sowing or sewing

[jaysplace2]

help me write this ,,,,i am in my garden sowing seeds, and my wife is in the house sewing a pair of my jeans,,,,at the same time we are both,,_ _ _ _ _ _ ?   can it be written  thanks ,,,

[jno]

homophones: they are spoken the same but not written the same. Unless you are planting jeans or using a needle on seeds.

[Quizmonster]

With reference to the activities you mention, you aren't both doing anything!

[acw]

Both breathing I hope!

[ludwig]

QM is correct but being a wee bit pedantic. It would be perfectly reasonable for someone to say in an intentionally witty way 'My wife and I both did some sewing last night - she was upstairs sewing clothes, and I was in the garden sowing seeds'.

The question is how would you write that if you wanted to quote what the person had said. I guess the answer is any way you like , ie the first sewing can be spelled either way.

[Quizmonster]

As you suggest, Ludwig, there is nothing at all to prevent one saying it, since the two words sound identical, but there is no way one could accurately write it. That's the point I was trying to make rather than just being pedantic.
(Breathing wasn't mentioned, Acw, and hence the opening 7 words of my earlier response. Cheers)

[acw]

With reference to the activities mentioned, both required breathing.  My answer was no more facetious than yours

[Quizmonster]

Not so much facetious as redundant, I'd have said. Hearts beating, stomachs digesting, fingers moving, eyes focusing and a myriad of other physical activities would have been as relevant as breathing. But enough already!

[Artful]

How about: at the same time we are both busy.

[Kingaroo]

How about "soughing"?
Isn't that an alternative Scottish spelling of "sighing"?
Not sure if it's a plausible homophone....

[grannyg]

 I read a similar question somewhere once before but it asked how it was said if a person were both sowing and sewing  at the same time.

The answer  they gave was that the person would be sewing and sloughing (pronounced sluffing not as the place.)

I know this sounds a bit confused jaysplace2 but I suppose that phrase would be correct if placed in your gap.

 

 

 

[jaysplace2]

now now lads ,,,hehehe so i take it that it cant be written,,,oh well i will think of another ,,,,jase

[jno]

It's like what was the difference between Noah's Ark and Joan of Arc... one was made of wood, the other was Maid of Orleans. Sounds funnier than it reads.

[Quizmonster]

In the same way, if you hear an undertaker saying: "I could do with a beer!"...you cannot be absolutely certain that he didn't say: "I could do with a bier!"

[Artful]

Ooh jno and QM I've just had a jolly good giggle reading those - the sad thing with a play on words is you can't translate it. Mr Dodger was sitting beside me when I burst out laughing and I couldn't explain!