This week’s theme
Nouning verbs, verbing nouns

This week’s words
eddy
brandish
truckle
shellack
hone

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A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(hohn)

MEANING:

noun:		A fine-grained stone or tool for sharpening blades. A precision tool with a rotating abrasive tip, used to enlarge or smooth a hole.
verb tr.:		To sharpen on a hone. To enlarge or smooth a hole using a honing tool. To refine or perfect a skill through long practice.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Old English han (stone). Earliest documented use: noun: before 1150, verb: 1400.

NOTES:

“Hone in” vs. “home in”:
To hone a skill is to sharpen it.
To home in on a target is to move closer to it (think “homing pigeon”). The phrase “hone in on” is an amalgamation of “home in on” and “hone”. (Similar to rocket surgery, a blend of rocket science and brain surgery.) Though “hone in on” is now common, it’s best to hone your skills and home in on your goals.

USAGE:

“Use a hone to sharpen the shovel blade.”
Bob Battle; Livin’ Country; The Tennessean (Nashville); May 28, 2004.

“Under the watchful mentorship of his father, [Zakir Hussain] honed his craft with a dedication that would shape him into an artist who transcended borders and genres.”
Biju Mathew; Ustad Zakir Hussain; Gulf News (Dubai); Dec 15, 2024.

See more usage examples of hone in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: