# Educate Your Fellow Dopers: Explain Words That Are Easily Confused **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 27, 2014, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-your-fellow-dopers-explain-words-that-are-easily-confused/689367 "2014-05-27T13:34:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2014, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-your-fellow-dopers-explain-words-that-are-easily-confused/689367/1 "2014-05-27T13:34:16Z")
**Nude** : Without clothing, in a situation where the absence of clothing is natural and expected. “Carmella posed for a nude portrait.” **Naked** : Without clothing, in a situation where the absence of clothing is unexpected. “That family lets their kids run around naked in the front yard!” **Present** : A gift that is given in person. “I’m giving Mikey a present at his birthday party.” **Gift** : Given either in person OR not in person. “I’m giving Mikey a gift at his birthday party.” OR “I’m out of town for Mikey’s birthday party, but I’ll send his gift in the mail.” **Disneyland** : A resort outside of Los Angeles, California. “I just booked my flight to L.A. - I’m going to Disneyland!” **Disneyworld** : A resort outside of Orlando, Florida. “I just booked my flight to Orlando - I’m going to Disneyworld!” HINT: Here’s a little mnemonic to help you: The word “World” has an O, an R, an L and a D, just like “Florida.” The word “Land” has an L, an A, and an N, just like “California.” ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2014, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-your-fellow-dopers-explain-words-that-are-easily-confused/689367/2 "2014-05-27T14:07:19Z")
Only it’s Disney World, two words. ---
**Author:** ![gracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@gracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gracer)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2014, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-your-fellow-dopers-explain-words-that-are-easily-confused/689367/3 "2014-05-27T17:15:52Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > **Present** : A gift that is given in person. “I’m giving Mikey a present at his birthday party.” > **Gift** : Given either in person OR not in person. “I’m giving Mikey a gift at his birthday party.” OR “I’m out of town for Mikey’s birthday party, but I’ll send his gift in the mail.” Eh? Sez you? I get that that’s the origin of the word “present”, but that’s not how it’s used and it’s not even what dictionaries say. Saying you’re sending a present is perfectly fine. “Gift” is a word some people think can be used as a verb. 😛 I’ll add my own so I actually contribute to the thread: **Then** : about time; could be “at that time” or “after that”. **Than** : used for comparing and contrasting, eg “bigger than”. Dutch people get this wrong partially because they don’t have as much difference between the sound and partially because they both translate as “dan”. But I think it’s also a problem for some Americans who, I think, don’t distinguish between the sounds? ---
**Author:** ![Pixel\_Dent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bc8723/32.png) [@Pixel\_Dent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pixel_Dent)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2014, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-your-fellow-dopers-explain-words-that-are-easily-confused/689367/4 "2014-05-27T18:28:06Z")
> [@gracer](#): > > I’ll add my own so I actually contribute to the thread: > > **Then** : about time; could be “at that time” or “after that”. > > **Than** : used for comparing and contrasting, eg “bigger than”. A good one to learn since confusing them frequently results in a completely valid sentence with a very different meaning. I’ve seen people accidentally mix them up and post things like, “When camping, it’s better to bring food then resort to cannibalism.” The “language is evolving” excuse doesn’t get you out of these. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2014, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-your-fellow-dopers-explain-words-that-are-easily-confused/689367/5 "2014-05-27T18:37:14Z")
woman: an individual human being, gender female women: multiple human beings, gender female The internet seems to have completely given up on this distinction. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2014, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-your-fellow-dopers-explain-words-that-are-easily-confused/689367/6 "2014-05-27T18:41:12Z")
podium–a platform of some kind, say for an orchestra conductor or Olympic medal winners lectern–a thing you stand behind to give a speech, often with a little light and a place for your script/notes etc. Can be situated on a podium “podium” in common usage has come to mean either one of these things. It really irritates me when it’s used for the latter. Lacks precision. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2014, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-your-fellow-dopers-explain-words-that-are-easily-confused/689367/7 "2014-05-27T18:41:30Z")
**Torturous** : in the manner of torture. **Tortuous** : twisting and winding. **Enormous** : very large. **Enormity** : a terrible thing. **Casualness** : being informal. **Casualty** : death from a military campaign, or by extension, losses connected to any project that is supposed to provide a net gain. **Raising the question** : mentioning or suggesting an obvious, or the next logical question in an exchange. **Begging the question** : predicating your premise upon your conclusion, or two assumptions upon one another. **Suffering** : undergoing physical pain or emotional anguish. **Suffrage** : the right to vote in a democracy. ---
**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:** [May 27, 2014, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-your-fellow-dopers-explain-words-that-are-easily-confused/689367/8 "2014-05-27T18:42:53Z")
**breath** : a noun. Rhymes with “death.” **breathe** : a verb. Rhymes with “seethe.” **loath** : an adjective, meaning unwilling, reluctant, averse. (“I am loath to…”) **loathe** : a verb, meaning to hate, detest, abhor. (“I loathe…”) ---
**Author:** ![Pixel\_Dent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bc8723/32.png) [@Pixel\_Dent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pixel_Dent)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2014, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-your-fellow-dopers-explain-words-that-are-easily-confused/689367/9 "2014-05-27T18:46:08Z")
Use: the art or practice of employing something. Utilize: turn to practical use or account. In general, use “utilize” to indicate you’re using something for other than it’s normal use. You’d use a knife to cut your steak. You’d utilize a fork to cut it. ---
