fandom_grammar . Answer -- Home vs Hone

starwatcher307 asked:

Is it "to home in" or "to hone in"? (with examples from Stargate SG-1)

This is one of the many examples where people have heard a phrase used, and don't always hear it correctly.

According to Webster's Concise Dictionary,

home, verb
1. to go or return home.
2. to proceed toward a specified point.

The targeting system homed in on the enemy al'kesh, and Sam fired.

Teal'c had the uncanny ability to home in on the most dangerous person in the room, no matter how misleading his or her appearance might be.

and

hone, verb
1. to sharpen on or as if on a [whetstone].

Jack honed his knife; if that slight chip was permanent, he was going to be pissed.

Daniel had honed his biting sarcasm in foster care. It was a wonderful thing to be able to insult someone and not have them realize it until he was out of the room.

So there you are. The only way I can think of to tell the difference is perhaps to remember that an object is finding a new home wherever it's being targeted. Really, this is just one of those things one has to remember from rote.