“Loose as a goose,” as the saying goes.

You have “nothing to lose” by taking a moment to learn the spelling difference between these two words.

I’d hate to try to count the times I’ve seen them both misspelled, even by seasoned writers.  “Loose” and “lose” are neither homonyms nor synonyms.  They have nothing in common other than that silly renegade “O” that loosens the proverbial constraints of lose, yet we all have trouble remembering which is which.

They aren’t difficult spellings, but they surely aren’t easy to retain in our overcrowded memories.  So, let’s give ourselves a quick memory trick to serve us in our future writing.

LOSE = (to fail to have, to come to be without) – We might lose the weight-loss battle.  Losing is no fun, and we just might have lost the war.

Whichever tense we use, there’s only one “O.”    
LOSE – LOSING – LOST – (and LOSS)

LOOSE = (free of restraints) – What better way to remember this one than “loose as a goose?”  Most of us know  how to spell “goose,” and if we can correlate the rhyme we can spell loose correctly forevermore.

LOOSE AS A GOOSE… LOOSE AS A GOOSE… LOOSEY GOOSEY!

We can do this.  Let’s just keep it inside our brains so we’re not wandering around muttering and sounding loose as a goose in public!