3/23/10

Writing Tip Tuesday: It's "Piqued"!

Over and over I see this error:

His comment peeked/peaked/piquet my interest.

I see it a lot on blogs. I've also seen it recently in a couple of published books.

The correct spelling of this word is piqued, meaning, in this case, that his comment created an interest or curiosity in the listener's topic.

Pique can also be used to indicate irritation, resentment, frustration, but this usage is less common in America English.

6 comments:

Angie said...

Thanks for the clarification. A problem with a lot of homophones is that spell checkers don't catch them, so you're using the wrong word without knowing it if your not careful. I see that problem in submissions all the time.

mormonhermitmom said...

Thank you!

Cindy Beck, author said...

Good info. I love that word because of its dual meanings, and weird spelling. (Well, it looks weird to me, but I'm thinking it might actually be French.)

Rebecca Irvine said...

Anyone who has ever taken ballet classes should know this word and get it right.

Elizabeth Morgan said...

That is a great thing to know. It can totally get mixed up if there are a couple of ways to spell it.

Elizabeth Morgan said...

I think when there 3 words that sound so similar yet mean different things. It is what makes writing difficult.