# 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:** 25
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2023, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/484 "2023-07-03T19:17:57Z")
**through** / **thorough** **breech** / **breach** **fare** / **fair** ---
**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:** [July 4, 2023, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/485 "2023-07-04T01:53:42Z")
> [@AppallingGael](#): > > > [@LSLGuy](#): > > > > **copulate** : Err … umm … blush. > > **carapace** : shell of an insect or other creepy-crawly. > > Seems like an unlikely pair to confuse but on the other hand, one time I began to search youtube for “turtles happy together” and it autocompleted to “turtles having sex”. It only makes sense as an increasingly obscure and inappropriate extension of the pair just above. I.e “cupola, copula, copulate, carapace.” Which could have been extended further as “carrack, barrack, barrage, fromage,” etc. Sorry if that was too subtle for you. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2023, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/486 "2023-07-05T17:49:10Z")
**sanguine** : characterized by an abundance and circulation of blood, warm, optimistic **sanguinary** : bloodthirsty, bloodsoaked, gory ---
**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:** [July 5, 2023, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/487 "2023-07-05T19:56:27Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > **sanguine** : characterized by an abundance and circulation of blood, warm, optimistic > **sanguinary** : bloodthirsty, bloodsoaked, gory **sangria** : a drink made from wine and fruit juice. In Spanish, literally ‘bleeding’ **sangaree** : Anglicized form of ‘sangria’ ---
**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:** [July 6, 2023, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/488 "2023-07-06T00:28:36Z")
Not words, but three people I keep conflating: **Virginia Woolfe** : English Modernist writer. **Claire Wolfe** : American libertarian writer. **Clare Boothe Luce** : American conservative writer and politician. (There are also a number of less prominent women named Virginia Booth). ---
**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:** [July 6, 2023, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/489 "2023-07-06T00:46:46Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > **Virginia Woolfe** : English Modernist writer. Speaking of whom… **Thomas Wolfe** : Early 20th century American novelist, author of _Look Homeward, Angel_ et al **Tom Wolfe** : Late 20th century American journalist and novelist, author of _The Right Stuff_, _The Bonfire of the Vanities_, et al ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2023, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/490 "2023-07-06T14:13:41Z")
**portamento** : a glide between two notes **partimento** : improvisation on a given bassline ---
**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:** [July 6, 2023, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/491 "2023-07-06T14:47:22Z")
Which one is those red things they stick in olives? 😛 ---
**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:** [July 6, 2023, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/492 "2023-07-06T16:00:46Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > **Virginia Woolfe** : English Modernist writer. > **Claire Wolfe** : American libertarian writer. > **Clare Boothe Luce** : American conservative writer and politician. If we’re going there, there are three women I get confused. They were all born in the 19th century and all have three-part names with the last name having one syllable and containing the sequence -ow-. For all I know, I’m the only idiot who can’t keep them straight. **Julia Ward Howe** : author of the lyrics to “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” **Juliette Gordon Low** : founder of the Girl Scouts **Harriet Beecher Stowe** : author of _Uncle Tom’s Cabin_ ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2023, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/493 "2023-07-08T06:20:10Z")
Two names I’ve heard people confuse (to my amusement) are Katherine McLintock, and Catharine MacKinnon. The latter is a radical feminist who went off the deep end of anti-porn activism by way of being one of the first people to reify sexual harassment, and recognize it as a crime against women. She’s a brilliant lawyer, but sometimes she’s done more harm than good, when things have happened such as some of the anti-porn laws she’s gotten through have done nothing to take down trafficking in child porn, nor even gotten any stores to rethink carrying _Hustler_ among the periodicals, but HAVE done loads to silence small publications that were voices for lesbians, trans people, and so forth. Katherine McLintock was the character Maureen O’Hara played in the John Wayne vehicle _McLintock!_ ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2023, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/494 "2023-07-08T07:28:46Z")
