Something About a Mountain Range? · 2:09pm Feb 1st, 2016
Homonyms can be rough, we all know this. From the struggles of "Raise this barn", "Raze this barn" and "Racist barn" to "two" "to" and "too" they seem to be everywhere. However, there's one that seems to irk me the most, even though it's one of the easiest mistakes to make:
Peek, peak and pique. And people tend to use the second when the really mean the third. So, for clarity's sake, here we go.
Peek, peeked, peeks, peeking: it's a verb, it's something you do. It is looking quickly, peeking around a corner. It is sticking out a little, his toes peeked through the holes in his socks.
Peak, peaked, peaking: A noun, a verb, an adjective. It's the highest point, the mountain's peak. Something with a point, a peaked cap. Showing something's highest point, its popularity peaked in the 1960's.
Pique, piqued: It's a verb. There are two definitions, one is irritation or resentment: "Rarity was piqued at Fluttershy in Green Isn't Your Color. The other one is to stimulate, excite, raise curiosity or interest.
So when you say "His interest was peaked," unless you are saying that the event was the highest point of his interest, you really mean "His interest was piqued" as in his interest to the event was stimulated.
Thank you.
