Catch up & Ketchup

Don't get me started on "catsup."

Bundt & Bunt

With a D – ring-shaped cake with ridges that make it easy to slice, but a pain in the ass to draw.
Without a D – gently hit a pitched baseball short and into the ground.

guest post – Madder & Matter

We've discussed the lazy American T before, and how it creates homophones on this side of the pond that would never be considered homophones in the old world. Since I have as much respect for UK English as I do US, it's a subset of homophones I don't plan to explore fully here at HW. Heard one, heard 'em all, as far as I'm concerned.
But...
I am a sucker for a kid's blossoming interest in literacy. And illustration. So when my son insisted I should illustrate Madder and Matter, then decided he could do a better job of it himself, I was happy to let him.
As guest posts go here at HW, this is the first time I haven't even modified the guest's image. I couldn't think of a concise way to fit it neatly into my style rules, and my boy wouldn't let me think about it for a few more weeks. So I present it to you as he explained it to me. On the left: a mad dude and an even madder dude. On the right, someone asking those two dudes "what's the matter?" – and also a drawing of water in its three states of matter. :)
Thanks for the help this week, Harrison!

shameless self-promotion

Sorry to bug y'all like this, but the Kickstarter campaign for my comic book series (with a homophone title, no less) Woodstalk: 3 Days of Peace, Music, and Zombies could use your help in the next, oh, 36 hours or so. If you're feeling generous, any little bit helps.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/bruceworden/woodstalk-issue-3
Thanks,
Bruce

Whirled, Whorled, World

Whirled – (v.) spun around in circles, past tense of Whirl.
Whorled – (adj.) describes a circular or spiral pattern, especially in nature.
World – (n.) something we seem singularly focused on using up and destroying, despite the fact that we have nowhere else to go.

Rain, Reign, Rein

ai – "not enough sense to come in out of the–"
eig – what Roger Daltrey wanted Love to do o'er him. This is indicative of ruling or being in control.
ei – this one refers to the little straps used to control a horse while riding it.
The fact that both of the second definitions refer to being in control of something has led to confusion about which spelling to use in the phrases "free rein," "full rein," and "rein in." These phrases describe the amount of control a person has over a situation. But they don't describe that control directly; they describe the application of that control. They speak to the person applying the control, not the person receiving it. It's not that you receive the ability to reign over a situation, it's that you are using figurative reins to oversee the amount of control a person has. "Rein" is the correct spelling for each of those phrases, even if I've done a terrible job explaining it.

All & Awl

As in "There are many different types of awls, but they all do the same thing as a sharp stick."