Monday, October 22, 2012

Peek versus peak and pique--how to recognize which one to use visually

I'm a good speller, but even I get some words confused. When is it "peek," rather than "peak," and vice versa?

I ran into this problem while editing Why My Love Life Sucks: The Legend of Gilbert the Fixer (book one). It's lucky that I noticed it, because it's not the kind of thing spell check picks up.

As a visual learner, I realized the best way to remember which one to use is with a drawing.

Peek has two Es, which are like two eyes peeking. If you can see the eyes peeking, you've spelled it right.

Peak, when spelled with a capital A, has a peak in the middle, like a mountain peak. Remember that the A in peak is a mountain peak, and you'll get that one right too.

Pique has a Q in it, and a lowercase q looks like a monocle. Think of someone wearing a monocle whose curiosity has been piqued. If it helps, think of the i in pique as an upside down question mark asking, "What is that? It piques my curiosity."

peek, peAk and pique: now you can tell which one to use when.

 I hope this helps you too.

2 comments:

Debbie said...

I love this, Shevi! Maybe you should put together a book of similar drawings (for words) for those of us who can't even draw stick people straight!

Shevi said...

You're right, I should.

I actually have an idea for a book called Word Town, which would teach parts of speech visually.

Unfortunately, there isn't enough time to work on all the books I want to work on. Maybe I will write and illustrate it someday...