# I'm throwing down the gauntlet: Poison vs. Venom **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 3, 2012, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-throwing-down-the-gauntlet-poison-vs-venom/623972 "2012-06-03T21:56:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-throwing-down-the-gauntlet-poison-vs-venom/623972/81 "2012-06-05T04:29:17Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > It’s true that the words have a slightly different meaning, but scientifically speaking the difference is not significant. Quite the opposite, people keep saying ‘everyone knows what you mean by poisonous snake.’ > [@Trinopus](#): > > FWIW, Shakespeare knew the difference. Queen Gertrude was poisoned, but the sword that slew Hamlet was “envenom’d.” Damn, I think I just lost 5 bucks. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-throwing-down-the-gauntlet-poison-vs-venom/623972/82 "2012-06-05T11:08:06Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > They are scientists, you are not. Perhaps linguistically you have a point, but scientifically you are wrong. I’d put it the other way around. Words derive their meaning from how they’re used and understood, and there’s really no other way to determine what a word means; it has no objective meaning apart from how it’s used and understood. If a vast majority of people refer casually to “poisonous snakes” as snakes that inject venom with fangs, and the vast majority of people understand the same meaning from that phrase, **then that’s what that phrase means**. Full stop. That’s incidentally why the dictionary gets it right: dictionaries describe how language is used. Scientific publications advocate for specific usages, which is fine, but dictionaries tell how it’s actually used. ---
**Author:** ![Acid\_Lamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Acid\_Lamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acid_Lamp)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-throwing-down-the-gauntlet-poison-vs-venom/623972/83 "2012-06-05T12:18:38Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > I’d put it the other way around. Words derive their meaning from how they’re used and understood, and there’s really no other way to determine what a word means; it has no objective meaning apart from how it’s used and understood. > > If a vast majority of people refer casually to “poisonous snakes” as snakes that inject venom with fangs, and the vast majority of people understand the same meaning from that phrase, **then that’s what that phrase means**. Full stop. > > That’s incidentally why the dictionary gets it right: dictionaries describe how language is used. Scientific publications advocate for specific usages, which is fine, but dictionaries tell how it’s actually used. Except when it is blatantly incorrect. At that point the language is not evolving to further clarity, it is regressing to muddy up the water. For example, it is becoming common among the ill-educated to call every lizard they see an “iguana”. That is simply incorrect, regardless of how many people pick it up as a habit. That term is used to refer to a specific number of species, that share readily identifiable physical characteristics. [THIS](http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=V9Y&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&biw=1546&bih=859&tbm=isch&tbnid=jzaUhRxJcPN2CM:&imgrefurl=http://www.seattlepi.com/local/slideshow/Emerald-City-Reptile-Expo-2012-43992.php&docid=zLp12hbfjwAhvM&imgurl=http://ww2.hdnux.com/photos/13/42/11/3023441/3/628x471.jpg&w=628&h=417&ei=yffNT4LZBIGi9QSt253rCg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=1231&vpy=403&dur=782&hovh=183&hovw=276&tx=114&ty=90&sig=115664513815836219463&page=2&tbnh=144&tbnw=192&start=32&ndsp=36&ved=1t:429,r:13,s:32,i:169) is an Iguana, [THIS](http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=XAZ&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&biw=1546&bih=859&tbm=isch&tbnid=OsaqZVLfgldBKM:&imgrefurl=http://www.profimedia.si/picture/man-petting-leopard-gecko/0037313262/&docid=0ZuZ_mzhqfmMfM&imgurl=http://www.profimedia.si/photo/man-petting-leopard-gecko/profimedia-0037313262.jpg&w=640&h=425&ei=CfjNT7rtH4aW8gT8_cXfCg&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=484&sig=115664513815836219463&page=1&tbnh=142&tbnw=186&start=0&ndsp=28&ved=1t:429,r:13,s:0,i:102&tx=122&ty=98) is NOT an iguana, no matter how many idiots are lazy with their language. The usage does not change the physical reality of the situation. If we simply accept that “iguana” now refers to any lizard because that’s how people want to use it now, we have no way to determine _what they are actually talking about_. Get it? When “Iguana” stands in for “Lizard”, it confuses everyone. The difference between venom and poison may be less striking, but is not any less real. Those who understand it and use it correctly, are just that: Correct. There is no real reason to be proud of using a word incorrectly or ignorantly. I can accept that the distinction is not important to most people, but that does not mean that it is not real. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-throwing-down-the-gauntlet-poison-vs-venom/623972/84 "2012-06-05T13:35:17Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > Here’s [another cite](http://ufwildlife.ifas.ufl.edu/venomous_snake_faqs.shtml) from the Department of Wildlife Ecology & Conservation @ University of Florida: > > Here’s [another cite](http://cals.arizona.edu/main/spotlight/venomous-poisonous-animals-arizona-quick-reference) from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences @ University of Arizona: > > Here’s [another cite](http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/0_0_0/biowarfare_02) from Understanding Evolution @ UC Berkeley (created by the University of California Museum of Paleontology): > > Here’s [another cite](http://www.azgfd.gov/i_e/ee/resources/posters/rattlesnake/snake_8.shtml) from the Arizona Game & Fish Department of Wildlife: > > Here’s [another cite](http://www.nps.gov/brca/naturescience/gbrattlesnake.htm) from the National Park Service, an institution of the federal government: I basically responded to this about a half hour before you posted it. I’ll just quote myself: > [@ZenBeam](#): > > This is entirely reasonable, IMO. Many (most? all?) fields have their own jargon, and use words with much more specificity than they are used in common speaking. But this doesn’t make the common usage wrong for everyone else. We aren’t all experts in every field. (By the way, I can find sites using them interchangably. [Mayo Clinic](http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/first-aid-snake-bites/FA00047): > [@](#): > > Most North American snakes aren’t poisonous. Some exceptions include the rattlesnake, coral snake, water moccasin and copperhead. Their bites can be life-threatening. > > Of the poisonous snakes found in North America, […] [Texas Poison Control Network](http://www.poisoncontrol.org/critters.html): > [@](#): > > Each year in the U.S., there are several poisonous snakebites. > > All snakes will bite when threatened or surprised, but most will usually avoid an encounter if possible and only bite as a last resort. Snakes found in and near water are frequently mistaken as being poisonous. Most snakes are harmless and many bites will not be life-threatening, but unless you are absolutely sure that you know the species, treat it seriously. > > Poisonous snake bites include bites by any of the following: ) > [@Rigamarole](#): > > I don’t really expect to get everyone using it correctly, but **Blake** , **Martin Hyde** , and **Colibri** have been rather rude in the way they’ve presented their ( **unsupported** , contrarian) opinions and I mainly just wanted to show them how very wrong they are. Now where the fuck is this “unsupported” characterization coming from? That is blatantly false. Cites have been given. You just ignore them. The thing is, the bar for you is extremely high, since you told **jtgain** and **Colibri** they were wrong to use the word “poisonous”. They only need a single reputable source that that term is acceptable (See post 60) . It doesn’t matter what the preponderance of the usage is. It doesn’t matter that in certain circles, the distinction is important and maintained. What matters is whether, in the English Language, “poisonous” can ever be used in place of “venomous” in common speech. It clearly can, by the cite to Merriam-Webster already given. To quote yourself back at you, "You. Are. Wrong. Get over it. " ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-throwing-down-the-gauntlet-poison-vs-venom/623972/85 "2012-06-05T13:41:15Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > FWIW, Shakespeare knew the difference. Queen Gertrude was poisoned, but the sword that slew Hamlet was “envenom’d.” This overlooks that Shakespeare [agreed](http://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/views/plays/play_view.php?WorkID=pericles&Act=1&Scene=1&Scope=scene) that venomous snakes are _poisonous_: > [@](#): > > And both like serpents are, who though they feed > On sweetest flowers, yet they poison breed. Or Anthony & Cleo: > [@](#): > > Which, like the courser’s hair, hath yet but life, > And not a serpent’s poison. I generally take the prescriptivist position in arguments like this, but common use is too strong and too storied in this circumstance to agree. You may appeal to authority, but other authorities [still use the common sense of “poison.”](http://journals.lww.com/smajournalonline/Citation/1975/08000/Diagnosis_and_Management_of_Envenomation_by.19.aspx) This is nearly (though not _quite_) as obtuse as those who insist that a photograph cannot be flipped horizontally, and that this is an erroneous way of saying that the photo has been “flopped.” When established use is so widespread and accepted, after a certain point it looks a bit quixotic to insist on “correcting” people. