Do sheep and goats grays or graze in the fields? Are greaves or grieves more than one piece of medieval leg armor? If you are displeased with the service you receive in a restaurant, do you grip, gripe, or grippe? grays, graze Grays are colors between black and white. Grays also means matures or ages. As…
Homonyms are confusing enough, but there is another category of confusing words: contronyms. Contronyms—also spelled contranyms—are also known as auto-antonyms, antagonyms, enantiodromes, self-antonyms, antilogies, and Janus words. Janus was the Roman god of beginnings and endings. He is often depicted with two faces looking in opposite directions. dabster A dabster is one who is…
How devious can one be? Is it worth it to blackmail someone for a crime they’ve committed, or should you inform the police? Should you stick with family even when they are breaking the law? What if they are involved in the human trafficking of young girls? Tisha is a prisoner when the book opens.…
What would life be like without punctuation? Schoolchildren might rejoice that there would be less homework. But when you stop and think about it, that homework would be more difficult. Anything we read would be so much more confusing. Because of the period, we are able to see where one thought ends and another begins.…
They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but it is up to the author to write those thousand words. (Richard Petracca) What do you see when you look at this picture of a white cat sitting in front of a fireplace? Do you just see a pretty white cat with glowing eyes, or do…
Think about your life for a moment. What decision did you make that defines who you are? What would have happened if you chose another path? Would you still be happy? What if there are other yous out there? This science-fiction thriller is full of surprises. Jason Dessen’s peaceful, happy life is thrown into turmoil.…
Are the stops on your trip graft or graphed? Was last night’s parade grander or grandeur than last year’s? Would you use granite or granted in your landscaping? Was the play grate or great? Would you shred carrots with a grater or a greater? graft, graphed In horticulture, a graft is a bud, shoot, or…
What makes a mystery great? I grew up reading mysteries by Agatha Christie; I own each one she wrote. What about them appealed to me and millions of other readers? How does one write a great mystery? I don’t write mysteries, but I know what I like to read. Below I have listed things that,…
Massive flocks of birds fall out of the sky, and then all the birds disappear. Insects multiply at an alarming rate since there are no birds to keep their numbers down. David’s wife dies, and he is left alone with his daughter. But now they want his daughter. And the disease is spreading. Those who…
They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but it is up to the author to write those thousand words. (Richard Petracca) What do you see when you look at a picture of a cat? Do you just see a pretty cat or do you see more? What can you read into this picture?…
