I’d like to compliment the writer for Yahoo! Sports‘ “Ball Don’t Lie.” But I can’t. This one homophonic mix-up prevents me from extending a compliment:
The American Heritage Dictionary offers this usage note on complement and compliment:
Complement and compliment, though quite distinct in meaning, are sometimes confused because they are pronounced the same. As a noun, complement means “something that completes or brings to perfection” (The antique silver was a complement to the beautifully set table); used as a verb it means “to serve as a complement to.” The noun compliment means “an expression or act of courtesy or praise” (They gave us a compliment on our beautifully set table), while the verb means “to pay a compliment to.”
August 7, 2013 at 5:26 pm
I always like those compiementary breakfasts you get at some hotels and motels.
(That one’s even harder than principal.principle).
August 7, 2013 at 8:54 pm
The only way I can remember the difference between compliment and complement is that a compLEment is an eLEment that compLEtes or suppLEments.