**Author:** ![saje](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saje/32/3631_2.png) [@saje](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saje)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2014, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-your-fellow-dopers-explain-words-that-are-easily-confused/689367/10 "2014-05-27T20:18:38Z")
**Sell:** Exchanging something for money, or making something available for purchase. **Sale:** The act of selling. So if you have something **to sell** , it is **for sale.** Seeing “Sale it on Craigslist”, and “must sale, sadly outgrown” ads make me twitch. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2014, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-your-fellow-dopers-explain-words-that-are-easily-confused/689367/11 "2014-05-27T20:54:55Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > . . . **Raising the question** : mentioning or suggesting an obvious, or the next logical question in an exchange. > **Begging the question** : predicating your premise upon your conclusion, or two assumptions upon one another. . . . In cases when a statement or claim is outrageous, so that it almost demands a question, or when something is so unclear that a question would be very helpful, I’ve come to using the phrase, “This invites the question.” In ordinary language, without the specific meaning of the term, it would “beg the question,” much the way a nasty insult begs a fat lip, but since the term has a specific and technical meaning, then (“than” ha!) we shouldn’t use it loosely. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2014, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-your-fellow-dopers-explain-words-that-are-easily-confused/689367/12 "2014-05-27T21:05:04Z")
Fewer: a smaller quantity of discrete items. Less: a smaller amount of something that are not individual items. I have fewer potatoes than I needed, so I’ll have to cook less food. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2014, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-your-fellow-dopers-explain-words-that-are-easily-confused/689367/13 "2014-05-27T21:08:15Z")
**There** : Over in that other place, over there. **Their** : Belonging to them. **They’re** : They are… ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2014, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-your-fellow-dopers-explain-words-that-are-easily-confused/689367/14 "2014-05-27T21:26:32Z")
**Discreet:** quietly, privately or with careful and respectful consideration. **Discrete:** a distinctly separate item. ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2014, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-your-fellow-dopers-explain-words-that-are-easily-confused/689367/15 "2014-05-27T21:37:35Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > **Torturous** : in the manner of torture. > **Tortuous** : twisting and winding. Both can be used to describe the entrants in the annual Bulwer-Lytton contest. ---
**Author:** ![BrianJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/54ee81/32.png) [@BrianJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrianJ)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2014, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-your-fellow-dopers-explain-words-that-are-easily-confused/689367/16 "2014-05-27T21:52:32Z")
Wish - I wish I had a car. Expressing a want, without expectation that it is already true Hope - I hope that my car is washed and filled with gas after my son borrowed it. And expectation that may or may not be true. My wife took a while to recognize the proper use ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2014, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-your-fellow-dopers-explain-words-that-are-easily-confused/689367/17 "2014-05-27T22:08:17Z")
**Lie** : an intransitive verb to describe assuming a supine (or prone) position. **Lay** : a transitive verb to describe placing something on a surface. One can reflexively place oneself on a surface large enough to assume a supine position, and therefore, “Lay oneself down,” rather than “lie down,” but it is a stylistic choice. “Lie” is conjugated lie; lay; lain. “Lay” is conjugated lay; laid; laid. “I lay down” can therefore be correct, but only in the past tense. You shouldn’t say “I’m going to lay down.” It should be “I’m going to lie down,” unless you are feeling reflexive, and want to say “I’m going to lay myself down,” but that sounds funny. “Lay” has the colloquial meaning of having sex, so using it incorrectly can lead to an unintended double entendre. “Lie” meaning “tell a falsehood” is lie; lied; lied. * * * **Realtor** : someone who sells real estate. **Relitor** : doesn’t exist. **Nuclear** : having to do with elemental matter, or the nuclei of cells. **Nucular** : doesn’t exist. **February** : the second month. **Febewary** : doesn’t exist. Not that I have pet peeves, or anything. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2014, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-your-fellow-dopers-explain-words-that-are-easily-confused/689367/18 "2014-05-27T22:10:35Z")
> [@OneCentStamp](#): > > Both can be used to describe the entrants in the annual Bulwer-Lytton contest. Or trying to get anywhere on the SW of Indianapolis on race day, when you DON’T WANT TO GO TO THE FREAKING RACE! Grrr. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2014, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-your-fellow-dopers-explain-words-that-are-easily-confused/689367/19 "2014-05-27T22:15:23Z")
> [@Pixel\_Dent](#): > > Use: the art or practice of employing something. > Utilize: turn to practical use or account. > > In general, use “utilize” to indicate you’re using something for other than it’s normal use. You’d use a knife to cut your steak. You’d utilize a fork to cut it. Pretty much, if the word “use” sounds right, that’s the word you want. Save “utilize” for times when no other word will work. I had a high school teacher who said “utilize” for “use” every bloody time until I wanted to scream. No, you don’t “utilize” your eraser to erase something. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2014, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-your-fellow-dopers-explain-words-that-are-easily-confused/689367/20 "2014-05-27T22:17:18Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > woman: an individual human being, gender female > women: multiple human beings, gender female > > The internet seems to have completely given up on this distinction. Not to mention “loose” and “lose.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-your-fellow-dopers-explain-words-that-are-easily-confused/689367.md?page=2)