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-throwing-down-the-gauntlet-poison-vs-venom/623972/86 "2012-06-05T13:49:47Z")
> [@Acid\_Lamp](#): > > Except when it is blatantly incorrect. At that point the language is not evolving to further clarity, it is regressing to muddy up the water. It’s not muddied, by evidence of the fact that every single person who reads “poisonous snake” knows what it means. Pedants wish it were muddied, because it’d support their pedantry, but it’s not muddied. > [@](#): > > For example, it is becoming common among the ill-educated to call every lizard they see an “iguana”. If this is true, it’s fascinating. What it indicates is probably not what you think, though: it probably indicates that the word “iguana” is slowly adopting a secondary meaning. That’s how language changes. > [@](#): > > The difference between venom and poison may be less striking, but is not any less real. Those who understand it and use it correctly, are just that: Correct. There is no real reason to be proud of using a word incorrectly or ignorantly. I can accept that the distinction is not important to most people, but that does not mean that it is not real. Correct according to whom? Where is the definition of these words writ into the fabric of the universe? As I said, “correctness” is a foolish measure when applied to casual language use. The measure is “useful” or “communicative.” If a word communicates the idea that the speaker intended it to communicate, it was a good word to choose. If it doesn’t, it wasn’t. This is a basic point of language that most pedants and dilettantes simply don’t grasp. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-throwing-down-the-gauntlet-poison-vs-venom/623972/87 "2012-06-05T14:37:31Z")
> [@Acid\_Lamp](#): > > When “Iguana” stands in for “Lizard”, it confuses everyone. If a distinction should prove necessary, the speakers will create one, much in the way they created iguana many years ago. It’s also quite possible for words to have one strict meaning in specific contexts and a looser generic meaning in colloquial speech. And make no mistake, this board is colloquial. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-throwing-down-the-gauntlet-poison-vs-venom/623972/88 "2012-06-05T14:42:14Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > Team Don’t Give A Shit. > > … I have faith in the english language, when ambiguity arises, the speakers will dispel it adequately in their own way. I don’t need to enforce an arbitrary distinction myself. I’d only get ulcers anyway. I’ll join **Inner Stickler** ’s team, and ask **Rigamarole** to apologize for not giving us our own Poll option. On a happier note, I recently learned that [some species of rove beetle](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paederus) have a toxin 12 times more dangerous (what does that mean?) than cobra venom, and may be associated with the Sixth Plague of Exodus. (That Wikipedia article is careful to use the term “toxin”, thus avoiding the “poison” vs “venom” debate. :rolleyes: ) ---
**Author:** ![Acid\_Lamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Acid\_Lamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acid_Lamp)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-throwing-down-the-gauntlet-poison-vs-venom/623972/89 "2012-06-05T14:51:54Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > It’s not muddied, by evidence of the fact that every single person who reads “poisonous snake” knows what it means. Pedants wish it were muddied, because it’d support their pedantry, but it’s not muddied. I have to agree with you, but only because to your average monkey, the result is the same: Sickness and death. Personally, this usage doesn’t really bother me much in the lay sector, as it communicates the point that the animals are dangerous and not to be idly handled. OTHOH, among those who work with such animals, medical professionals, scientists, and people who simply prefer to be precises or verbose, the distinction is important and possibly life saving. > [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > If this is true, it’s fascinating. What it indicates is probably not what you think, though: it probably indicates that the word “iguana” is slowly adopting a secondary meaning. That’s how language changes. It’s true. I began hearing the term in the early oughts, first solely among local low income African Americans in North Florida and South Georgia, then with increasing frequency from transplants from New York City and New Jersey. Recently, the usage has gained some steam, and I hear it frequently among