Obscure
Linked Meanings
Lay/Lie
Common Homophones
Miscellaneous and Humorous
100

leach

To leach is to drain one substance out of another by means of a percolating liquid, as rainwater may leach nutrients out of soil

100

imply

To imply is to suggest, to say something without saying it.

100

lie

intransitive (lie) present tense

100

its

"Its" is the possessive of "it"

100
poky

Something poky is irritatingly slow, or provincial, or frumpy

200

humus

Humus is decaying organic matter in soil

200

infer

To infer is to draw a conclusion from information perhaps obliquely offered, to figure out, to deduce.

200

lay

Two options:

transitive (lay) present tense

intransitive (lie) past tense

200

phase

A phase is a stage of development, as a child may go through a phase of refusing to eat vegetables; to phase is to perform an action over time, as in phasing out outmoded textbooks

200

epigram

An epigram is a succinct, smart, and, as a rule, humorous statement, of the sort Oscar Wilde used to toss about like Ritz crackers to stray ducks. For instance, from the irresistibly quotable The importance of Being Earnest: "All women become like their mothers. That is their tragedy. No man does. That's his."

300

forego

To forego is to precede

300

forgo

To forgo is to do without

300

laying

transitive (lay) present participle

300

hone

To hone is to sharpen

300
plummy

A plummy speaking voice is too rich, too proper, too self-conscious—that is to day, too-too

400

founder (v.)

to founder is to sink or to fail

400

effect (v.)

"To effect change"—that is, to cause change to happen

400

lying

intransitive (lie) present participle
400

everyday

"Everyday" is an adjective ("an everyday occurence")

400

kibitz

To kibitz is to chitchat. Used with a bit more shade, it's to offer meddlesome advice from the sidelines, particularly at a card game. Note that it's spelled with a single b.

500

immanent

To be immanent is to be inherent—built in, so to speak. One most frequently, when at all, sees the term applied to constitutional rights and the existence and influence of God

500

affect (n.)

"A set of observable manifestations of a subjectively experienced emotion"

500

lain

intransitive (lie) past participle
500

flier

A flier is a person or thing that flies. When it comes to pieces of paper you don't want handed to you by people whose causes you're not interested in, some opt for "flier" and some opt for "flyer." I suggest reserving "flier" for the soaring-in-the-air thing and "flyer" for the sheet of paper heading imminently into the recycle bin.

500

pixilated

To be pixilated is to be confusedly crazy; it's a silly-sounding word (derived from "pixie") so perhaps best reserved for silly sorts of craziness

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