Yes, well, my dictionary also defines bullets as such a projectile [as described for definition a.] in a metal casing; cartridges.
~Max
Yes, well, my dictionary also defines bullets as such a projectile [as described for definition a.] in a metal casing; cartridges.
~Max
There is no lead in pencils. Rather, the core is made up of a non-toxic mineral called graphite. The common name “pencil lead” is due to an historic association with the stylus made of lead in ancient Roman times.
~Max
U.S.A. reference here- a coin worth one hundredth of a dollar is not a penny. It is a cent.
That North American marsupial that often ends up as roadkill. Thats ‘opossum.’
Perhaps you should inform the U.S. Mint.
You spelled “armadillo” wrong. And the O in “opossum” is silent. If you go around calling it an oh-possum, you’re going to get some strange looks.
Several of my relatives refer to it as “the God-Stick”.
Last I checked, armadillos aren’t marsupials.
In the North East at least we have groundhogs to fill the smallish road kill niche.
Cans were never made of tin, which is too soft for the purpose. They were tin-coated steel. However, tin foil was indeed made of tin.
A paradigm is simply a model, but nobody ever uses it simply.
It’s used properly a lot, but in a Catholic church, a lot of people will call the whole sanctuary “the altar.” The sanctuary is the whole sort of “stage” part. The altar is just the table. Nobody ever stands on the altar. Almost everything that takes place “at the altar” other than the Eucharist actually takes place elsewhere in the sanctuary.
Yeah, well groundhogs aren’t marsupials either.
But those aren’t incorrect names. Those are just slang/colloquial terms for a remote. The example in the OP, podium vs lectern, is clearly using the “wrong” name for the object (though it may be in common enough usage now that it’s the right name.)
An esoteric example would be the coffee pot you cook Turkish coffee in. In English-speaking countries, it’s mostly called an ibrik. It is actually, if you’re going by the Turkish, a cezve, since in Turkish an ibrik is a type of spouted ewer. Similar-ish idea, but different type of pot that is not placed over a fire to brew up Turkish coffee.
Well, again, my dictionary (American Heritage) contains the following entry (IPA omitted):
po di um
n. pl. po di ums or po di a
1. An elevated platform, as for an orchestra conductor or public speaker.
2. A stand for holding the notes of a public speaker; a lectern.
ETA: My post #16 wasn’t replying to Telemark/Didi44 about the remote, but to the general topic. Nevertheless, again my dictionary,
click er
n.
One that clicks, as:
a. A remote control, as for a television or DVD player.
[…]
I think you will find most if not all common misnomers or even slang are represented in the dictionary. This particular entry is not marked as slang though.
~Max
Yeah, that makes sense. By now, the popular usage has standardized it, hence my parenthetical. (And I’m going to guess that podium to mean lectern probably goes a ways back. Let me see if etymonline has anything to say about this. Hmm…it doesn’t, which means it’s probably a more recent shifting of the word.)
The paved area where airplanes park is not called the “tarmac”. It’s called the “ramp” or “apron”. Tarmac is a paving material.
And when 99% of people use the term “direct flight”, what they really mean is “non-stop flight”. Direct flights can have stops; all it means is that the airline uses the same flight number from A to B to C.
He’s right. And (I knew this before looking up the cite) the “nickel” is properly called an 5-cent piece.
But that doesn’t mean “penny” and “nickel” are wrong.
From my world:
Rockets and missiles are not the same thing. “Missiles” are rockets with a guidance package or capability. “Rockets” are unguided (but may be aimed). Motors and engines are different too: “motors” are solid fuel where as “engines” mix fuel and an oxidizer for propulsion.
Those pointy things that sit on submarine-carried missiles? Those are warheads not bombs. Bombs are slung underneath/within airplanes and are dropped. Warheads go for niftier rides.
Tripler
I’m kinda tied to the jargon.
The area separating a multi-lane highway is a median, not meRidian