Tuesday Tricksters, August 9: Jalousie - Jibe

Jalousie (n.): A blind or shutter with adjustable horizontal slats for regulating the passage of air and light  
Jealousy (n.): a feeling of envy

• Make sure the jalousie is adjusted for the west sun.
• Sheila felt a strong pang of jealousy towards Amy.

Jam (n.): a difficult situation; a preserve made from fruit; (v.): to wedge or make stick to prevent movement; to pack full or tight; (informal): to improvise freely as in a jam session
Jamb (n.): the side piece(s) of a door or window

• Frank found himself in a real jam at work.
• Karen, jam that stick into the gate to hold it shut.
• All my shoes are jammed into the closet!
• Sarah, do you want a peanut butter and jam sandwich?
• John was painting the door jamb white this morning.

Jeans (n.): pants made out of denim cotton
Genes (n.): plural of gene, a hereditary unit: DNA

• Did Ted buy his new jeans to wear to school?
• Our genes hold many secrets about our health and heritage.

Jell (v.): to take shape or become clear; to crystalize  
Gel (n.): a firm, galatinous substance; a jelly

• I need to wait a while for my ideas to jell.
• Be sure to boil the jam until it jells.
• Sharon found a new hair gel to try!

Jibe (v.): To shift a sail from one side of a vessel to the other while sailing; to cause a sail to jibe; to agree; (n.): the act of jibing
Gibe (n.): a jeer or a tease; (v.): to tease or mock

• I need to learn to steer and jibe a boat using just the sails.
• Your ideas jibe with mine.
• Jack was hurt when Ted made a gibe at him.
• Ted gibed at Jack's reluctance to dive into the pool.

The toughest words here are jell & gel, jibe & gibe, because they are often confused, and even the dictionaries sometimes allow one to be used for the other. If you're not sure which one to use -- if you EVER decide to use any one of the four -- see if you can find a good synomym instead. 

Are any of the words new to you? Would you actually use jibe or gibe? 

                                        As always, I value your thoughts and comments. 

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