# An inapropos thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 23, 2005, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-inapropos-thread/332456 "2005-11-23T19:20:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-inapropos-thread/332456/1 "2005-11-23T19:20:37Z")
\*Apropos \*is not just a fancier way of saying _appropriate_. They are two different words. \*Comprised \*is not just a word that will make you seem smarter when you really mean _composed_. \*Epitome \*does not mean what you think it means. ---
**Author:** ![davenportavenger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f8ce5/32.png) [@davenportavenger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davenportavenger)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-inapropos-thread/332456/2 "2005-11-23T19:23:16Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > \*Comprised \*is not just a word that will make you seem smarter when you really mean _composed_. > [@the dictionary](#): > > com·prise ( P ) Pronunciation Key (km-prz) > tr.v. com·prised, com·pris·ing, com·pris·es > To consist of; **be composed of** : “The French got… French Equatorial Africa, comprising several territories” (Alex Shoumatoff). > To include; contain: “The word ‘politics’… comprises, in itself, a difficult study of no inconsiderable magnitude” (Charles Dickens). See Synonyms at include. > Usage Problem. To compose; constitute: “Put together the slaughterhouses, the steel mills, the freight yards… that comprised the city” (Saul Bellow). Someone else can take the other ones. ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-inapropos-thread/332456/3 "2005-11-23T19:25:21Z")
I may have misspelled it; but it does mean what I meant it to. > [@](#): > > _from Webster’s_ > 2 : a typical or ideal example : EMBODIMENT ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-inapropos-thread/332456/4 "2005-11-23T19:27:08Z")
I think Vocabulary Pet Peeves is a topic which should (god help us) stay civil enough to not need to be in the Pit. If rioting breaks out over this inapropos action of mine, we can always move it back. ---
**Author:** ![Nutty\_Bunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d07c76/32.png) [@Nutty\_Bunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nutty_Bunny)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-inapropos-thread/332456/5 "2005-11-23T19:31:43Z")
> [@Giraffe](#): > > I think Vocabulary Pet Peeves is a topic which should (god help us) stay civil enough to not need to be in the Pit. If rioting breaks out over this inapropos action of mine, we can always move it back. Oh, your optimism is absolutely adorable. :pinches Giraffe’s cheeks: ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-inapropos-thread/332456/6 "2005-11-23T19:33:22Z")
> [@davenportavenger](#): > > Someone else can take the other ones. “comprise” = “to be composed of” “comprise” =/= “compose” Note the distinction. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-inapropos-thread/332456/7 "2005-11-23T19:34:51Z")
> [@Homebrew](#): > > I may have misspelled it; but it does mean what I meant it to. Correct; “typical.” Most people use it to mean atypical; the best of; the apex; the exceptional. “Epitome” is closer to meaning “average” than “exceptional.” ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-inapropos-thread/332456/8 "2005-11-23T19:35:07Z")
**Impact** is not a verb. Something has an _impact_, it is not _impacting_ on you. Grrrrr… don’t get me started on alright, affect/effect,and its vs it’s or we’ll be here all night… ---
**Author:** ![davenportavenger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f8ce5/32.png) [@davenportavenger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davenportavenger)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-inapropos-thread/332456/9 "2005-11-23T19:35:29Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > “comprise” = “to be composed of” > > “comprise” =/= “compose” > > Note the distinction. Okay, provide an example where comprise is used incorrectly to mean compose. The OP might have worked better with some examples. ---
**Author:** ![Nutty\_Bunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d07c76/32.png) [@Nutty\_Bunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nutty_Bunny)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-inapropos-thread/332456/10 "2005-11-23T19:37:15Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > **Impact** is not a verb. Something has an _impact_, it is not _impacting_ on you. That’s one of those corporate-speak uses of a word that annoys me so. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-inapropos-thread/332456/11 "2005-11-23T19:38:15Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > “comprise” = “to be composed of” > > “comprise” =/= “compose” > > Note the distinction. In other words, “comprise” is nearly a synonym of “include.” _Correct:_ The book included nine chapters. The book comprised nine chapters. The book was composed of nine chapters. \* Incorrect:\* The book composed nine chapters. The book was comprised of nine chapters. The book was included of nine chapters. ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-inapropos-thread/332456/12 "2005-11-23T19:38:39Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > Correct; “typical.” > > Most people use it to mean atypical; the best of; the apex; the exceptional. “Epitome” is closer to meaning “average” than “exceptional.” _When I use a word, it means just what I choose it to mean – neither more nor less._ ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-inapropos-thread/332456/13 "2005-11-23T19:41:18Z")
> [@davenportavenger](#): > > Okay, provide an example where comprise is used incorrectly to mean compose. The OP might have worked better with some examples. People take the phrase “the whole is composed of the parts” and just substitutes the word “comprised” for “composed.” Their usage is different, however. To use “comprise” correctly to communicate the same information, you would say “The whole comprises the parts.” **Mnemonics:** _The parts compose the whole; the whole comprises the parts._ and “compose” = “include” ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-inapropos-thread/332456/14 "2005-11-23T19:42:39Z")
Prescriptivist nogoodniks! ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-inapropos-thread/332456/15 "2005-11-23T19:43:04Z")
> [@Homebrew](#): > > _When I use a word, it means just what I choose it to mean – neither more nor less._ So . . . this is, for you, a question of whether Homebrew, himself, personally, individually, uses the word epitome correctly, or whether the word is frequently misused by many people. Mods, can someone please Homebrew’s name to the thread title? Maybe, to be safe, to the forum title? Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![davenportavenger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f8ce5/32.png) [@davenportavenger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davenportavenger)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-inapropos-thread/332456/16 "2005-11-23T19:46:45Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > Incorrect:\* > The book composed nine chapters. > The book was comprised of nine chapters. > The book was included of nine chapters. I agree that the first and third are wrong, but the second, even if it is grammatically awkward, is not. I’ve seen the phrase “comprised of” many times, in many places. English is an evolving language, don’t be such a grammar absolutist. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-inapropos-thread/332456/17 "2005-11-23T19:46:58Z")
> [@ultrafilter](#): > > Prescriptivist nogoodniks! No, I understand that language changes. That doesn’t mean I’ll go quietly into that good night. For instance, we used to have two perfectly good words, with two different definitions and usages, “appropriate,” and “apropos.” Now we have two words that mean the same thing. This is a subtractive process. I love it when new words are added to the language, but it riles me when misusages subtracts a perfectly good word like “apropos” from the language. And the transition is not complete, while I understand that, taking an objective, descriptive approach would demand that I simply observe that the language is changing, I leave that to the lexicographers. “Prescriptive” is different from “descriptive,” but there’s a place for both, and neither is “better” than the other. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-inapropos-thread/332456/18 "2005-11-23T19:49:18Z")
> [@davenportavenger](#): > > I agree that the first and third are wrong, but the second, even if it is grammatically awkward, is not. I’ve seen the phrase “comprised of” many times, in many places. English is an evolving language, don’t be such a grammar absolutist. It is, currently, prescriptively speaking, “wrong.” Common usage is making it more and more acceptable, so that eventually it may in fact become to be perfectly correct. Common misusage is the first step along the path to changing the meaning of a word. That makes it inevitable; that doesn’t make it “right.” ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-inapropos-thread/332456/19 "2005-11-23T19:52:09Z")
Inconceivable! ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-inapropos-thread/332456/20 "2005-11-23T19:52:51Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > **Mnemonics:** > > _The parts compose the whole; the whole comprises the parts._ > > and > > “compose” = “include” No, not unless you would say “The parts include the whole”, which they don’t. Nor does comprise = include. Comprise is all-inclusive, Include is not. For example: My library includes a set of encyclopedias. My library comprises several hundred books. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-inapropos-thread/332456.md?page=2)