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homonyms

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Homonymous advertising

Definition:

Words that sound alike but have different meanings and/or spellings. Adjective: homonymous. See also:

Etymology:

From the Greek, "same name"

Examples and Observations:

  • "His death, which happen'd in his berth,
    At forty-odd befell:
    They went and told the sexton, and
    The sexton toll'd the bell."
    (Thomas Hood, "Faithless Sally Brown")


  • "'Attend your Church,' the parson cries:
    To church each fair one goes;
    The old go there to close their eyes,
    The young to eye their clothes."


  • "'Mine is a long and sad tale!' said the Mouse, turning to Alice, and sighing.

    "'It is a long tail, certainly,' said Alice, looking down with wonder at the Mouse's tail; 'but why do you call it sad?'"
    (Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland)


  • "Your children need your presence more than your presents."
    (Jesse Jackson)


  • "There are three kinds [of homonyms]: those that sound and look alike (bank a slope, bank a place for money, and bank a bench or row of switches); homophones, that sound alike but do not look alike (coarse, course); and homographs, that look alike but do not sound alike (the verb lead, the metal lead). . . . There are over 3,000 homographs in the Concise Oxford Dictionary (8th edition, 1990)."
    (Tom McArthur, Oxford Companion to the English Language, 1992)


  • "Three years ago Senator Dan Inouye and I traveled to Ground Zero shortly after the 9/11 attacks. Governor Pataki and Mayor Giuliani met us and brought us up the river to the site. It was a sad and terrible sight, but it was also a proving ground of American strength, courage, and resolve."
    (Ted Stevens)


  • "Sealing the popcorn ceiling will not eliminate that old-fashioned cottage cheese look."


  • "Do the Dew"
    (advertising slogan for Mountain Dew)


  • "There is greater competition to hire people, so pay is higher."

Pronunciation: HOM-i-nims

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