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ImageSMART TALK

by Dr. Thorn Schwa




HONE IN: It's time to revisit an insidious malady that we have difficulty treating. Many Patients at the Center for English as a First Language swear that hone in is correct. Some even cite professional writers and journalists who use it.

They're wrong. As gently as we can, we tell them that the pros don't get everything right. Even Hemingway used try and, and Shakespeare used worser, for instance, and many journalists think there's a country named MEE-an-mar instead of MYAN-mar, exactly as it's spelled.

The term we're discussing, however, is home in, as in homing pigeons, home plate, and especially, homing beacon. Whether we're talking about spitballs in a classroom or a missile fired from a drone, one homes in on one's target.

You might hone the edge of a good knife, if you know how, or even hone your skills at doing so, but that's all. You home in on home base.

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