What's the difference between ploy and ply?

Ploy


Definition:

  • (n.) Sport; frolic.
  • (v. i.) To form a column from a line of troops on some designated subdivision; -- the opposite of deploy.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) 10.36am BST Mind Games Well come on then, let's have your thoughts on the best psychological ploys in football history.
  • (2) Chelsea , however, will not be too concerned if this match is added to the long list of games that is used to knock José Mourinho's ploys of conservatism and, ultimately, it is proven to be a valuable result.
  • (3) He wrote: “The NHS in Wales will not be the victim of any Conservative party ploy to drag its reputation through the mud for entirely partisan political purposes.
  • (4) The unsuspecting public may not realise that the call to avoid palm oil is nothing more than a trade ploy since in recent years palm oil has been very competitive and has gained a major share of the world's edible oils and fats market.
  • (5) Will he really go in the slower group of elite runners and not the pace set by Haile Gebrselassie, allowing his rivals a 30-second advantage at halfway, or is it a clever psychological ploy?
  • (6) But in an interview with Buzzfeed , he claimed the choice of lead, played by Jeremy Irvine, was a deliberate ploy to appeal to a heterosexual crowd.
  • (7) Yet Wenger talked about it jarring with his principles to base his entire strategy around ploys of conservatism.
  • (8) This is in part due to planned obsolescence – a devious ploy by manufacturers bolstered by marketing strategies to make us fall out of love with a product hastily.
  • (9) The link between Lynton Crosby and the tax haven could make uncomfortable reading for the prime minister, who has described legal ploys to avoid tax as morally wrong.
  • (10) For the most part, however, the home side were unashamed about their ploys of conservatism.
  • (11) That was Nigeria’s outlet ball all game, and was clearly a deliberate ploy on the part of Keshi.
  • (12) If the ploy had worked, Texas conservatives might have seen Dewhurst as the hero who saved the anti-abortion bill.
  • (13) This ploy has proven unsuccessful in all cases where scientific evidence was adequately presented by the state and in all important court cases where the issue was critically examined.
  • (14) The essence of his argument is that the programme is a ploy to displace poor people from their homes to divert resources to consultants and developers.
  • (15) What giant new claim on our fast-depleting personal wealth is the chancellor going to spring on us that requires such an elaborate ploy?
  • (16) For the owners, this bafflement is a deliberate ploy to enhance the wow factor of reaching the lively reception and bar.
  • (17) Earlier this month a federal district judge, Nelva Gonzales Ramos, struck down the law , slamming it as a cynical ploy on the part of Republicans to fend off the growing strength of the minority electorate in Texas by “suppressing the overwhelmingly Democratic votes of African Americans and Latinos”.
  • (18) This campaign is nothing but a self-interested and cynical ploy by the newspaper, a childish way of hitting back at the growing chorus of anti-Page 3 voices .
  • (19) Although light-hearted in character, Klinsmann’s ploy seems to have a serious purpose behind it as American interest in the World Cup reaches unprecedented levels.
  • (20) Boxer described the Republicans’ letter as “bizarre, inappropriate” and a “desperate ploy to scuttle a comprehensive agreement” that she said is “in the best interests of the United States, Israel and the world”.

Ply


Definition:

  • (v. t.) To bend.
  • (v. t.) To lay on closely, or in folds; to work upon steadily, or with repeated acts; to press upon; to urge importunately; as, to ply one with questions, with solicitations, or with drink.
  • (v. t.) To employ diligently; to use steadily.
  • (v. t.) To practice or perform with diligence; to work at.
  • (v. i.) To bend; to yield.
  • (v. i.) To act, go, or work diligently and steadily; especially, to do something by repeated actions; to go back and forth; as, a steamer plies between certain ports.
  • (v. i.) To work to windward; to beat.
  • (v.) A fold; a plait; a turn or twist, as of a cord.
  • (v.) Bent; turn; direction; bias.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) The human alpha 2-plasmin inhibitor gene (PLI) was mapped by in situ hybridization using a genomic DNA probe which contained exons coding for the signal peptide and a portion of the mature protein.
  • (2) Both are alleged to have plied the Devon girl with drugs, raped her and left her unconscious to drown on Anjuna beach, metres from a bar in which the group had spent the evening drinking.
  • (3) This lovely coastal route also gives you an excuse to hop on the Skye ferry, which plies its way over the narrows to Kylerhea from the start of this walk.
  • (4) He plied his trade for 25 years on the pages of this newspaper, and for more than half a century on behalf of the BBC.
  • (5) Six years ago, officials dismissed as ridiculous allegations that he had shot a drunken Russian bear that had been plied with honey and vodka.
  • (6) The trend of compliance as a function of the reinforcement angle is discussed for an angle-ply composite of low compliance constituents, as well as the implications for stress-strain behaviour.
  • (7) Undertreatment for fear of drug toxicity, overtreatment by plying the patient with multiple drugs, and delay in treatment are equally destructive.
  • (8) Group 19 pneumococci all contained ply; the disease-isolated types of 19F and 19A appeared to show a higher specific hemolytic activity and yield than the nonpathogenic types, 19B and 19C.
  • (9) In addition, the periodontal variables of PlI, GI, probing depth and the patient's experience of gingival bleeding were recorded and compared between smoking and non-smoking patients.
  • (10) Nucleotide sequence analysis of the pelY gene disclosed an open reading frame of 1,623 base pairs (PLY).
  • (11) Samson d’Souza and Placido Carvalho were alleged to have plied Scarlett with drugs, raped her and left her unconscious on the beach, where she subsequently drowned.
  • (12) Prompted by interest in immunohistochemical reports of prolactin-like immunoreactivity (PLI) in the rat hypothalamus, we investigated and have reported that an immunoreactive and bioactive prolactin-like material can be extracted from the rat hypothalamus.
  • (13) The Plaque Index (PlI), Gingival Index (GI) and Retention Index (RI), the width of the keratinized gingiva, pocket probing depth (PD) and loss of probing attachment (LA) were recorded on four surfaces per tooth in the entire dentition of the subjects.
  • (14) The court heard the group had plied five victims with drink and drugs and “passed them around” for sex.
  • (15) When P2 is further fractioned on a discontinuous sucrose density gradient, approximately 66% of the P2-associated PLI was found in subfractions rich in synaptosomes and poor in myelin and mitochondria.
  • (16) Using a sensitive and specific radioimmunoassay for rat prolactin and a standardized procedure for subcellular fractionation of neuronal tissue, we have found that 90% of hypothalamic PLI is particulate-bound with only 10% remaining in the S4 or cytosolic fraction.
  • (17) About the same number of PLI neurons could be detected in the abdominal ganglia of larval and adult flies.
  • (18) The music and the image had been honed down in the interim – the gear to the archetypal indie look and the music to the almost bubblegum sound which they ply today.
  • (19) The proportions of B. gingivalis and T. denticola were significantly related to GI, PlI, BI and PD, those of B. forsythus and W. recta to GI, PlI and BI, E. corrodens to GI and PlI, and F. nucleatum to BI.
  • (20) Email all your questions and answers to knowledge@theguardian.com NEXT WEEK The UK players currently plying their trade at the most obscure overseas clubs.