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troupe ~ troop ~ trope

[‘troupe’ and ‘troop’ have the same pronunciation, as in ‘troop’ with a long ‘u’ sound, but “trope” has a different sound with the ‘o’ that rhymes with the ‘o’ sound in ‘go’ or ‘so’]

{The following excerpt, taken from an English government prescribed text for high school students, is a classic example of how these words can be confused even by the educationalist or by the typist or the compositor: “He was too small to move yet … Often feeding underneath a troupe of monkeys ..”  Here the word ‘troop’ should have been used.}

“Troupe” (noun) is ‘a group of artists (entertainment performers), such as singer, dancers, actors, etc.’,

a troupe of dancers

e.g.

At the National Theatre, several troupes of dancers and singers are performing music shows to raise funds for AIDS related campaigns.

The troupe of actors who staged the play “Romeo & Juliet” got the first prize.

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“Troop”, as a noun, is ‘soldiers in large groups; a group of animals, usually monkeys, and also people, that live or does things together’; as a verb, it is ‘to walk from a place to another place as a group in a way that shows the people or animals in that group are tired or bored’,

a troop of soldiers in action

e.g.

Both the warring countries have finally agreed to withdraw their troops from the war front.

Several countries sent their best troops to keep peace in the disturbed parts of Somalia.

A troop of monkeys invaded our banana plantation and ruined the entire crop.

After an hour of lecture, the students were trooped into the laboratory to do some experiments.

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“Trope” (noun & technical) is ‘a word or phrase in an expression that is used in a way that is different from its usual (or literal) meaning in order to create an unusual or interesting effect on one’s mind’,

e.g.

A metaphor is a trope.

“She has a heart of stone.”   “A heart of stone” is a trope – a metaphor – her heart is not actually made of stone, but her feelings have no kindness, sympathy or love in them, or she has a very strong determination; she can face any tough or tragic situation boldly!  So here “stone” is not the real ‘stone’.

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