# Words one can get confused **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 18, 2022, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772 "2022-09-18T20:10:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2022, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/224 "2022-11-27T19:09:42Z")
> [@glowacks](#): > > I have always, in my memory at least, encountered “abject lesson”, and assigned it the meaning one would from understanding “abject poverty”. Curious. I’m a UK English speaker, and I’ve never encountered the phrase ‘abject lesson’. However ‘object lesson’ is a fairly widespread construction. Sounds like an eggcorn to me. ---
**Author:** ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2022, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/225 "2022-11-27T19:32:33Z")
A meringue topping is peaked. A baseball cap is peaked. My curiosity is piqued. On the other hand my curiosity has peaked. I don’t think I’d ever say ‘my curiosity is peaked’. Peaked means something with a point, like a mountain or a hat, or something that has reached a local maximum in the recent past. You can’t say that anything ‘is peaked’ in the present tense, because it might get even higher in the future. ---
**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:** [November 27, 2022, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/226 "2022-11-27T19:37:03Z")
I agree. In what I wrote—“If it’s **peak** ed, it’s reached a high point”—both "it’s"es should be understood as contractions for “it has” (making “peaked” a past participle, not an adjective). ---
**Author:** ![AppallingGael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9bd4f/32.png) [@AppallingGael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AppallingGael)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2022, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/227 "2022-12-01T02:17:38Z")
Re “nucular” (as I don’t know how to quote when using my phone): I have often heard that that was Carter’s pronunciation, but I have listened to numerous examples from various decades, and I don’t hear it. Either it’s just “nuclear” or sometimes the “L” is barely sounded so it comes out sounding like “nukier”. ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2022, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/228 "2022-12-01T14:13:13Z")
I’ve seen them perform twice, and both times Live were introduced as rhyming with jive. ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2022, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/229 "2022-12-01T14:15:08Z")
Think of it as new-clee-ur. We had a neighborhood dry-cleaning store who used the clever name “New Clear Drive-in Cleaners”. ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2022, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/230 "2022-12-01T14:16:52Z")
Maybe this was an attempt at being witty, as in they’ll give you a piece of their mind? ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2022, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/231 "2022-12-06T16:26:23Z")
Tract and track, usually in the context of the human body. A doctor may speak of a respiratory tract or a digestive tract (see second definition of tract **[here](https://www.google.com/search?q=definition+tract&rlz=1C1GCEA_enUS930US931&sxsrf=ALiCzsbZ8VPUBhnXY1xadkSEez6j6hk0BQ%3A1670343476535&ei=NGuPY5ioIPTZytMP2rmRiA8&ved=0ahUKEwiYksmssuX7AhX0rHIEHdpcBPEQ4dUDCBA&uact=5&oq=definition+tract&gs_lcp=Cgxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAQAzIECCMQJzIKCAAQgAQQhwIQFDIFCAAQgAQyBQgAEIAEMgUIABCABDIGCAAQFhAeMgYIABAWEB4yBggAEBYQHjIGCAAQFhAeMgYIABAWEB46CggAEEcQ1gQQsANKBAhBGABKBAhGGABQ7AVY7AVgyQdoAXABeACAAVuIAVuSAQExmAEAoAEByAEIwAEB&sclient=gws-wiz-serp)**), but it’s often misheard (and later incorrectly repeated) as “track”. Another one that grates on my ear is the confusion of **[rights and authority](https://patimes.org/rights-vs-authority-the-ethical-application-of-official-power/)**. A police officer may claim they have the right to give you a ticket or arrest you, when what they actually have is the _authority_ to do so: > Public servants will have authorities beyond those of the average person, but only for the narrow purposes of performing their official functions. These are authorities, not rights. ---
**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:** [December 7, 2022, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/232 "2022-12-07T15:04:36Z")
**[Antimony](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antimony)** is a [chemical element](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemical_element) with the [symbol](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symbol_(chemistry)) **Sb** (from [Latin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_language): _[stibium](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/stibium#Latin)_) and [atomic number](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_number) 51. A lustrous gray [metalloid](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metalloid), it is found in nature mainly as the [sulfide mineral](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulfide_mineral) [stibnite](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stibnite) (Sb2S3). **[Antinomy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antinomy)** ([Greek](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greek) ἀντί, _antí_, “against, in opposition to”, and νόμος, _nómos_, “law”) refers to a real or apparent mutual incompatibility of two laws.[[1]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antinomy#cite_note-1) It is a term used in [logic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logic) and [epistemology](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epistemology), particularly in the philosophy of [Immanuel Kant](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immanuel_Kant). ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2022, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/233 "2022-12-07T15:36:22Z")
I can’t tell you how often that caused confusion in college when we were reading Kant, and someone would argue that something Kant claimed was antimony couldn’t possibly be made into an alloy with tin. Then the professor explained, and we all had a good laugh. ---
