Think of Sharpened Birds

By Annette Rey

Playing with words can help us remember what we need to recall as we write.

Hone – to sharpen. Think of axe.

Home – to proceed toward. Think of birds flying – as in homing pigeon (unfortunately extinct).

BIG HINT: If your sentence requires the words “in on”, chances are you need to use the word home (as in the examples below).

So,

1) His grades were poor; he needed to hone his studying skills.

Hone your axe on this whetstone.

I would like to hone the saws in my workshop.

2) Radar homes in on a target.

The safecracker homed in on the combination.

Take me to an ice cream shop and I’ll home in on double chocolate.

Another couple of words made clear.

Keep on learning!