning of the weekend, when children look forward to a few days off from school, and the prospect of excitement and recreation anxiously await behind every corner, but Fridays are also when new movies are usually released in theaters, when you get to stay up past your bedtime, and when pizza/movie nights take place. There is just something magical about Friday - when Mom and Dad get home from work, and you know that you have the whole weekend ahead of you to explore the endless possibilities of fun and adventure - or to indulge in some much-needed R&R and stay in your pajamas all day long. Either way, Fridays mark the beginning of a time period in everyone's week when frivolity is at its finest.

In celebration of our favorite day of the week, I am dedicating Fridays on this blog space to all things frivolous and fun! Not only is "frivolity" such a fun word to say (go ahead and say it aloud - you know you want to), but it also has some uber awesome synonyms: light-heartedness, silliness, giddiness, etc... I don't know about you, but I feel pretty giddy and frivolous on Fridays - and what way to better commemorate the beginning of something we look forward to (for five days at a time, with such passion and longing that we have actually designated the half-way point as "hump day" to signify that you have made it over the hump and are now on the downward cake-walk toward said frivolity) than with a little carefree and silly comedic relief. :)

So, in honor of our very first Frivolous Friday, I want to share a few, quick tidbits of some Weird Al genius:

Weird Al working his magic in a grocery store. haha. He is my hero.

Adverbs are awesome! :)

Those who know me can attest to the fact that I have a somewhat narcissistic enthusiasm for the "proper" use of grammar...and nobody is quite as frivolous and quirky as our good man, Weird Al. No one puts the art of grammar into perspective quite like him either. "Grammar people, come on...seriously!" Hehe.

So, have a happy Friday, peeps - and don't forget to be frivolous! :)

P.S. Guess what comes out on DVD/Blue Ray tonight at midnight?!? Hunger Games...booyah! Can you tell I am excited? I might just have to be frivolous tonight and run to Walmart for the blue ray/digital copy combo pack. Hehe. This one looks pretty cool: Hunger Games Rocks!