Peak, Peek, Pique or Peke?

I have recently seen so many instances of 'peek' spelled incorrectly, and I wanted to write about it.

The most common misuse I've seen on the internet is something along these lines: 

"Have a sneak peak!"

This sounds right, but the word 'peak' is not the right word to use here.

The correct spelling is:

"Have a sneak peek!"

1. PEAK with 'ea' in the middle means the PEAK OF A MOUNTAIN.

One way to remember this spelling is that there is an A in the middle, and the A looks like a pointy mountain.

Example: The mountainclimber reached the peak of the mountain, and planted a flag.

Example: The little boy was very sick; after taking his antibiotics, his temperature peaked  and then started to return to normal.

2. PEEK with 'ee' in the middle means a LOOK.

Perhaps you can remember how to spell this version if you think of the two ee's as EYES - they are both the same shape - and the eyes LOOK, therefore you'd use PEEK when you mean to LOOK. Make sense? Can you think of a better way to remember the spelling and use of PEEK? Please do let me know if you do - thanks!

Example: The children had so much energy! They played lots of games and their favourite was peek-a-boo - they could play this with the little ones and laugh with glee at how happy it made them.

The third spelling seems to be totally unknown to many people; they've heard the pronunciation and assume the spelling is either PEAK or PEEK, and use either one ... incorrectly.

3. PIQUE is the third spelling.

If someone says, 'That article really piqued my interest!" then their interest has been stirred, or ignited, and they are compelled to find out more.

Example: Emily was greatly piqued when she wasn't invited to Angela's 16th birthday party.

In the example above, piqued means vexed, or annoyed.

If someone wrote,  "That article really peeked my interest"what do you think they've actually said? That's right, they've somehow said something about looking, which doesn't fit at all, does it?

4. The fourth option is PEKE - and I threw this one in as a funny sideline, because it's a short form of the word Pekinese - which is a small dog with long hair.  :-)

Example: When the children were small, they loved taking Polly the Peke for a walk because she was a small dogs and quite obedient.

I hope these examples and explanations have been helpful!

As with everything, practice makes perfect - have fun with the English language!

Disclaimer - please read the paragraph at the bottom of the page before you write to me and tell me I'm wrong :-)

 Thanks!