Is it "speak your peace" or "speak your piece"?

[T Roosevelt]

Just one of those things that makes you go hmmmmm...

[Madrone]

1. The second one.

n/t

[NMDemDist2]

7. yup-- 2nd one---- you know the one that has got me lately tho

all the talking heads are saying "square the circle" and it drove me nuts -- finally "googled" it

http://www.randomhouse.com/wotd/index.pperl?date=19980904

[Madrone]

12. Thanks - I've never heard that one before.

Of course, now that I've seen you mention it, I'll hear it EVERYWHERE.

Funny how that works. :shrug:

[NMDemDist2]

17. yup just buy a new car and suddenly they're EVERYWHERE! lol n/t

[DS1]

2. The first one

[T Roosevelt]

3. Guess this is going down to the wire...

[SOteric]

4. I've always read it as

'piece,' -but ya know, - now that you mention it, - either makes a certain sense.

[Taverner]

5. Neither...It's 'speak your peas'

[PinkTiger]

6. Look at the words.

They are sound-a-likes but mean different things. Piece is like "piece of pie" or "piece of one's mind."

"peace," as in world peace, or peace be with you.

get real

[Kathleen04]

8. I vote piece

Piece..kinda like a piece of a script.

Most of the time someone is speaking their piece it isn't peaceful..unless of course they're speaking their piece about peace. :crazy:

[unblock]

9. speak now or forever hold your PEACE

here's a simple test:

google "forever hold your peace" : 13,100 matches

google "forever hold your piece" : 692 matches

PEACE is at least way more popular....

[Madrone]

10. I think "holding your peace" and "speaking your piece" are different...

I would have answered the first one if the question would have been "forever hold your PEACE or forever hold your PIECE"....

[unblock]

13. same thing, same google test:

google "speak your peace": 10,200 matches

google "speak your piece": 3,620 matches

ok, a bit closer, but "peace" is still way more popular. again, "piece" of what, exactly?

[Madrone]

15. Piece of your MIND!

You don't give someone a PEACE of your mind, you give 'em a PIECE of your mind!

[NMDemDist2]

16. but how many hits for "peace" without the

musician "Terry Callier - Speak Your Peace" referenced?

I think it's "piece"

[DS1]

19. Owned!!

PEACE

[unblock]

11. in any event, "hold your piece" makes no sense

"hold your peace" is an archaic construction, but it clearly refers to staying at peace with your decision (not to object to a wedding, in the most common usage)

"hold your piece" would mean, uh, piece of what, exactly? this one makes no sense.

[Whitacre D_WI]

20. "Hold your piece" makes plenty of sense to me.

But I don't want to get this locked....

[Guaranteed]

21. Yeah, "say your peace," like

"make your peace," "rest in peace," "leave in peace," or "keep the peace." All the same shit. :thumbsup:

BTW that word "peace" starts looking real weird if I stare at it long enough. I think it's the "c"...

[unblock]

14. hmm, well i have an authoritative source here...

http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~brians/errors/hold.html

apparently it's "HOLD your PEACE" and "SAY your PIECE", at least according to someone capable of writing a book on common english errors....

[pagerbear]

18. I don't know, but it's "toe the line"

...not "tow the line"

[Bertha Venation]

22. piece -- as in, "piece of mind," "piece of advice" eom

[Guaranteed]

23. No, you mean PEACE of mind...

Hee hee...:headbang:

[Bertha Venation]

24. heh . . . actually, it's as in:

If you keep posting that rasser frasser headbang smiley, I'm going to give you a piece of my mind! ;)

[Dedalus]

25. English Professor Here...

It's "speak your piece" but "hold your peace." In the first one, "piece" means "part;" in the second, "peace" means "silence." The confusion is understandable, like the dissonance between "you ARE a big part OF my life" and "you PLAY a big part IN my life."