Revised as of 11 April 2021
“As we awl gathered together” was not what I was expecting, but it is an heterograph (a subset of homophone) along with all, so I guess it had to show up one day.
It did get me to thinking “serial killer”, though! ‘Cause it sure weren’t no group of tools gathered up!
You may want to explore “All Ready versus Already“, “All Right versus Alright“, “All Together versus Altogether“, and “All Ways versus Always” for more variations on all.
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 noir for you from either end.
If you found this post on “All versus Awl” interesting, consider tweeting it to your friends. Subscribe to KD Did It, if you’d like to track this post for future updates.
| All | Awl |
|---|---|
| Credit to: Apple Dictionary.com; Dictionary.com: all and awl; Merriam-Webster: all; Word Reference: all; Oxford Dictionaries: all and awl | |
Cheerful Tulips by Hans is under the Pixabay License, via Pixabay. — Look at all the tulips! |
Awl by Tool Dude is under the CC BY 2.0 license, via Mechanical Caveman. |
| Part of Grammar: | |
| Adjective; Adverb; Determiner; Noun; Predeterminer; Pronoun Plural for noun: alls |
Abbreviations; Noun Plural for the noun: awls |
| Adjective: [Used in referring to quantity, extent, or duration] The whole of [Used in referring to individuals or particulars, taken collectively] The whole number of [Used in referring to quality or degree] The greatest possible Every Any Nothing but
Dominated by or as if by the conspicuous possession or use of a particular feature [US; chiefly Pennsylvania German; used especially of food and drink] Gone
Adverb:
[Obsolete] Only
[In games; for each side; apiece] Used after a number to indicate an equal score [Archaic] Just So much Determiner:
Noun: [Often with an initial capital letter] The entire universe [Uncountable] The entire area, place, environment, or the like Every one [Formal] Everybody [Uncountable] Everything Predeterminer: Pronoun:
|
Abbreviations: Absent With Leave [U.S., Canada] Absence Without Leave [U.K., Australia] Absent Without Leave Noun:
|
| Examples: | |
| Adjective: You ate all the cake? Yep, I’m in all the way. We spent all year on the renovations. Are all the students out? Get this done with all speed. With all due respect… It takes all kinds. We were in all sorts of trouble. He was dead beyond all doubt. The coat is all wool. The colt was all legs. They were all ears, listening attentively to everything she said. The pie is all. I don’t know who all is coming. Adverb: He was dressed all in black. She’s been all around the world. Poor boy, he’s all by himself. Wow, it was an all leather varsity jacket. After extra time, it was still two all. You’re taking it all out of proportion. There were leaves all over the yard. It wasn’t all that funny. He was voted all-league halfback in 2002. She was all the better for it. He all but took my head off! Determiner: He slept all day. I’m not going to carry all of the blame. He denied all knowledge. She was assured beyond all doubt. They were in all probability completely unaware. She was an eleven-year-old string bean, all elbows and knees. Noun: If you lose your edge, you lose it all. All is calm, all is bright. All rise, the court is in session. Is that all you’ve got to say? Predeterminer: She left all her money to him. Pronoun: Why ever are the men all bearded? All I want is to be left alone. It seemed that all was well. All’s well that ends well. It was all very strange. |
Abbreviations: It’s okay. He’s AWL. Didja hear about Olson? He’s AWL. Noun: You’ll need an awl for that. A saw, ropes, and an awl were found in the suspect’s apartment. Use an awl to poke the holes for the wires. There are different types of awls for different purposes: a bradawl makes holes in wood, a scratch awl marks wood or metal, and a stitching awl pierces holes in leather. Once the cabinets are marked lightly in pencil, use an awl or a center punch to create an indentation at the desired spot. Each side of the Leatherman houses different tools: a bottle opener, small, medium and large screwdrivers, a Phillips head, a file, an awl, and a knife blade. An abundance of bone awls suggests the importance of skin and leather working. A groove down one side of the triangle makes short work of sharpening fish hooks, awls, etc. The awl cuts a tidy hole in the leather that will close up tight around the thread as it is sewn, leaving a watertight stitch. Bone and antler were used to make dress-pins, hair combs, toggles, needle-cases, handles for iron knives, awls and other domestic equipment. Use the awl to make holes at the pin marks just above the topstitching. Use an awl or a center punch and punch a small hole at the template’s center points, then remove the template. |
| Derivatives: | |
| Adjective: all-action, all-American, all-around, all-Canadian, all-consuming, all-day, all-embracing, all-encompassing, all-fired, all-important, all-in-one, all-inclusive, all-inclusive, all-inclusive, all-night, all-or-none, all-or-nothing, all-over, all-party [British], all-pervading, all-pervasive, all-powerful, all-purpose, all-round [British], all-seeing, all-star, all-time, all-weather, all-wise Adverb: all-fired Noun: all-America, all-Canadian, all-clear, all-nighter, all-star |
|
| History of the Word: | |
| Old English all, eall, is of Germanic origin and related to the Dutch al and the German all. | Old English æl is of Germanic origin and related to the German Ahle. |
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 more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.
Pinterest Photo Credits:
Shoemaking Awls was originally uploaded by Dominique grassigli at French Wikipedia (transferred from fr.wikipedia to Commons) and is under the GFDL or CC-BY-SA-3.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons.
