While - wile

From Hull AWE
(Redirected from Wile)
Jump to: navigation, search

While and wile are two homophones in the mouths of most English people (see w - wh.)

  • while is a conjunction, which mostly means 'during the time that', but can also be used to mean 'although'. While this page is interesting, you may also want to see while - whilst.
    • There is also a phrasal verb 'while away', which means to pass time pleasantly: you can while away the hours reading in the garden. Never be tempted by the plausible meaning 'to trick the time into passing more pleasantly' to spell this as 'wile away the time': to do so is incorrect.
  • wile is a noun, meaning craftiness or cunning. The related adjective is 'wily'. Think of Road Runner's cartoon nemesis, Wile E. Coyote [~'wily coyote'].
You may also want to see guile - wile.