Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Shakespeare - A Homonym Master

I have to pay homage to Shakespeare - a homonym master. I have no idea if he actually knew he'd created a sentence full of homonyms... but nonetheless he did and I'd like to give him the benefit of the doubt. 

"To be, or not to be"

This is one of the most famous Shakespeare quotes, and every word is a homonym. He goes on to say more of course, but not all of those are homonyms so I'm choosing to cut this quote short! 

Here are the definitions:

To - used for expressing: motion or direction toward a point, person, place, or thing approached and reaches; limit of movement or extension; a point of limit in time.
Too - in addition; also; furthermore; moreover.
Two - a cardinal number, 1 plus 1.

Be - to exist or live; to take place, happen, occur; to occupy a place or position; to continue or remain as before; to belong, attend, befall.
Bee - any hymenopterous insect of the superfamily Apoidea, including social and solitary species of several families, as the bumblebees, honeybees, etc.
Bee - a community social gather in order to perform some task, engage in a contents, etc.: a sewing bee; a spelling bee; a husking bee.

Or - used to connect words, phrases, or clauses representing alternatives; otherwise; or else.
Ore - a metal-bearing mineral or rock, or a native metal, that can be mined at a profit.
Oar - a long shaft with a broad blade at one end, used as a lever for rowing or otherwise propelling or steering a boat.

Not - used to express negation, denial, refusal, or prohibition.
Naught - nothing; zero.
Knot - an interlacing, twining, looping, etc., of a cord, rope, or the like, drawn tight into a knob or lump, for fastening, binding, or connecting two cords together or a cord to something else.

All definitions were obtained from www.dictionary.com.