all cultural demographics down here, though all (usually) share the common thread of usually being fairly ill-educated and low-income. In fact the term was used to describe a [Bearded Dragon lizard](http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=vPb&sa=X&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&biw=1546&bih=859&tbm=isch&prmd=imvns&tbnid=ddGuXTgWLgbMnM:&imgrefurl=http://animal-world.com/encyclo/reptiles/lizards_agamids/BeardedDragon%28Inland%29.php&docid=vkDqY2gMhI-5oM&imgurl=http://animal-world.com/encyclo/reptiles/lizards_agamids/images/BeardedDragonWHLA_DD2Ir19.jpg&w=400&h=313&ei=yxnOT-7AOois8QTb2_neCg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=835&vpy=509&dur=516&hovh=199&hovw=254&tx=170&ty=114&sig=115664513815836219463&page=1&tbnh=142&tbnw=194&start=0&ndsp=27&ved=1t:429,r:17,s:0,i:176) recently on the show _Total Blackout_. _On screen by the production staff._ It was corrected in the re-run.😃 Unlike the Venomous/Poisonous distinction, I DO correct this usage every time I hear it. Living in south Florida, we often DO have Iguanas in our yards, and it is important to know what someone is talking about. The real ones can be a problem, often requiring trapping and removal; the tiny anoles and other small lizards are harmless to beneficial in nature. > [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Correct according to whom? Where is the definition of these words writ into the fabric of the universe? Of course not; I understand that languages change and evolve. However, among people to whom the distinction is relevant, it is important. If we don’t have a word to replace the merged term then we can have a problem when the distinction NEEDS to be made. > [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > As I said, “correctness” is a foolish measure when applied to casual language use. The measure is “useful” or “communicative.” If a word communicates the idea that the speaker intended it to communicate, it was a good word to choose. If it doesn’t, it wasn’t. > > This is a basic point of language that most pedants and dilettantes simply don’t grasp. Agreed. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-throwing-down-the-gauntlet-poison-vs-venom/623972/90 "2012-06-05T14:55:36Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > I don’t really expect to get everyone using it correctly, but **Blake** , **Martin Hyde** , and **Colibri** have been rather rude in the way they’ve presented their (unsupported, contrarian) opinions and I mainly just wanted to show them how very wrong they are. Too bad you’ve failed miserably in your idiotic and unnecessary bullshit pedantic crusade. Everyone on the planet understands what is meant by the term “poisonous snake” in a thread about snakebites. Hijacking the thread with a forced discussion on the matter is unnecessary, and more rude than anyone has been to you thus far. ---
**Author:** ![Acid\_Lamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Acid\_Lamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acid_Lamp)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-throwing-down-the-gauntlet-poison-vs-venom/623972/91 "2012-06-05T15:12:57Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > If a distinction should prove necessary, the speakers will create one, much in the way they created iguana many years ago. It’s also quite possible for words to have one strict meaning in specific contexts and a looser generic meaning in colloquial speech. And make no mistake, this board is colloquial. Except when they are unable to, precisely because they’ve learned a generic catch-all shortcut word. You vastly overestimate the observational capabilities of the average person. I have to ID reptiles almost daily, and most people can’t provide even a good description. Even simple questions like “is it big or small?” are met with blank or useless responses. I shouldn’t have to play 20 questions with someone because they are simply too lazy to learn the name of an animal. The process runs very differently. I don’t expect someone to be able to tell the difference between anole species, but there is a pretty striking difference between a six-foot long emerald green lizard and a six inch gecko on the wall. If you tell me you have iguanas in your yard and want to get rid of them, I’ll hand you the trapper’s business card, tell you to keep your distance from them and advise you to put out a bowl of greens and veggies to keep them from eating your hibiscus bushes. If you tell me you have lizards in your yard and want to get rid of them, I’ll have to ask a few more questions to be sure they aren’t one of the large invasive sort, but usually the answer is: “They are native (or naturalized), harmless and eat lots of bugs. Leave them alone please.” ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-throwing-down-the-gauntlet-poison-vs-venom/623972/92 "2012-06-05T15:21:01Z")
You get blank responses for “Is it big or small?” and you want them to understand the difference between lizard and iguana? ---