**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:** [December 7, 2022, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/234 "2022-12-07T22:53:48Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > Another one that grates on my ear is the confusion of **[rights and authority](https://patimes.org/rights-vs-authority-the-ethical-application-of-official-power/)** The Enlightenment-era political philosophers would roll in their graves to hear anyone speak of a government having rights. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2022, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/235 "2022-12-07T23:13:38Z")
When properly pronounced, antimony rhymes with matrimony. Got that, Martha Stewart? (She snootily mispronounced it all through one of her TV shows) ---
**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:** [December 7, 2022, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/236 "2022-12-07T23:26:37Z")
How did she pronounce it? An- **tim** -on-ee? ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2022, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/237 "2022-12-09T18:23:18Z")
**invidious** : causing ill feeling or envy **insidious** : subtly producing harm in a cunning, deceitful manner ---
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2022, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/238 "2022-12-09T19:09:12Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > Someone in another thread wrote “Enquiring minds want to know!” > > To which I thought, no it’s ‘inquiring’. But then I looked it up, and it turns out that ‘enquire’ is a word that means the exact same thing as ‘inquire’. Enquire is a less common variant of inquire. They are (maybe unknowingly) quoting 80’s-era TV commercials for the National Enquirer. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/ZcMU8TY8paE/hqdefault.jpg "1982 National Enquirer "Burt & Loni marry" TV Commercial") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcMU8TY8paE) ---
**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:** [December 9, 2022, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/239 "2022-12-09T19:13:50Z")
Sunovabitch. AN-tih-MOH-nee is the right pronunciation? All these years I thought Tom Lehrer was pronouncing it wrong (or took stylistic license) in his “Elements Song” because my chemistry teacher (who also worked at Argon Laboratories, no less) corrected me when I pronounced it that way and said “it’s an-TIM-uh-nee.” Thirty-three years later only do I learn the truth. ETA: The Forvo pronunciations are interesting. The two UK pronunciations sound closer to me (though the stress is on the first syllable) to the first US pronunciation (which is what my teacher said to pronounce it as.) The second US pronunciation is what Tom Lehrer sings and what I see to be the correct pronunciation to US speakers, though I suspect UK speakers may find it odd. > **[How to pronounce antimony in English - Definition of antimony in English](https://forvo.com/word/antimony/#en)** > > How to pronounce antimony in English. The definition of antimony is: a metallic element having four allotropic forms; used in a wide variety of alloys; found... ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2022, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/240 "2022-12-27T04:58:12Z")
**contumely** and **contumacy** **precedent** and **precedence** ---
**Author:** ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2022, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/241 "2022-12-27T10:51:53Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > my chemistry teacher (who also worked at Argon Laboratories, no less) corrected me when I pronounced it that way and said “it’s an-TIM-uh-nee.” Thirty-three years later only do I learn the truth. UK speaker here, and ‘an-TIM-uh-nee’ is how I say it. Some people make it sound more like ‘an-TI-mon-ee’, but it definitely doesn’t rhyme with ‘matrimony’. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2022, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/242 "2022-12-27T13:54:07Z")
Callous: showing/having an insensitive or cruel disregard for others. Callus: a thickened and hardened part of the skin or soft tissue, especially in an area that has been subjected to friction. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2022, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/243 "2022-12-28T19:52:18Z")
The OED gives only one pronunciation for antimony, /ˈæntɪmənɪ/, which is different than either of the ones proposed in this thread. It has the vowels of an-TIM-uh-nee (with a schwa, not a long O in the third syllable), but with the accent on the first, not the second syllable. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772.md?page=13)