How to Remember the Difference Between Hone and Home in On
There are certain things that you would like to “hone” and there are things that you would like to “focus” on, but they are not the same. However, it is one of those pairs of words and phrases that sound so similar and have similar meanings (for example, further and further or then and than ) that it is easy to confuse them. But in an effort to hone our grammar skills, we’re going to focus on using it correctly.
First, a few definitions
To hone means to sharpen, improve or improve something over time. You can literally hone (sharpen) a blade, or hone a skill, such as karaoke or negotiation skills.
The word ” home” in the verb form we use here means “to move or aim towards a goal or destination with great precision.” Most often it is followed by the words “in on”, for example, a lion is aiming at its prey.
So as a rule of thumb, if you use the word “in on” after it, you probably need to go home and not hone it .
Why did we get confused in the first place
If you always feel the urge to hone something, you are not alone. Merriam-Webster says this is probably because the use of “home” as a verb is far less familiar to us than its use as a noun:
Home is relatively young in terms of words. The noun dates back to Old English, but the earliest evidence for the use of the verb dates back to 1765, when it was used to mean “to go or to return home.” Over the next hundred years, the verb took on an animal-specific meaning: an animal returning to its home or place of birth was considered “presumptuous.” Usually we are talking about pigeons, in particular carrier pigeons.
However, due to the fact that the form of the verb is less familiar to many English speakers, and the sounds m and n are so similar, people mistakenly used hone quite often, which is why many dictionaries now list it – although there are many people who think that this is a mistake.
Of course, if you want to avoid debate altogether, you can simply focus on your goal instead.