Writing Pet Peeves: "To Hone in"

This is one used by the well educated and the undereducated alike.  I have seen it commonly used on social networks, in common everyday conversation, in many online forums, but it is most disheartening when I find it in professionally edited and published books, unless the author indended for a character to misuse the term in dialog.  And even in that case it's a lame excuse.

Hone can be used as a noun or a verb, but is most often misused as a verb.  I'm guessing that the misuse of this word is because it is only one letter off the correct word, and therefore can be easily confused when heard in in speech.

Hone: Noun:

1.  A whetstone with a fine abrasive texture used for sharpening razors, knives and other sharp tools.
2.  A precisoin tool used to bore or enlarge holes to exact dimensions.

Hone: Verb:

1.  To sharpen on a hone (whetstone):  He honed his knife.
2.  To bore, enlarge or finish a hole with a hone. 
3.  To make more effective or acute, to sharpen, improve or perfect one's skills.  The lawyer honed her argument.

And definitions that have fallen out of usage:

1.  Followed by for or after: To yearn or pine: He honed after the life on the farm he left behind; She honed after a piece of homemade pecan pie.
(This usage is found more in the Southern United States.)

2.  To moan or grieve: She honed for her stilborn child.

Used incorrectly where the word home is meant: This device makes it easier to home in (not hone in) on the target. 

The Correct Usage:

Home: Noun:  This context only:

1.  Target, goal.

Home: Verb:

1. (Of guided missiles, aircraft, etc.): To proceed, especially under the control of an automatic aiming mechanism toward a specific target; usually followed by in on:  The missile homed in on the target. 

Homing: Adjective: 

1.  Capable of returning home, usually over a great distance, as a homing pigeon.
2.  Guiding or directing homeward or to a specific location, as a homing instinct, or homing device.

It grates to hear or read about a person "honing in on" a particular place or thing, especially when there are no sharp objects in sight.  Not even a wit.

A Lesser Known US Holiday

Today is a lesser known US holiday.  But I believe it's just as important as the Independence Day we celebrate every 4th of July.  Today is Constitution Day.  Just as important as gaining our independence from England, is the Constitution by which our country is governed.

Our Founding Fathers spent a lot of time and putting a lot of thought into that document.  Thousands of soldiers have given the ultimate sacrifice defending the principles of governance laid out in therein.  Every soldier, sailor, marine and airman takes an oath to protect and defend our Constitution.  Our elected officials swear to govern by the Constitution, and our Supreme Court judges by it.

How did you observe the day?  Did you read your copy of the Constitution?  If you did read it you may be wondering how we've allowed our elected officials deviate so far from its straightforward simplicity and expanded it to mean things our Founding Fathers never intended. 

Maybe it's about time we started teaching our children and grandchildren the Constitution.  Public education is lacking in that department and we have no one to blame but ourselves for the deviations from the original intent by our lawmakers.

It's our civic responsibility.

Small government, fiscal responsibility and free markets.

Writing Pet Peeves - "Use to" And "Suppose to"

This is another one seen frequently on social network sites.  Again, it is a case of people writing the way they speak, and words are not often spelled the way they are said.  Enunciation tends to be a problem, but that is a small part of how some words are commonly misspelled.

"Supposed to" - commonly misspelled "suppose to"

This one is tricky because it is an idiom.  People mistakenly misspeak and misspell this one because the correct usage and the incorrect usage sound so much alike and many who say it and attempt to write it have not often read it in context.

The idiom refers to a supposition that has been made (hence the past tense) about someone or something.

Meanings: 
Intended to -  This gift was supposed to (intended to) be for John.
Believed to - He is supposed to (believed to) be out of town.  What is he doing here?
Expected to - You are supposed to (expected to) be home by midnight.
Required to -  I'm supposed to (required to) call home to check in by eleven o'clock.

Not supposed to: not permitted - You're not supposed (not permitted) to be in there.

"Used to" is prone to same common misuse as "supposed to."  (Use to.)

This phrase is also an idiom, and is used in the past tense.

Meanings:
Accustomed to or habituated to - I'm not used to (accustomed to, habituated to) this cold weather
Formerly - That used to be (was formerly) a nice hotel before it fell into disrepair.

We are supposed to use grammar correctly in writing and speaking.  Although we used to write and spell these two idoms correctly in days gone by, social networking, texting and tweeting has all but put an end to their correct usage.  More's the pity.

ORV Riders' Selfish Disregard

This post has been moved to http://htwatchdog.blogspot.com/2010/09/orv-riders-selfish-disregard.html