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scrap ~ scrape

[slightly different pronunciation: the ‘a’ in “scrap”  rhymes with the ‘a’ in “tap”, and the ‘a’ in “scrape” rhymes with the ‘a’ in “tape”]

“Scrap” (noun) is ‘a small piece of paper, cloth, etc.; some material or things that are no longer used for the purpose they were meant for, but may be used again in another way, usually for a different purpose; left-over food – tiny pieces of food left after one has finished eating; a small quantity of something, such as information, truth, etc.; a short fight’; (verb with a double ‘p’ in ‘ing’ form — “scrapping”) is ‘to cancel a plan, system, an approach, etc; to decide not to put some plan or idea into action, usually because that plan or idea or system is not practical or not giving the expected results, or very expensive; to get rid of a machine, vehicle, etc. because it has become old or useless or expensive to maintain; to have a short argument or fight’,

e.g.

She wrote her address on a scrap of paper, gave it to me and hurried away.   [i.e. a small piece of waste paper]

He sold his old bicycle for scrap.   [i.e. for scrap metal]

The prisoners of war were fed on scraps of food for several days.   [i.e. the food left over by some others probable the soldiers (the captors)]

The police detective could get only a scrap of information on the murder case.   [i.e. very, very little information]

My nephew is always getting into scraps with other boys at schools.   [i.e. minor, childish fights]

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“Scrape” (rhymes with ‘tape’), as a verb with the litter ‘e’ dropped when ‘ing’ is added — “scraping”, is ‘to remove some sticky substance from a surface using the edge of a blade, knife or some hard flat thing (the tool used for this purpose is called ‘scraper/scrape’); to rub against a rough surface in a way that results in slight damage or injury or to make something do this; to make a noise, usually very unpleasant one, by rubbing or dragging something roughly against a surface’; as a noun, it is ‘a small mark or a slight injury caused by rubbing against a rough surface; the unpleasant noise made when a metallic thing is rubbed or dragged against a rough surface’,

e.g.

I’ll have to scrape the mud off my shoes before getting into the car.

Children love to scrape their chairs.  [i.e. dragging/moving metal chairs on the floor to make screeching noise]

Fortunately for him, he suffered a few cuts and scrapes in that major train accident.

She has been in worse scrapes than this before.   [i.e. she has been in bigger or more dangerous situations before]

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