# Do you include apes when you think of "Monkeys"? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 8, 2020, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-include-apes-when-you-think-of-monkeys/846146 "2020-01-08T23:09:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2020, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-include-apes-when-you-think-of-monkeys/846146/61 "2020-01-11T04:27:05Z")
> [@Filbert](#): > > I’m sure they were greater before the decline and fall… I see what you did there. Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2020, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-include-apes-when-you-think-of-monkeys/846146/62 "2020-01-11T04:50:30Z")
Micky, Davy, Peter and Michael. And I know I’m not the only ones to think so. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2020, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-include-apes-when-you-think-of-monkeys/846146/63 "2020-01-11T04:57:11Z")
I know it’s not 100% accurate but I think “monkeys are little, primates are big.” ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2020, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-include-apes-when-you-think-of-monkeys/846146/64 "2020-01-11T05:19:59Z")
Tarsiers are primates, and they are typically between three and a half and six inches in body length. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2020, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-include-apes-when-you-think-of-monkeys/846146/65 "2020-01-11T07:48:59Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > I know it’s not 100% accurate but I think “monkeys are little, primates are big.” On the level of a rough rule of thumb this is fairly valid, to the extent that a few larger species of monkeys were named as apes, before the difference was fully understood, and they still carry the word ape in their common names (e.g. Barbary apes.) Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![El\_DeLuxo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_deluxo/32/9043_2.png) [@El\_DeLuxo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_DeLuxo)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2020, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-include-apes-when-you-think-of-monkeys/846146/66 "2020-01-11T08:42:19Z")
Monkeys are monkeys, anyone from wee marmosets on up to massive mandrills, huge howlers and big baboons. They usually\* have tails, and mostly go about on all fours. Apes are gorillas, chimps, orangutans and bonoboes. I’m not sure if Siamangs and gibbons are a separate classification of apes or not. \*[Barbary Apes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbary_macaque) and [Celebes Crested Macaques](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celebes_crested_macaque) don’t have any tails to speak of. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2020, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-include-apes-when-you-think-of-monkeys/846146/67 "2020-01-11T13:18:56Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > I know it’s not 100% accurate but I think “monkeys are little, primates are big.” You seem to be using “primate” as a synonym for “ape”, which is completely wrong both on a scientific and a common usage level. You are saying “mopeds are little, motorized transportation devices are big” when you are trying to say “mopeds are little, cars are big.” ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2020, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-include-apes-when-you-think-of-monkeys/846146/68 "2020-01-11T13:21:19Z")
Ook! ---
**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:** [January 11, 2020, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-include-apes-when-you-think-of-monkeys/846146/69 "2020-01-11T18:05:57Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > Ook! Save that language for the pit! Jeez… : flings poo at Ranger Jeff : ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2020, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-include-apes-when-you-think-of-monkeys/846146/70 "2020-01-11T18:50:30Z")
Dogs _are_ wolves. Birds _are_ dinosaurs. Apes _are_ monkeys. What next? “All vertebrates are fish,” while I understand the logic in it, is too much for me, man. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2020, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-include-apes-when-you-think-of-monkeys/846146/71 "2020-01-11T19:13:35Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > Dogs _are_ wolves. Birds _are_ dinosaurs. Apes _are_ monkeys. What next? Well, as I understand it, the Americans and the British are at odds over whether tortoises are turtles. ---
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2020, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-include-apes-when-you-think-of-monkeys/846146/72 "2020-01-12T05:14:45Z")
I went for the pie but all we have in the freezer is banana ice cream. Who started that BS “monkeys crave bananas” trope anyway? When rolling through Central America I didn’t notice tailed monkeys in the many banana groves, only humans at work. Howler and Spider Monkeys usually avoided humans. Smart fellas. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2020, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-include-apes-when-you-think-of-monkeys/846146/73 "2020-01-12T13:29:31Z")
I like monophyletic groups. Humans are monkeys and monkeys are bony fish. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Librarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_librarian/32/402_2.png) [@The\_Librarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Librarian)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2020, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-include-apes-when-you-think-of-monkeys/846146/74 "2020-01-14T07:04:38Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > Ook! Can you stop misquoting me? ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2020, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-include-apes-when-you-think-of-monkeys/846146/75 "2020-01-14T07:21:16Z")
I think gibbons are lesser apes because their hands touch the ground when they stand upright. You know, knuckle-draggers. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2020, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-include-apes-when-you-think-of-monkeys/846146/76 "2020-01-16T01:11:30Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > I think gibbons are lesser apes because their hands touch the ground when they stand upright. You know, knuckle-draggers. Actually gibbons are generally better at erect walking than orangs, chimps, or gorillas. They stand up straighter and hold their arms out and up for balance, rather than dragging their knuckles on the ground. In fact, gibbons spend so little time on the ground that the occasion for knuckle walking rarely comes up. No cite, but I’ve seen a photo of a gibbon “tightrope walking” a taut vine in just that posture. Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2020, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-include-apes-when-you-think-of-monkeys/846146/77 "2020-01-16T15:54:00Z")
It’s pronounced “minkey”, and refers to any species for which you need a [lysonse](https://www.moviequotes.com/quote/insp-jacques-clouseau-it-is-against-the-leu-fo/?utm_source=internal&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=phrase_snippet_readmore). Regards, Shodan [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-include-apes-when-you-think-of-monkeys/846146.md?page=3)