[3-minute read]
Do you home in on an important point or do you hone in?
Do you pore over a document or pour over it?
Is your company world renown or world renowned?
Do you want to get something off your conscious?
Do you get the lowdown or get the low-down?
When words in idioms sound similar, people often wonder which version is correct. Unfortunately, when we make the wrong choice, we may muddle our meaning or impair our image.
When I used home in and pore over in a recent Writamin, several readers wrote to ask if I was sure I’d used the right form. I was sure. Their questions prompted me to look at other commonly confused terms. So here’s the lowdown on these awkward words and phrases.
What’s the Lowdown?
Lowdown (noun)
The lowdown is the inside story, the real facts of a situation.
Can you give me the lowdown about that management meeting? Are there really going to be layoffs?
Low-down (adjective)
Someone who is low-down is contemptible and base. He’s a dirty, low-down liar! This word can also refer to something that is deeply emotional.
Home in
Using the word home as a verb is a fairly recent usage. It means finding your way accurately to a destination, as in homing pigeons or homing missiles. The phrase to home in means to focus on the destination, target, or main point.
Hone in
To hone is to sharpen. We hone a knife or metaphorically hone our skills. Some people use to hone in on in the same sense that home in on is used. While this may be acceptable in some contexts, it is better to use home in on if what you mean is to hit a target, i.e., to go home. For more analysis, see this entry.
Pore over means to read with great attention.
I pored over the report until I could barely focus anymore.
To pour over means what it says: to pour a liquid on top of something.
But it is a nice idea to get a cup of pour-over coffee while you pore over a dense document.
World-renowned is an adjective that describes something or someone that is famous throughout the world. Renown is a noun meaning fame and cannot be used as an adjective.
Because of his renown as a musician, he became a world-renowned conductor.
Conscious vs Conscience
Although they sound similar, these words are worlds apart.
Conscious means aware, awake, alert.
Conscience refers to the awareness that your actions are moral or immoral.
Everyone with a conscience is conscious, but unfortunately, everyone who is conscious does not have a conscience.
Lightning and the Lightning Bug
These are just a few examples of words and phrases that are close in sound but not necessarily close in meaning. Remember Mark Twain’s adage: “The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug.”
So please home in on the right forms of your phrases as you pore over your work. Then you won’t have these errors on your conscience. You might even become world-renowned!
©2020 Elizabeth Danziger All rights reserved
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