# Let's list often confused terms **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 15, 2011, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-list-often-confused-terms/592762 "2011-08-15T06:03:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2011, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-list-often-confused-terms/592762/1 "2011-08-15T06:03:52Z")
Let’s list often confused terms. Terms that are spelled or sound the same, and are for that reason inadvertently confused. Mine: 1. organic. Yeah… the CHEMICAL term means it has carbon in it’s molecules. But the agricultural term means something different. Words have more than one definition. Get the fuck over it. A bottle of water CAN be “organic” even though H2O has no C. ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2011, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-list-often-confused-terms/592762/2 "2011-08-15T13:54:48Z")
The possessive pronoun its and the contraction it’s are confused to the point that its no longer seems to exist. My iPad autocorrects its to it’s, regardless of context, and the smartest people in the world, i.e., Dopers, get it wrong most of the time. That includes the OP. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2011, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-list-often-confused-terms/592762/3 "2011-08-15T14:07:25Z")
Doesn’t the agricultural term mean no pesticides were used in its production? I should bloody well hope that’s the case for ALL bottled water on the market ---
**Author:** ![uuaschbaer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/76d3ee/32.png) [@uuaschbaer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/uuaschbaer)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2011, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-list-often-confused-terms/592762/4 "2011-08-15T14:15:31Z")
> [@jackdavinci](#): > > Let’s list often confused terms. Terms that are spelled or sound the same, and are for that reason inadvertently confused. > > Mine: > > 1. organic. Yeah… the CHEMICAL term means it has carbon in it’s molecules. But the agricultural term means something different. Words have more than one definition. Get the fuck over it. A bottle of water CAN be “organic” even though H2O has no C. You’re right, words mean what the people who use them mean by it. I do have some difficulty seeing how a bottle of water can be organically grown, though, so I’m rather curious to find out what people actually mean when they say that a bottle of water is organic. I mean, the least organic thing about a bottle of water seems to me that it includes a bottle, which is hard to escape from in the business of water bottle production. Edit: Like Aspidistra said. Didn’t yet see his or her comment there. ---
**Author:** ![Suil\_Dubh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85f322/32.png) [@Suil\_Dubh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suil_Dubh)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2011, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-list-often-confused-terms/592762/5 "2011-08-15T14:23:50Z")
Inflammable, and flammable: > **[Combustibility and flammability](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flammability#Linguistics:_flammable_vs._inflammable)** > > A flammable material is something that can burn (i.e., sustain a flame) in air under certain conditions. A material is flammable if it ignites easily at ambient temperatures. In other words, a combustible material ignites with some effort and a flammable material catches fire immediately on exposure to flame. > The degree of flammability in air depends largely upon the volatility of the material - this is related to its composition-specific vapour pressure, which is temperature dependent. The quan... Does anyone know what’s the straight dope with the incorrect spelling “rediculous”? I see this all the time now on the Internet instead of the correct “ridiculous”. Is this a meme, or some kind of ironic spelling? I can’t understand why people would be making the same simple mistake so frequently, when spell-checking software is so common. ---
**Author:** ![uuaschbaer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/76d3ee/32.png) [@uuaschbaer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/uuaschbaer)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2011, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-list-often-confused-terms/592762/6 "2011-08-15T14:26:59Z")
My contribution: Reflection and refraction. Reflection is the tiny spot of light on a water droplet as sun rays hit it and bounce off again into your eye. Refraction is the fact that the droplet deforms the image of what’s behind it as light rays coming from behind change their course as they penetrate the water. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2011, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-list-often-confused-terms/592762/7 "2011-08-15T14:36:33Z")
Insure and ensure. ---
**Author:** ![charmstr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/53a042/32.png) [@charmstr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/charmstr)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2011, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-list-often-confused-terms/592762/8 "2011-08-15T15:04:03Z")
pore and pour, mute and moot… in fact any confused homonyms that find their way into supposedly professionally edited fiction drive me crazy. It’s okay to me if the writer doesn’t know the difference. His job is telling a story. It’s wrong if the copy editor doesn’t know, though. It’s even worse if the copy editor is letting his spellcheck software do his job for him. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2011, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-list-often-confused-terms/592762/9 "2011-08-15T15:14:12Z")
