# 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:** 23
**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:** [June 16, 2023, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/444 "2023-06-16T18:15:43Z")
Here’s one I just ran across: A **mellow drama** is not the same thing as a **melodrama**. ---
**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:** [June 16, 2023, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/445 "2023-06-16T19:27:22Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > **coop** : an enclosure for birds Not to be confused with **co-op** , an enterprise jointly owned and controlled by its members. I’ve seen co-ops that spell it “coop” on their signage, such as the [Park Slope Food Coop](https://www.foodcoop.com/). So I call them the “food coop”, pronounced like the enclosure for birds. ---
**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:** [June 16, 2023, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/446 "2023-06-16T20:48:44Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > Not to be confused with **co-op** , an enterprise jointly owned and controlled by its members. and [co-opt](https://www.dictionary.com/browse/co-opt) is something else. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2023, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/447 "2023-06-17T14:38:10Z")
**absorb** : to swallow up **adsorb** : to collect on the surface ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2023, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/448 "2023-06-17T15:24:21Z")
**Absorption** : the process of swallowing up **Adsorption** : the process of collecting on a surface **Absorbtion** : Not a real word **Adsorbtion** : Also not a real word ---
**Author:** ![AppallingGael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9bd4f/32.png) [@AppallingGael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AppallingGael)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2023, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/449 "2023-06-17T17:37:52Z")
Here is one I just saw: “The best thing about that game was the **ruckus** crowd”…(I presume “ **raucous** ” was intended). ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2023, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/450 "2023-06-18T06:20:22Z")
We’re [part of the Rukus crowd](https://www.carsguide.com.au/toyota/rukus)! ---
**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:** [June 18, 2023, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/451 "2023-06-18T15:17:54Z")
[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/zEHczKoBM5s/maxresdefault.jpg "The Breakfast Club (1985) - Ruckus") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEHczKoBM5s) ---
**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:** [June 19, 2023, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/452 "2023-06-19T17:23:29Z")
**Respective** : Particular, separate **Respected** : Held in high esteem ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2023, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/453 "2023-06-20T12:12:32Z")
**brain** : an organ in your skull **brane** : a membrane, in theoretical physics ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2023, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/454 "2023-06-20T14:08:44Z")
**braying** , **brayin’** : making noises like a donkey ---
**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:** [June 20, 2023, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/455 "2023-06-20T15:56:35Z")
**Regardless** : without regard to. **Irregardless:** Not a word. I mean **[not _really_](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/irregardless)**. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2023, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/456 "2023-06-20T18:51:14Z")
Flammable: able to catch fire rather easily. Inflammable: able to catch fire rather easily. Regardless: a non-flammable innocuous word. Irregardless: a flammable and inflammable word that can fuel flame wars involving otherwise sensible Dopers. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2023, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/457 "2023-06-20T23:15:54Z")
**maw** : stomach **jaw(s)**: the bones and associated structures of the mouth; the cavity formed by these parts ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2023, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/458 "2023-06-20T23:32:20Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > **maw** : stomach Ignorance fought - thanks! ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2023, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/459 "2023-06-20T23:51:42Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > **maw** : stomach > **jaw(s)**: the bones and associated structures of the mouth; the cavity formed by these parts I would add “craw,” which does mean “mouth” (I think!). ---
**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:** [June 21, 2023, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/460 "2023-06-21T01:35:36Z")
According to the OED, “maw” can also mean “The throat or gullet; the jaws or mouth of a voracious animal or (occasionally) of a gluttonous or insatiably hungry person.” This seems to me to be the more common current usage. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/461 "2023-06-21T02:19:27Z")
I guess adding to the confusion may be slang or idiomatic uses like “shut your maw”, “fill one’s craw”. The root of “craw” means neck, throat according to the _OED_ whence: the crop of birds or insects, transferred meaning the stomach (of man or animals) in a humorous or derisive sense, but it does not list “mouth” as a meaning of “craw”! So all three words overlap somewhat in their transferred senses, in a confusing way. ---
**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:** [June 21, 2023, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/462 "2023-06-21T02:29:32Z")
Pica: disorder that compels one to eat inedible substances Pica: 1/6 of an inch, 12 points: used in typography ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/463 "2023-06-21T02:38:17Z")
Are we going to start the list of all homonyms now? There’s already a zeugma thread. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772.md?page=22) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772.md?page=24)