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."

Brewed & Brood

It wasn't until I had finished drawing the chicks in the nest that I remembered brood has a second definition. Not only does it mean a group of offspring raised at the same time, it also means to contemplate, ponder, or worry. Which, if you ask me, seems like the same thing.