# Seeming Opposites That Mean the Exact Same Thing **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 3, 2021, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeming-opposites-that-mean-the-exact-same-thing/947923 "2021-08-03T01:29:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**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 3, 2021, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeming-opposites-that-mean-the-exact-same-thing/947923/21 "2021-08-03T21:08:52Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > in the US we “fill out” a form. In the UK they “fill in” a form. To me (US), “fill out” and “fill in” both sound correct. (On the other hand, IIUC “write an exam” has opposite meanings in the US (where it’s something a teacher would do) and the UK (where it’s something a student would do).) ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2021, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeming-opposites-that-mean-the-exact-same-thing/947923/22 "2021-08-03T21:11:19Z")
> [@Jim\_B](#): > > _Flammable_ and _Inflammable_ . Obligatory Simpsons reference: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Q8mD2hsxrhQ/hqdefault.jpg "Inflammable means flammable?") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8mD2hsxrhQ) ---
**Author:** ![FordPrefect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e99b99/32.png) [@FordPrefect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordPrefect)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2021, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeming-opposites-that-mean-the-exact-same-thing/947923/23 "2021-08-04T02:38:06Z")
> [@Jim\_B](#): > > Oh, and I just thought of one now. _Could_ and _Couldn’t_ mean the exact same thing, in the sentence _I could/couldn’t care less_ . Does that last one count? Starting around the 30 second mark, Julie Nolke would disagree [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/iO3Q-y1T1jM/maxresdefault.jpg "I don't care") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iO3Q-y1T1jM) ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_B](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jim_b/32/4338_2.png) [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2021, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeming-opposites-that-mean-the-exact-same-thing/947923/24 "2021-08-08T21:33:37Z")
Ambulance and ambulatory. People in ambulances usually aren’t very ambulatory 🙂 . ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2021, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeming-opposites-that-mean-the-exact-same-thing/947923/25 "2021-08-09T13:01:01Z")
I heard the word ‘denuded’ used over the weekend, and it occurred to me that you might think denude means ‘to cover up or put clothes on’ but no, it means to “strip (something) of its covering, possessions, or assets; make bare.”. So, ‘nude’ and ‘denuded’. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2021, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeming-opposites-that-mean-the-exact-same-thing/947923/26 "2021-08-09T18:52:59Z")
When pushing an electric plug into the outlet I only ever heard, “Plug it in.” Back when the TV show Hardcore Pawn was on they used the term, “Plug it up.” I have heard it a few times since then. Until recently every website I went to with a user name/password would read, “Log In”. Now some of them read, “Log On.” ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2021, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeming-opposites-that-mean-the-exact-same-thing/947923/27 "2021-08-09T21:42:51Z")
> [@mixdenny](#): > > Until recently every website I went to with a user name/password would read, “Log In”. Now some of them read, “Log On.” “Log on” is the older usage, the one that dominated in the [early era of personal computers](https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=log+on%2C+log+in&year_start=1800&year_end=2019&corpus=26&smoothing=3&direct_url=t1%3B%2Clog%20on%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2Clog%20in%3B%2Cc0). “Log in” overtook it quite recently, so it’s probably not surprising to still find some remnants. Nitpick: how are in and on opposites? ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2021, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeming-opposites-that-mean-the-exact-same-thing/947923/28 "2021-08-09T21:48:31Z")
How about words that surprisingly are opposite in meaning, like “raze” and “raise”? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2021, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeming-opposites-that-mean-the-exact-same-thing/947923/29 "2021-08-09T21:51:57Z")
> [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](#): > > Bone and debone - as in, what you do to a fish prior to eating it - mean the same thing. Similarly, you can shell or deshell nuts, or peel or unpeel a variety of vegetables or fruits. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2021, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeming-opposites-that-mean-the-exact-same-thing/947923/30 "2021-08-10T04:06:31Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Nitpick: how are in and on opposites? Not really opposites but certainly not the same. “In” means enclosed in something. “On” is my favorite definition and one that I doubt many people could guess: “On”: above but in contact with. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2021, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeming-opposites-that-mean-the-exact-same-thing/947923/31 "2021-08-10T15:09:57Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > I’ll just say that couldn’t care less is meant as sarcasm, and sarcasm reverses the meaning of a phrase. I couldn’t care less is idiomatic slang and not, not, not an error. I think you mean “_could_ care less.” The phrase “couldn’t care less” is not an idiom, it is literally what it meant: “I care so little that it is not possible to care less.” The argument against “could care less” as sarcasm is it is not sarcastic. Sarcasm generally involves an exaggerated delivery of a statement or an overstatement, like, “Oh, my heart bleeds for you” or “Oh, I am so-o-o sorry.” Nobody says “I could care less” when they mean that they could actually care less, so it is not a good candidate for sarcasm. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2021, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeming-opposites-that-mean-the-exact-same-thing/947923/32 "2021-08-10T15:22:00Z")
