Fir & Fur

Seems like the right season for this one, doesn't it? Have a happy Life Day, everybody! ;)

Bough & Bow

-ough – tree branch.
-ow – (v.) bend formally at the waist. (n.) the front end of a ship.
But remember not to confuse these kinds of bows with these kinds of bows!

Stalking & Stocking

These two don't sound quite the same, at least in my ears. But they're pretty close, and they were my son's suggestion. So I've been saving them for the holiday season, y'know? ;)

Cite, Sight, Site

Getting tired of seeing that book yet? :) Just wait till I start reusing the map!

C, Sea, See

Beach & Beech

As in, "You may have noticed there was no post last week. Instead, I took a lake-y, forest-y vacation."

Taught & Taut

With the gh – (v.) past tense of Teach.
Without the gh – (adj.) stretched tightly.
As in, "I just taught you what taut means."

Desert & Dessert

This pair of words is a little more complicated than most here at HW, because half the time they aren't homophones at all. Desert has two distinct definitions and pronunciations, only one of which is pronounced like Dessert (de-ZURT). So, technically, we have three words here: two of which have the same spelling but different pronunciations (homographs), and a third that is a homophone of one of the homographs. Sheesh, sorry about that. Anyway, you can see that no matter which definition you intend, it's always a challenge making sure it's spelled correctly.
The trick I was taught to remember is that Dessert has two Ss instead of one because it's the only one you want MORE of. But this trick only holds up until you've eaten pumpkin pie, at which point the sentence "I wish I could desert this dessert in the desert" leaps to mind.

"Pique" amendment

A couple weeks ago I made the egregious error of omitting "pique" from Peak & Peek. Consider this little striptease my apology. I hope it piques your interest... in grammar!

Peak & Peek

If I could take a peek at the peak of my career, I wonder if I would be looking into the past or the future...

Update: Please accept my humble apologies for forgetting to include "pique." Let's fix that mistake right here.

Slay & Sleigh

I hear the NRA can't make up their mind whether to endorse hunting Santa's reindeer or arming Santa to protect them. I'm sure it will all work out...
Happy holidays!

Aisle, I'll, Isle – 100th post!

For some reason, I decided to celebrate Homophones, Weakly's 100th post by stranding two newlyweds on a deserted island. Don't read too much into that, OK?
Aisle – narrow path between two obstructions such as seats in a theater or shelves in a market.
I'll – contraction for "I will."
Isle – small island.

Knot & Not

With a K – the hard mass of wood where a branch met the trunk of a tree. Or, the hard mass where a piece or pieces of cord are intertwined. Or, a measure of nautical speed equal to one mile per hour.
Without a K – an adverb used to negate the phrase that it modifies.

U

Hey, you! Let's do another letter homophone, why not? Why not, indeed... 

Today we tackle one of the very few 4-panel groups (so far, only carrot, pear, and tease) on our list.

Hey, U, underrated vowel!
Hey, ewe, female sheep!
Hey, yew, evergreen shrub!
Yeah, I'm talking to you!

Berry & Bury

Discreet & Discrete

A very useful one this week, I think. Discreet and discrete.
-eet – secretive, private, careful.
-ete – separate, distinct, apart.
"We kissed discreetly in the dark, then departed discretely."