Monday Muddle: bear, bare

The word “bear” can mean several different things depending on context. Conversely, “bare” really only means that there is nothing extra added.

The expression “bear with me” is asking for patience. The expression “bare with me” is asking for a whole lot more, and I always suggest that you want to be careful about when you use that one.

bear: (n) a large animal; (v) to carry; to withstand; to support; to provide; to give birth Part of the expression "bear with me". bare: (adj) minimal; plain; uncovered; unclothed; (v) to uncover; to remove clothing NOT part of the expression "bear with me".

Tuesday Two

Write a story with only two sentences. Use the photo for inspiration if you wish.

Photo by Jeremy Zero on Unsplash.

Sand-coloured stone with hieroglyphs scratched into it.

Monday Muddle: desert, dessert

There is an old expression: he got his just deserts. It is spelled with one S in the middle. However, if you are setting up a banquet hall, and you want a table reserved for just desserts, you would spell that with a double S in the middle. I always remember that dessert has two Ss because I will want two servings of it.

Just deserts—what you justly deserve, usually used in relation to punishment.
Just desserts—a selection of only sweet treats and nothing else.

If you want to talk about an unpopulated island where someone might be stranded—the setting of many hypothetical questions—you could call it a desert isle (as was the case with the uncharted one that Gilligan landed on), or a deserted isle. The first means dry and barren; the second means abandoned, so probably still pretty barren. If you saw the Monday Muddle on April 5, you will know that a deserted aisle is what you might find in a grocery store on a slow day. The dessert aisle is less likely to be deserted.

Monday Muddle: desert: (n) a result that is deserved; a dry, barren area; (adj) relating to that dry area; (v) to abandon dessert: (n) the sweet course of a meal, usually served last; (adj) relating to that sweet course

Tuesday Two

Write a story with only two sentences. Use the photo for inspiration if you wish.

Photo by Hans-Jurgen Mager on Unsplash.

An endangered white-headed vulture sitting on a large broken branch, against a light blue sky.