**The Penguin Dictionary of Confusibles** by Adrian Room is chock-full of such things. I have a copy here at my desk that I’ll sometimes pull down and flip through. Unfortunately, I think it’s out of print. ---
**Author:** ![Agent\_Foxtrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2011, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-list-often-confused-terms/592762/10 "2011-08-15T17:11:44Z")
Obligatory: there, their, and they’re. There are two horses on their farm and they’re both mares. Use and utilize: When you use something, you are employing its intended function. When you utilize something, you are repurposing it for a function other than that which it was designed. For example, you use a desk calculator to add two numbers. You _utilize_ a desk calculator to swat a fly. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2011, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-list-often-confused-terms/592762/11 "2011-08-15T17:16:47Z")
Herbalism =/= Homeopathy ---
**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 15, 2011, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-list-often-confused-terms/592762/12 "2011-08-15T17:27:34Z")
> [@Greg\_Charles](#): > > My iPad autocorrects its to it’s, regardless of context :eek: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I suggest you take your iPad in and exchange it for one that isn’t defective. > [@Suil\_Dubh](#): > > Does anyone know what’s the straight dope with the incorrect spelling “rediculous”? I see this all the time now on the Internet instead of the correct “ridiculous”. > > Is this a meme, or some kind of ironic spelling? I can’t understand why people would be making the same simple mistake so frequently, when spell-checking software is so common. I suspect it’s because “re-” is such a common prefix. But yeah, people who do this should be ridiculed; and if they do it again, they should be reridiculed. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2011, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-list-often-confused-terms/592762/13 "2011-08-15T17:33:33Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > :eek: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! > > I suggest you take your iPad in and exchange it for one that isn’t defective. > > I suspect it’s because “re-” is such a common prefix. But yeah, people who do this should be ridiculed; and if they do it again, they should be reridiculed. Definately. Which often gets spell-checked into “defiantly” and makes me think I’m going to loose my mind. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2011, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-list-often-confused-terms/592762/14 "2011-08-15T17:44:55Z")
carom - to ricochet careen - to tilt career - to move fast ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2011, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-list-often-confused-terms/592762/15 "2011-08-15T17:54:14Z")
**Shit** and **shinola**. ---
**Author:** ![geneb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a88e4f/32.png) [@geneb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/geneb)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2011, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-list-often-confused-terms/592762/16 "2011-08-15T19:38:38Z")
Ironic and funny. Seems people are using “ironic” more and more for any situation that is amusing. ---
**Author:** ![Inthewater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Inthewater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inthewater)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2011, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-list-often-confused-terms/592762/17 "2011-08-15T20:13:06Z")
effect and affect. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2011, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-list-often-confused-terms/592762/18 "2011-08-15T20:21:22Z")
> [@Suil\_Dubh](#): > > Does anyone know what’s the straight dope with the incorrect spelling “rediculous”? I see this all the time now on the Internet instead of the correct “ridiculous”. > > Is this a meme, or some kind of ironic spelling? I can’t understand why people would be making the same simple mistake so frequently, when spell-checking software is so common. It’s a reference to the Red Iculous, a Brazillian reptilian marsupial from Indonesia. Affect - a verb. To make a difference in something. Effect - a noun. The consequence of some action. Technically, “effect” is used as a verb sometimes, but I consider that business-speak and undesirable. ---
**Author:** ![Cub\_Mistress](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea666f/32.png) [@Cub\_Mistress](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cub_Mistress)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2011, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-list-often-confused-terms/592762/19 "2011-08-15T22:32:02Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > Definately. > Which often gets spell-checked into “defiantly” and makes me think I’m going to loose my mind. loose and lose 😃 breaks and brakes ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2011, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-list-often-confused-terms/592762/20 "2011-08-15T22:39:25Z")
> [@Greg\_Charles](#): > > The possessive pronoun its and the contraction it’s are confused to the point that its no longer seems to exist. My iPad autocorrects its to it’s, regardless of context, and the smartest people in the world, i.e., Dopers, get it wrong most of the time. That includes the OP. 🙂 To be fair, I’m writing on an iPod and don’t always notice when I’m incorrectly auto corrected 🙂 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-list-often-confused-terms/592762.md?page=2)