# 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:** 26
**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 13, 2023, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/504 "2023-07-13T13:18:08Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > > [@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. I’ll just point out that if one is inept or unlucky at defusing, one may be instantly and colorfully diffused. At which point you’re diffuse. Past-tense too, but mostly diffuse. 😁 ---
**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 16, 2023, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/505 "2023-07-16T23:02:56Z")
**wonder** : (v.) to doubt or ponder **wander** : to move without purpose; to stray I wonder whether the cat has wandered away. **principle** : (n.) a guiding belief of morality or law of nature **principle** : (v.) to endow with moral principles **principal** (n.) (1) the head of a school or (2) a sum of money on which interest is paid or charged **principal** : (adj.) foremost, most important The school’s unprincipled principal is the principal suspect in the embezzlement of the school’s interest and principal, an act that violates every principle of common decency. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2023, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/506 "2023-07-18T09:15:38Z")
Here’s one I just found, that I myself had mixed up: **forward** — in the front, or towards the front **foreword** — prefatory comments at the beginning of a book ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2023, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/507 "2023-07-18T10:15:49Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > **forward** — in the front, or towards the front > **foreword** — prefatory comments at the beginning of a book **froward** — contrary, difficult to deal with ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2023, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/508 "2023-07-18T10:16:52Z")
**roll** : what a ball does **rôle** : what an actor plays ---
**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 18, 2023, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/509 "2023-07-18T14:12:58Z")
> [@bibliophage](#): > > I wonder whether the cat has wandered away. This brings me to “if” and “whether.” “If” is supposed to be for conditional statements: “if it rains, [then] I’ll use my umbrella.” “Whether” is supposed to be used in statements that present two possible alternative states: “it’s not clear whether he’s coming to the party.” “Whether” can’t be used in place of “if”. In casual conversation, “if” is sometimes used in place of “whether” - “it’s not clear if he’s coming to the party” - but doing so adds an element of ambiguity, as there are sometimes conditional statements that present the outcome first: “I’m not going to the party if he’s going.” You can usually understand what’s being said based on context, but I hate it when professional writers (e.g. journalists) use “if” in place of “whether.” ---
**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 18, 2023, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/510 "2023-07-18T22:02:36Z")
**defecting:** abandoning or turning against; ceasing or changing one’s loyalty, especially from a military organisation or political party. **defecating:** excreting feces from one’s bowels. ---
**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:** [July 18, 2023, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/511 "2023-07-18T23:02:50Z")
> [@Deaths that sort of define a person](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaths-that-sort-of-define-a-person/986999/248): > > However, if Kennedy mishandled the Cuban Missile Crisis, it could very well have resulted in nuclear war between two superpowers. That would have changed the coarse of history significantly—for the worse. **course** - a direction or route taken or to be taken; the path, route, or channel along which anything moves. **coarse** - composed of relatively large parts or particles; lacking in fineness or delicacy of texture, structure, etc.: **cause** - a person or thing that acts, happens, or exists in such a way that some specific thing happens as a result; the producer of an effect; the reason or motive for some human action: ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2023, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/512 "2023-07-18T23:40:44Z")
I blame the blunder on spell-check…and that my corn fritters were burning in my air-flyer. …er, air fryer. ---
**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 19, 2023, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/513 "2023-07-19T12:00:33Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > **course** - a direction or route taken or to be taken; the path, route, or channel along which anything moves. > > **coarse** - composed of relatively large parts or particles; lacking in fineness or delicacy of texture, structure, etc.: **Coors** - watery beer ---
**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:** [July 20, 2023, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/514 "2023-07-20T01:01:09Z")
**Coors Lite** - beery water ---
**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 21, 2023, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/515 "2023-07-21T14:42:03Z")
**quash** : to defeat or suppress; in a legal context, to void a previous ruling **squash** : (v.) to crush or squeeze ---
**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 21, 2023, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/516 "2023-07-21T21:33:25Z")
**glutinous** : sticky **glutenous** : containing gluten **gluttonous** : greedy, eating to excess **gluteus** : any of several muscles of the buttocks Glutinous rice is not glutenous, but if you’re gluttonous with it, your gluteus muscles won’t be able to hold up your fat ass any more. ---
**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 22, 2023, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/517 "2023-07-22T01:54:34Z")
After which you’ll have a glut of poundage globbing up your works. ---
**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 23, 2023, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/518 "2023-07-23T15:02:32Z")
**parley** : to confer or negotiate, especially with one’s antagonist **parlay** : to wager the winnings of one bet on a later bet ---
**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 23, 2023, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/519 "2023-07-23T15:25:10Z")
> [@bibliophage](#): > > **parley** : to confer or negotiate, especially with one’s antagonist From the French of course. And via Old French, related to both parliament and parlor, ultimately deriving from the Latin “to speak”. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2023, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/520 "2023-07-23T16:50:07Z")
**boogie** : a style of blues music **bogey** : a hostile supernatural creature ---
**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:** [July 23, 2023, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/521 "2023-07-23T17:01:02Z")
bogie - a cart, or a modular subassembly of wheels and axles boggy - full of bogs or marshes Bogie - an actor. ---
**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 23, 2023, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/522 "2023-07-23T17:17:54Z")
bogey - a not real good score on one hole of golf. bogey - a sales or financial performance target. bogey - military: an aerial target not yet conclusively identified as friend or foe. Baggie - A noxious style of clothing. Biggie - A now deceased rap performer. 🙂 ---
**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 23, 2023, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/523 "2023-07-23T18:19:25Z")
booger - a piece of dried nasal mucous [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772.md?page=25) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772.md?page=27)