Here’s another edition of Tuesday Tricksters, all in an attempt to keep us sharp as we write in English (American English, anyway). These words defy spellcheck’s ability to help writers, as they are REAL words, but too many times they’re not the ones we meant. They sound the same (or almost, anyway), but their spelling is different and they mean something different.
Moral of the story: Do NOT trust spellcheck to know which word to use!
Laager (n.): a defensive encampment encircled by armored vehicles or wagons, especially by South African Boers
Lager (n.): a type of beer
Logger (n.): one who cuts trees; a lumberjack
Lac (n.): a resinous secretion of lac insects, used in making shellac; one hundred thousand (commonly used in Pakistan and India); also spelled lakh
Lack (n.): a shortage or deficiency; (v.): to be missing or insufficient (We lacked proof of his guilt.)
Laches (n.): Legal: failure to do the required thing at the proper time (e.g., inexcusable delay in enforcing a claim)
Latches (n.): fasteners; (v.): to fasten; to secure
Lacks (v.): does not have enough (He lacks enough money to buy the car.)
Lax (adj.): not careful; careless; not strict or rigid
Lade (v.): to fill or load (related to cargo or a shipment); to weigh down, oppress, or burden; to use a ladle or dipper (to lade water out of a tub, or into a cistern)
Laid (v.): to place or put something down (He laid the book on the table.)