# Two spelling questions

**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-spelling-questions/578895
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [April 18, 2011, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-spelling-questions/578895 "2011-04-18T23:02:31Z")
**Posts on this page:** 2
**Page:** 2

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### Author: ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)
#### Post date: [April 23, 2011, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-spelling-questions/578895/21 "2011-04-23T14:43:25Z")

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It still Has the same effective meaning. There are plenty of words with some literal and some figurative meanings and this is one of them.

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### Author: ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)
#### Post date: [April 23, 2011, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-spelling-questions/578895/22 "2011-04-23T14:58:10Z")

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Yes, but the point here is that the spelling distinction is used to indicate the meaning. It’s like “phishing,” the specific meaning of which was already encompassed by the figurative uses of the root word. We might debate whether there is much value to breaking off figurative meanings into their own mutant daughter words, but it happens.

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