Homophones - Toe v Tow

Toe (noun)

Ø      It’s a pity this pair of shoes is too small for me. I could feel my toes being squashed as I slipped my foot into the shoe.

Tow (verb) – to pull a vehicle along using a rope or a chain tied to another vehicle.

Ø      All the vehicles involved in that terrible accident had to be towed away.

Ø      The damaged boat was finally towed to safety after being stranded at sea for more than a day.

Similes with As - As nice as pie

Meaning – very friendly

Ø      John’s as nice as pie today. I can’t help but wonder if he’s up to something.

Ø      Hannah’s very popular at her company. She’s as nice as pie and everyone adores her.

Common Idioms - Fly Off the Handle

Meaning – to get very angrily very easily/quickly

·        Despite being one of the best doctors in town, not many people like working with Frank because he flies off the handle at the slightest thing.

·        Sean seems very irritable lately. I noticed he flies off the handle over the most trivial (= having little value or importance) matters. 

Homonyms - Tip (As a Verb and Noun)

1.  (verb) – one side higher

·        Don’t put too many items on one end of the table or it’ll tip over.

2.  (verb) – to weigh

·         We knew John was overweight, but none of us expected him to tip the scales at 95kg!

3.  (verb) – payment

·        The customer was so pleased with John that she tipped hin $50.

4.  (noun) – information

·         Thanks for sharing that diet tip with me! I saw results in less than a week.

5.  (noun) – payment

·         John was grinning the whole morning because he received a handsome (=big) tip from a wealthy customer.

6.  (noun) – end

·         I tried standing on the tip of my toes, but I still couldn’t reach the switch.

Proverbs and Sayings - Many Hands Make Light Work

Meaning – the more people there are to help with a job, the less work each person needs to do, thus, making it easier for everyone.

• I was surprised at how much more got done around the house when I had some help from the children. It’s like they say, many hands make light work.
• I wouldn’t have been able to get home in time for dinner had it not been for my team of dedicated staff. Indeed, many hands make light work.   

Common Idioms - To Have Something At Your Fingertips

Meaning – to know something really well and be able to produce facts and information about it quickly when asked

• It’s no wonder Sarah is such a good tour guide. She’s got the entire European history at her fingertips!
• I was amazed that the new nurse was so efficient. It turns out she’s got all the names of the drugs along with their respective prices at her fingertips.

Homophones - Rest v Wrest

Rest

• There is only one bottle of water in the car. Where are the rest of them?
• After hours of walking, we finally found a nice café to sit down and rest.

Wrest (verb) – to violently pull sth away from someone.

• After what seemed like forever, Ryan finally managed to wrest the knife from the intruder’s hand.