hail, hail-fellow-well-met, hale, hale and hearty

The homonyms hail and hale are easily confused. Be careful not to misspell these words in the expressions hail-fellow-well-met and hale and hearty.

Hail

Hail can be used as a noun or a verb.

As a noun, hail refers to frozen rain pellets.

• The hail yesterday destroyed many crops.

In contrast, the verb hail means to call or summon.

• The thief hailed a taxi and was swiftly carried away from the scene of the crime.

Hail-fellow-well-met refers to a friendly, easygoing, gregarious person or manner.

• Some people find Tom’s backslapping and hail-fellow-well-met manner overwhelming.

Hale

The word hale can be used as a verb or as an adjective.

The verb has a nearly obsolete meaning of “haul” or “drag.”

• The plaintiff haled the defendant into court, accusing him of fraud.

The adjective hale has the meaning “healthy,” as in the expression hale and hearty.

• The campers had been rescued at last, and looked remarkably hale and hearty after their trek.