# How to tell them apart (a public service) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 5, 2004, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-tell-them-apart-a-public-service/258497 "2004-08-05T19:16:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2004, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-tell-them-apart-a-public-service/258497/141 "2004-08-08T15:16:46Z")
Susan was **amused** by the joke, while James was **bemused** be it. Susan laughed, James was confused. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2004, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-tell-them-apart-a-public-service/258497/142 "2004-08-08T15:46:26Z")
The pellet with the poison is in the flagon with the dragon, the vessel with the pestle has the brew that is true. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2004, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-tell-them-apart-a-public-service/258497/143 "2004-08-08T17:10:13Z")
James Earl Ray - killed Martin Luther King Junior James Earl Jones - killed Luke Skywalker’s father (sort of) ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2004, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-tell-them-apart-a-public-service/258497/144 "2004-08-08T17:13:12Z")
**Nonplussed** means confused. Not disappointed or angry. ---
**Author:** ![Just1Lurk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c0e974/32.png) [@Just1Lurk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just1Lurk)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2004, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-tell-them-apart-a-public-service/258497/145 "2004-08-08T17:23:13Z")
> [@](#): > > mamba: a deadly poisonous snake > mambo: a rather festive Carribean dance > > Kudos to whoever recognizes that obscure movie reference. _Without A Clue_ - An unjustly obscure movie. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2004, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-tell-them-apart-a-public-service/258497/146 "2004-08-08T17:39:50Z")
\*\*Harry Carey Sr. \*\* Actor of westerns, father to HCJR. \*\*Harry Carey Jr. \*\* Actor of westerns. Son to HCSR. **Harry Carrey** Famed base ball announcer \*\*Hari Kare \*\* Something indian/hindu that I can’t translate through Google. **Hari Kari** A way to kill yourself. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2004, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-tell-them-apart-a-public-service/258497/147 "2004-08-08T17:53:52Z")
> [@Shirley Ujest](#): > > **Harry Carrey** Famed base ball announcer. That’s **Harry Caray**. He’s most famous for the last 15 of his career, which he spent calling Cubs games. Apparently before that he spent 25 years with the Cardinals and 10 with the White Sox. When you think about it it’s amazing that Cubs fans warmed to the guy. **Skip Caray** is Harry’s son, he does Braves games. **Chip Caray** (I’m sure somebody thought this was cute) is Skip’s son. He’s with the Cubs. ---
**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:** [August 8, 2004, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-tell-them-apart-a-public-service/258497/148 "2004-08-08T18:57:34Z")
> [@Askia](#): > > **Phooey** was an underrated master of the martial arts. But _not_ of the **marital** arts. (Or if he was, I really don’t want to know about it.) **The Invisible Man** is a science fiction novel by British author H. G. Wells. **Invisible Man** is a novel (not science fiction) by American author Ralph Ellison (not to be confused with Harlan Ellison, who _has_ written science fiction). **Sam Phillips** was a male record label owner/producer from the 1950s. **Sam Phillips** is a female singer-songwriter. A **native American** is someone who was born in America. A **Native American** is someone whose way-long-ago ancestors were born in America. ---
**Author:** ![Katisha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bcef8e/32.png) [@Katisha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katisha)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2004, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-tell-them-apart-a-public-service/258497/149 "2004-08-08T20:18:37Z")
Know Your Repetitively-Named English Kings! The Edwards: **Edward I** is the one who was in _Braveheart._ **Edward II** is the one who was murdered in extremely unpleasant fashion with a hot poker. **Edward III** is the one who started the Hundred Years War. **Edward IV** is the one who dies in the second act of _Richard III_. **Edward V** is the one who dies in the fourth act of _Richard III._ You know, one of the Princes in the Tower. **Edward VI** is the one in _The Prince and the Pauper_. **Edward VII** is the one who came after Victoria and that I can’t remember anything else about. **Edward VIII** is the one who abdicated to marry an American divorcee. The Henries: **Henry I** is the boring one. **Henry II** is the one who said “Who will rid me of this turbulent priest?” and was in _The Lion in Winter._ **Henry III** is the other boring one. **Henry IV** is the one who usurped the throne and died leprosy. **Henry V** is the one in that Shakespeare play Kenneth Branagh made a movie about. **Henry VI** is the mentally unstable one. **Henry VII** is also known as Henry Tudor. **Henry VIII** is the one with the wives. ---