**Emma Goldman** vs. **Emma Lazarus**? I don’t really see it myself, but I suppose they were both named Emma, both had Jewish relatives, both lived in New York City (Lazarus died in 1887 though), and were both involved in activism. ---
**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:** [July 8, 2023, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/495 "2023-07-08T16:15:29Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > Two names I’ve heard people confuse (to my amusement) are Katherine McLintock, and Catharine MacKinnon. At first I thought you were talking about [Kate McKinnon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kate_McKinnon). ---
**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:** [July 10, 2023, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/496 "2023-07-10T16:25:14Z")
**boor** : an uncultured or ill-mannered person **bore** : an uninteresting person **boar** : a wild swine or a male swine **Boer** : a white South African of Dutch ancestry I remember that ABC news commentator David Brinkley got in trouble on election night 1996 when he was caught on an open mic that he didn’t know was open. He called Bill Clinton one of the words above. It was widely reported at the time that Brinkley called Clinton a “bore” but I thought at the time that he meant “boor.” ---
**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:** [July 10, 2023, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/497 "2023-07-10T17:50:58Z")
> **[Fornication](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fornication)** > > Fornication is generally immoral sexual intercourse between two people not married to each other. When one or more of the partners having consensual sexual intercourse is married to another person, it is called adultery. John Calvin viewed adultery to be any sexual act that is outside the divine model for sexual intercourse, which includes fornication. > For many people, the term carries an overtone of moral or religious disapproval, but the significance of sexual acts to which the term is appli... > **[Formication](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formication)** > > Formication is the sensation resembling that of small insects crawling on (or under) the skin when nothing is actually there. It is one specific form of a set of sensations known as paresthesias, which also include the more common prickling, tingling sensation known as pins and needles. Formication is a well-documented symptom which has numerous possible causes. The word is derived from formica, the Latin word for ant. > Formication may sometimes be experienced as feelings of itchiness, tingling, ... ---
**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:** [July 10, 2023, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/498 "2023-07-10T19:19:59Z")
> [@bibliophage](#): > > … > It was widely reported at the time that Brinkley called Clinton a “bore” but I thought at the time that he meant “boor.” I’m with you on this one. Not sure I agree with Brinkley, who was then a tired (and tiresome) old-school rightist. But I do agree with your that that’s what Brinkley meant / said. Here’s another **bore** noun. One I already cited once today in another thread (what’re the odds? 🙂 ): > **[Tidal bore](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tidal_bore)** > > A tidal bore, often simply given as bore in context, is a tidal phenomenon in which the leading edge of the incoming tide forms a wave (or waves) of water that travels up a river or narrow bay, reversing the direction of the river or bay's current. It is a strong tide that pushes up the river, against the current. > Bores occur in relatively few locations worldwide, usually in areas with a large tidal range (typically more than 6 meters (20 ft) between high and low tide) and where incoming tides... ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2023, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/499 "2023-07-10T19:24:15Z")
Brinkley could have been comparing Clinton to a strong tide that pushes up the river, against the current. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2023, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/500 "2023-07-12T19:22:13Z")
**haft** : the handle of a tool or weapon **heft** : weight **diffuse** : not focused **defuse** : to remove the fuse from [e.g., a bomb] **determinate** : clearly defined **determinant** : serving to determine or limit; an element that determines the nature of something ---
**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:** [July 12, 2023, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/501 "2023-07-12T19:44:48Z")
I never use words like biennial because I can’t keep it straight in my head–either as a writer or a reader–whether it’s supposed to mean twice a year or once every two years. Having looked up several such words, I find that I’m just as confused as ever. **biennial** : happening once every two years **biannual** : happening twice per year **semiannual** : happening twice per year **biweekly** : (1) happening once every two weeks or (2) happening twice per week **semiweekly** : happening twice per week **bimonthly** : (1) happening once every two months or (2) happening twice per month **semimonthly** : happening twice per month ---
**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:** [July 13, 2023, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/502 "2023-07-13T10:21:57Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > **diffuse** : not focused > **defuse** : to remove the fuse from [e.g., a bomb] **Diffuse** is also a verb, meaning to spread out. One gas or liquid may diffuse into another. A fart diffuses throughout a room. ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2023, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/503 "2023-07-13T10:30:26Z")
> [@bibliophage](#): > > I never use words like biennial because I can’t keep it straight in my head–either as a writer or a reader–whether it’s supposed to mean twice a year or once every two years. That’s a good one. The only ways around it are to use “fortnightly,” which is uncommon enough in US English to confuse some readers, or “twice a week/month/year,” which is what I do. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772.md?page=24) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772.md?page=26)