Revised as of
6 July 2023
This is a particularly nasty word confusion and came up in a listserve to which I belong. When I realized that I was confused . . . well, you know what they say about curiosity and the cat. It’s one of the penalties of being a Leo . . . LOL . . .
The simplest difference is target versus cut. Home in on targets the point of the sentence while hone cuts down to the essentials.
Merriam-Webster states that using hone in is likely to be considered a mistake; that you meant home in. And that using home in and zero in are acceptable.
Brian Klems has a great tip: if you need in on at the end of the phrase, it’s home, if you don’t need in on, it is likely to be hone.
I’d appreciate input that will help make this confusion clearer . . .
Word Confusions . . .
. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.
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| Home In On | Hone In |
|---|---|
Arrow in the Bull’s Eye by Clker-Free-Vector-Images is in the public domain, via Pixabay. — Do you feel homed-in-on? |
Magnifying Glass with Focus on Glass is Niabot‘s own work is under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons. — A magnifying glass helps one to hone in on details. |
| Part of Grammar: | |
| Verb phrase
Third person present verb: homes in on |
Verb phrase, intransitive
Third person present verb: hones in |
| Targets
Proceed to or toward a source of radiated energy used as a guide Proceed to or direct attention toward an objective Aim for Find and give a lot of attention to something or someone |
Concentrate, focus
An alteration of home in Move toward, focus attention on an objective Heading toward a metaphorical target or a point by sharpening your argument, |
| Examples: | |
| Home in on the radio beacon for the airfield to get us back.
Those bombs are using our radio signals to home in on us. The missile homed in on the ship. The report homed in on the weaknesses in the management structure. |
She’s really honing her argument.
They’re honing the plan to its bare essentials. It’s such a complex problem that it’s hard to hone in on just one part of it. I think the detective is honing in on us, Jimmy. We better turn ourselves in! |
| History of the Word: | |
| Derives from the 19th-century use of homing pigeons, but it resurged in the 20th century to refer to missiles that home in on their targets. It’s also commonly used metaphorically, where to home in on something is to focus on and make progress toward it. | The first known use was in 1965. |
C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!
Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.
Resources for Home In On vs Hone In
Cambridge Dictionaries Online: home in on
The Free Dictionary: hone in
“Home In Vs Hone In — Meaning And When To Use Them.” Grammarist.com. n.d. Web. 26 Nov 2022. <https://grammarist.com/eggcorns/home-in-hone-in/>.
Merriam-Webster: hone (<http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hone%20in%20on>) and hone in
Pinterest Photo Credits:
Victims of the Mozote Massacre, Morazán, El Salvador, January 1982, by Susan Meiselas, Magnum Photos, is under the CC BY-SA 3.0 US license, via Wikimedia Commons.