**Author:** ![Katisha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bcef8e/32.png) [@Katisha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katisha)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2004, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-tell-them-apart-a-public-service/258497/150 "2004-08-08T20:19:53Z")
…erm, that should be died _of_ leprosy. Obviously. [/pedantic self-corrector] 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Julius\_Henry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8797f3/32.png) [@Julius\_Henry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Julius_Henry)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2004, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-tell-them-apart-a-public-service/258497/151 "2004-08-08T21:02:48Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > That’s **Harry Caray**. He’s most famous for the last 15 of his career, which he spent calling Cubs games. Apparently before that he spent 25 years with the Cardinals and 10 with the White Sox. And one year with Oakland, between the Cards and the Sox. ---
**Author:** ![Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laughing_Lagomorph)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2004, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-tell-them-apart-a-public-service/258497/152 "2004-08-08T21:05:30Z")
> [@Just1Lurk](#): > > _Without A Clue_ - An unjustly obscure movie. Kudos to you Sir or Madam, as the case may be. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2004, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-tell-them-apart-a-public-service/258497/153 "2004-08-08T22:19:17Z")
> [@Askia](#): > > **Idlewild.** Correction: Bali is a _fictional_ country. Sorry. Call me a whoosh victim (‘whooshtim’) if you like, but Bali isn’t a country of any stripe whatsoever - it’s an Indonesian island. ---
**Author:** ![Cyros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a698b9/32.png) [@Cyros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyros)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2004, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-tell-them-apart-a-public-service/258497/154 "2004-08-08T22:36:14Z")
**Flammable:** Easily ignited and capable of burning rapidly **Inflammable:** Easily ignited and capable of burning rapidly Huh?!?! ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2004, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-tell-them-apart-a-public-service/258497/155 "2004-08-08T22:41:56Z")
> [@Cyros](#): > > **Flammable:** Easily ignited and capable of burning rapidly > > **Inflammable:** Easily ignited and capable of burning rapidly > > Huh?!?! The original and, according to the latin-crack smoking grammarians at least, proper word is **inflammable**. **Flammable** is an allegedly improper word that was used on traffic safety signs becuase it’s not as confusing as **inflammable**. Nowadays, at least, it’s just as accepted, but I know in my days in elementary school it was much railed against by my teachers. ---
**Author:** ![tim314](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim314/32/3468_2.png) [@tim314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim314)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2004, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-tell-them-apart-a-public-service/258497/156 "2004-08-08T23:09:37Z")
> [@Askia](#): > > _ **negro** _ is Spanish for the color, _black_. > **Negro** is an old term of descendants of African slaves in America. > **Negress** is a female Negro. > **nigger** is a volitale epithet. (see ‘epithet’, above) > **nigra** obsolete genteel form of _nigger_, used by genteel whites who weren’t comfortable saying “Negro.” > **nigga** considered a more genteel form of _nigger_, used by blacks who aren’t comfortable with “nigger.” **niggard** is a stingy person or miser. It is not related to any of those others. According to [dictionary.com](http://dictionary.reference.com/search?r=2&q=niggard) it is of Scandanavian origin. ---
**Author:** ![tim314](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim314/32/3468_2.png) [@tim314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim314)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2004, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-tell-them-apart-a-public-service/258497/157 "2004-08-08T23:15:11Z")
**1 Tim. 3:14** = “These things write I unto thee, hoping to come unto thee shortly:” **2 Tim. 3:14** = “But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;” **tim314** = a Straight Dope Message Board poster who happens to like the number pi (i.e. 3.14…) ---
**Author:** ![mkl12](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@mkl12](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mkl12)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2004, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-tell-them-apart-a-public-service/258497/158 "2004-08-08T23:55:29Z")
venomous - you get sick when it bites you poisonous - you get sick when you bite it capital - a city serving as a seat of government capitol - a building in which a state legislative body meets ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2004, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-tell-them-apart-a-public-service/258497/159 "2004-08-09T00:32:44Z")
> [@mkl12](#): > > capital - a city serving as a seat of government You missed several definitions on this one. It’s also a synonym for ‘money’ or other value item such as stock. It’s also the top of a column. Also an offense punishable by death. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2004, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-tell-them-apart-a-public-service/258497/160 "2004-08-09T00:34:38Z")
> [@Thudlow Boink](#): > > A **native American** is someone who was born in America. > A **Native American** is someone whose way-long-ago ancestors were born in America. In a similar vein: **Native Alaskan:** someone born in Alaska **Alaska Native:** a member of one of the tribes of indigenous Alaskans [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-tell-them-apart-a-public-service/258497.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-tell-them-apart-a-public-service/258497.md?page=9)