# Brochures but no pamphlets **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 25, 2013, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brochures-but-no-pamphlets/661869 "2013-06-25T13:57:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2013, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brochures-but-no-pamphlets/661869/21 "2013-06-25T16:14:11Z")
Wikipedia is our friend. It seems that [pamphlets](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamphlet) and [brochures](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brochure) are interchangeable. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2013, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brochures-but-no-pamphlets/661869/22 "2013-06-25T16:16:27Z")
This is probably better suited to IMHO than GQ. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![lighthouse9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/97f17d/32.png) [@lighthouse9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lighthouse9)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2013, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brochures-but-no-pamphlets/661869/23 "2013-06-25T16:24:10Z")
I never thought I’d stir things up over the difference between pamphlets and brochures. It really is just an observation over time, and I’ve been around a long time. Perhaps George Carlin would have had fun with this subject.🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2013, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brochures-but-no-pamphlets/661869/24 "2013-06-25T16:26:13Z")
You _still_ haven’t made clear what difference there is between the two. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2013, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brochures-but-no-pamphlets/661869/25 "2013-06-25T16:51:55Z")
> [@lighthouse9](#): > > Perhaps George Carlin would have had fun with this subject.🙂 I don’t think so. ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2013, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brochures-but-no-pamphlets/661869/26 "2013-06-25T17:01:42Z")
> [@lighthouse9](#): > > I remember pamphlets being offered with many various items offered on TV, Telemark. Now, it’s all brochures. I know this is a bit silly, but it’s true. Please clarify:[ul][_]Are you saying that the advertiser used to say “We’ll send you a pamphlet!”, but now they say “We’ll send you a brochure!”, or[_]Are you saying that the printed material used to be a pamphlet, but now they are sending brochures.[/ul]If the former, then I’ll bow out of this thread, because I have not noticed that change. But if the latter, then you STILL haven’t explained your opinion about how a pamphlet differs from a brochure. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2013, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brochures-but-no-pamphlets/661869/27 "2013-06-25T17:01:58Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > while the words are synonymous there can be different usage; brochure would tend to be a single sheet folded, pamphlet might be saddle stapled or stitched. Wrong way round. ---
**Author:** ![lighthouse9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/97f17d/32.png) [@lighthouse9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lighthouse9)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2013, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brochures-but-no-pamphlets/661869/28 "2013-06-25T17:11:06Z")
I’m glad to see you’re on my side, panach45. for one thing. For another, why is everyone being so literal on this subject? I was trying to have some fun. That is a thing of the 20th century apparently. Cheers anyway!🙂 ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2013, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brochures-but-no-pamphlets/661869/29 "2013-06-25T17:35:04Z")
> [@lighthouse9](#): > > I’m glad to see you’re on my side, panach45. for one thing. For another, why is everyone being so literal on this subject? I was trying to have some fun. That is a thing of the 20th century apparently. > > Cheers anyway!🙂 I think it was because you opened your thread in General Questions, where Dopers are expected to offer serious answers to your question. Levity is permitted in that forum, but only once the question has been satisfactorily resolved. Now that it’s been moved to In My Humble Opinion, people can loosen up a bit and have more fun with the subject. It’s not you. It’s more a function of where the thread originated. ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2013, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brochures-but-no-pamphlets/661869/30 "2013-06-25T17:37:47Z")
::: puts **lighthouse9** on the “will not answer a simple question” list with my ex, and **JamesOttoSweetheart** :::m ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2013, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brochures-but-no-pamphlets/661869/31 "2013-06-25T17:39:27Z")
I was planning to write a pamphlet about this. I’ve changed my mind now. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2013, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brochures-but-no-pamphlets/661869/32 "2013-06-25T17:57:06Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > I was planning to write a pamphlet about this. I’ve changed my mind now. Maybe a tract? ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2013, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brochures-but-no-pamphlets/661869/33 "2013-06-25T18:43:09Z")
The Merriam-Webster and OED entries for “brochure” both say that a brochure is a pamphlet. Both point out that the more recent term “brochure” tends to refer specifically to a publication that contains commercial or promotional information while “pamphlet” has a long history of being used to refer to brief political or literary publications as well, but the two words can be used interchangeably. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2013, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brochures-but-no-pamphlets/661869/34 "2013-06-25T18:57:32Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Maybe a tract? Well, I have this _leaflet_… ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2013, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brochures-but-no-pamphlets/661869/35 "2013-06-25T19:20:14Z")
Here, have a flyer. ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2013, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brochures-but-no-pamphlets/661869/36 "2013-06-25T19:40:38Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > I think it was because you opened your thread in General Questions, where Dopers are expected to offer serious answers to your question. Levity is permitted in that forum, but only once the question has been satisfactorily resolved. Now that it’s been moved to In My Humble Opinion, people can loosen up a bit and have more fun with the subject. It’s not you. It’s more a function of where the thread originated. Much appreciated. Really. I’m outta here. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2013, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brochures-but-no-pamphlets/661869/37 "2013-06-25T20:11:11Z")
Why do they call it Ovaltine? The mug is round. The jar is round. They should call it Roundtine. ---
**Author:** ![Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Living_Well_Is_Best_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2013, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brochures-but-no-pamphlets/661869/38 "2013-06-25T20:34:05Z")
Old person alert. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2013, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brochures-but-no-pamphlets/661869/39 "2013-06-25T22:29:18Z")
This was one of the most frustrating threads to read - I still don’t understand whether the OP was saying “why did advertisers stop using the term ‘pamphlet’ and call them ‘brochures’ now?”, or “why did advertisers stop sending single-page information sheets and only send multi-page things now?”, or something else. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2013, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brochures-but-no-pamphlets/661869/40 "2013-06-25T22:36:36Z")
Let me tell you what pissed me off recently: I was thirsty and went to the store for a soda, but all they had was pop! Needless to say that I didn’t buy any pop, since I really wanted some soda. I’m never going to buy a beverage in a store that sells pop. Next time this happens, I think I’m going to ask the manager what happened to all their soda. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brochures-but-no-pamphlets/661869.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brochures-but-no-pamphlets/661869.md?page=3)