Oh boy, not this again. For me , “could care less” is an elided form , as in “as if I could care less.” That’s how my brain hears it; frankly I don’t care what the reason is. I like it because it’s quirky, it pisses grammar pedants like David Mitchell off (whom I love, by the way, in spite of or perhaps because of his priggish schoolmarminess.) and because it is idiomatic in my dialect, and idiomatic usage does not have to make a lick of sense. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2021, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeming-opposites-that-mean-the-exact-same-thing/947923/33 "2021-08-10T16:20:58Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > I think you mean “ _could_ care less.” Ouch. You’re right. Mea culpa. Yes, could care less, yes, an idiom. I like @[pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)’s take. It works that way as well. You’ll often hear it as “eh, I could care less,” a complete dismissal. Either way, in idiomatic English a reversal to mean the same thing is sarcasm, because that’s how the language works. I found a wonderful example in the wild in an oral history from Studs Terkel’s [Working](https://www.google.com/books/edition/Working/tf_9VIKOU6wC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22could+care+less%22&pg=PA472&printsec=frontcover). (page 472 if the link doesn’t take you directly there.) > I really wonder why I have such a rotten attitude toward people. I could care less about them. I’ll do my work, like, you know, good, I’ll give 'em the best care, but I couldn’t care less about them. Both uses that are clearly intended to mean the same thing embedded in a broadly sarcastic diatribe. Dismissive as well, to be sure, but the attitude is mocking. Also interesting is that the speaker is 19 years old in 1974, just about the time the [idiom was taking off](https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=couldn%27t+care+less%2C+could+care+less&year_start=1800&year_end=2019&corpus=26&smoothing=3&direct_url=t1%3B%2Ccould%20not%20care%20less%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2Ccould%20care%20less%3B%2Cc0#t1%3B%2Ccould%20not%20care%20less%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2Ccould%20care%20less%3B%2Cc0). I’ll bet could care less was teen usage originally and was considered wrong and bad speech, with that attitude lingering today. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2021, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeming-opposites-that-mean-the-exact-same-thing/947923/34 "2021-08-10T18:26:21Z")
Just like flammable/inflammable, _famous_ and _infamous_, although infamous has come to imply that something is famous in a negative way. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2021, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeming-opposites-that-mean-the-exact-same-thing/947923/35 "2021-08-10T18:56:07Z")
FWIW: The earliest I’ve found the phrase ‘could care less’ in film was in 1967/1968. It was used in a \*movie and an \*\*episode of “Hawaii Five-O.” I found the phrase fairly common in print as far back as the last 1950s. Personally, I think I first heard it 1971/1972. I remember my 6th grade classmate who said it, and at the time it was a little jarring having heard only the negative form up to that time. \*Either “Wild in the Street” or “Riot on Sunset Strip,” I forget which. \*\*Either “Six Kilos” or “The Box.” I just remember Gerald S. O’Loughlin was the person who used it. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2021, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeming-opposites-that-mean-the-exact-same-thing/947923/36 "2021-08-10T19:41:37Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > (On the other hand, IIUC “write an exam” has opposite meanings in the US (where it’s something a teacher would do) and the UK (where it’s something a student would do).) “write an exam” is not a widely used phrase in the UK. We’d “take” an exam. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2021, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeming-opposites-that-mean-the-exact-same-thing/947923/37 "2021-08-10T19:44:39Z")
> [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](#): > > Bone and debone - as in, what you do to a fish prior to eating it - mean the same thing. There’s also thaw and dethaw (althought “dethaw” is nonstandard). ---
**Author:** ![Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/do_not_taunt/32/2968_2.png) [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Do_Not_Taunt)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2021, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeming-opposites-that-mean-the-exact-same-thing/947923/38 "2021-08-10T19:46:02Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > “write an exam” is not a widely used phrase in the UK. We’d “take” an exam. I’ll take your word for it. @Thudlow_Boink is right though, even if he got the wrong country. Every Canadian I’ve known has used the phrase ‘write an exam.’ ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2021, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeming-opposites-that-mean-the-exact-same-thing/947923/39 "2021-08-10T19:53:16Z")
> [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](#): > > I’ll take your word for it. @Thudlow_Boink is right though, even if he got the wrong country. Every Canadian I’ve known has used the phrase ‘write an exam.’ That sounds like something those crazy guys would say! ---
**Author:** ![bobsmom101](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobsmom101/32/2867_2.png) [@bobsmom101](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobsmom101)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2021, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeming-opposites-that-mean-the-exact-same-thing/947923/40 "2021-08-14T13:45:59Z")
Not a single word, but a phrase I just heard the other day: “He’s afraid of nothing.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeming-opposites-that-mean-the-exact-same-thing/947923.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeming-opposites-that-mean-the-exact-same-thing/947923.md?page=3)