Close but no Cigarillo, II

Last month, I wrote: ''Words can be spelled similarly and sound alike when read aloud, yet they can have very different meanings. These are called homonyms.'' To be perfectly accurate, sound-alike words with different meanings, such as we discussed last month and will continue discussing this month, are called homophones. By contrast, homonyms are two or more words spelled and pronounced the same that have different meanings. Example: the noun, quail, which is a kind of bird, and the verb, quail, which means to falter, wither or decline. Another example: the verb, withers. Example: Talent withers on the vine at that company. And the noun, withers, which is the ridge between the shoulder bones of a horse. Example: Having no reins, he held on to the withers for dear life.

Now for some more homophones. I ask you: Have you ever been caught on the horns of these homophones?

To rein means to control or direct with straps fastened to a bit. To reign means to exercise authority like a monarch.

Accept means to receive willingly. Example: Accept no substitutes. Except means to exclude. Example: Open daily except Sunday.

Assent means to give one's approval, or agree. The court gave its assent. Ascent refers to something going up or rising, for example a balloon ascent, or a slope of some kind, for example, a steep ascent.

A principle is a high-minded value you might believe in while a principal is either a part-owner of a business, s star, or the administrative head of a school.

You write on stationery but when cars in a traffic jam don't move, they are stationary.

You might make an allusion to a work of art or literature as an indirect reference, but when you are flat-out wrong about something you hold an illusion.

Entomology is a branch of zoology that deals with the study of insects. Etymology is the study of word origins, tracing roots and meanings of words from one language to another through history.

To means towards. Too means in addition to. Example: I want to go, too. And two is the number that comes after one.

Loose means not tight. When you lose something, you misplace it.

The word then marks time. Sometimes it means next. Example: Then he walked away. Than is a comparison word meaning compared with. Example: This is larger than that.