**Author:** ![Acid\_Lamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Acid\_Lamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acid_Lamp)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-throwing-down-the-gauntlet-poison-vs-venom/623972/93 "2012-06-05T15:23:02Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > You get blank responses for “Is it big or small?” and you want them to understand the difference between lizard and iguana? You have no idea. :rolleyes: These are usually the same people that when you SHOW them an iguana they insist its an alligator. I’ve never shown them an alligator because I don’t want to be reported to the police for having a dinosaur. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-throwing-down-the-gauntlet-poison-vs-venom/623972/94 "2012-06-05T15:47:11Z")
If somebody is handing me their pet spider and says “just be careful because she’s poisonous” I want to know if they understand the difference between a poisonous spider and a venomous spider. If it’s a poisonous spider I’ll be careful not to eat their pet - a rule I normally follow anyway. (Unless their pet is a pig or a chicken. Then it’s more of a guideline.) If it’s a venomous spider I’ll decline the opportunity to hold it entirely. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-throwing-down-the-gauntlet-poison-vs-venom/623972/95 "2012-06-05T15:56:53Z")
I find it hard to believe that if someone handed you a spider and said, be careful, it’s poisonous, you’d really think they meant not to eat it as opposed to not to aggravate it. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-throwing-down-the-gauntlet-poison-vs-venom/623972/96 "2012-06-05T16:01:37Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > Everyone on the planet understands what is meant by the term “poisonous snake” in a thread about snakebites.. > [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > I find it hard to believe that if someone handed you a spider and said, be careful, it’s poisonous, you’d really think they meant not to eat it as opposed to not to aggravate it. I’ve stated this before but you obviously missed it: just because someone uses the wrong term but you still understand what they meant, doesn’t mean the distinction doesn’t exist or doesn’t matter in general. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-throwing-down-the-gauntlet-poison-vs-venom/623972/97 "2012-06-05T16:05:31Z")
Context is everything. In the cases being talked about here, the distinction isn’t crucial as the assumption when talking about snakes and toxins is that it’s a toxin transferred via a bite. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-throwing-down-the-gauntlet-poison-vs-venom/623972/98 "2012-06-05T16:14:54Z")
> [@Hal\_Briston](#): > > Can’t really compare them. _Black Metal_ is something that I might put on another two or three times in my life, just as an ironic, “reliving my teenage years” thing. If I’m having a party, _Look What The Cat Dragged In_ still works. I was going to say the same. Poison and Venom are sometimes lumped together in the same broad category, but they’re really very, very different when scrutinized. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-throwing-down-the-gauntlet-poison-vs-venom/623972/99 "2012-06-05T16:24:14Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > I’ve stated this before but you obviously missed it: just because someone uses the wrong term but you still understand what they meant, doesn’t mean the distinction doesn’t exist or doesn’t matter in general. No shit. It matters sometimes, in certain instances. Not all of them. it is perfectly acceptable to use the term “poisonous snake” in casual conversation to denote a snake with a poisonous bite. It isn’t incorrect, it’s common usage. The word “theory” has a different meaning in casual conversation than it does in a laboratory. That doesn’t mean we run around shouting “hypothesis!” at people and hijacking threads everything the word is used. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-throwing-down-the-gauntlet-poison-vs-venom/623972/100 "2012-06-05T16:59:27Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > The word “theory” has a different meaning in casual conversation than it does in a laboratory. That doesn’t mean we run around shouting “hypothesis!” at people and hijacking threads everything the word is used. In my defense, I did open this thread specifically so as not to hijack the other one. 😛 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-throwing-down-the-gauntlet-poison-vs-venom/623972.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-throwing-down-the-gauntlet-poison-vs-venom/623972.md?page=6)