# 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:** 31
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2023, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/604 "2023-09-28T21:40:47Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Isn’t this mostly a UK (as opposed to US) usage? I’ve heard that it is, and it is one case where one side of the pond is clearly superior, although which one is which may depend on your level of juvenility, as supposedly a standard graffito is to insert an “i” between the last two words. ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2023, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/605 "2023-09-28T21:47:57Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > It has mostly gone the way of whom. Says whom? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2023, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/606 "2023-09-28T22:37:20Z")
People who know the definition of “mostly”. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2023, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/607 "2023-09-28T23:13:09Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > “Room to let”. After he had signed the lease the room was let to him. etc. > [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Isn’t this mostly a UK (as opposed to US) usage? I mostly remember it from the song **King of the Road**. Definitely a US song. _Trailer’s for sale or rent_ _Rooms to let, 50 cents_ ---
**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:** [October 3, 2023, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/608 "2023-10-03T14:43:34Z")
**Dual:** consisting of two parts, e.g. a desktop PC with dual monitors. **Duel:** armed combat between two people, e.g. a duel to settle a matter of honor. ---
**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:** [October 4, 2023, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/609 "2023-10-04T13:55:03Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > loose: an adjective. Rhymes with “goose” or “noose.” > lose: a verb. Rhymes with “choose” or “ooze.” loss: a noun. Rhymes with “boss” or “dross.” I wouldn’t have expected this particular confusion, but today I saw a headline about “Weight Lose Tips.” ---
**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:** [October 4, 2023, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/610 "2023-10-04T15:21:08Z")
All words are confusing when editors are replace with spell checkers. Luckily AI is all ready batter at grammar and punctuality then people is. ---
**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:** [October 4, 2023, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/611 "2023-10-04T17:09:44Z")
Make sit easier to spell corectally. ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2023, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/612 "2023-10-04T17:11:31Z")
So much what you wrote, @TriPolar. Reading has only become more challenging because of the spell-checkers, not those who can’t spell or punctuate what they can spell. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2023, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/613 "2023-10-04T18:56:25Z")
**call** : a cry, a summons **caul** : a membrane **germ** : a seed, a microbe **jerm** : a type of trading vessel with lateen sails **cloths** : fabric **clothes** : garments ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2023, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/614 "2023-10-11T05:30:51Z")
**forego** : to go before **forgo** : to do without ---
**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:** [October 11, 2023, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/615 "2023-10-11T11:00:58Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > **Foundering** comes from the condition in horses - **Founder** is the common name for laminitis, a condition of the hoof in horses and donkeys. **Founder** also means to sink, as in ‘the ship foundered’. It means the ship has reached the bottom, so a ship can founder at low tide, then refloat at high tide. ---
**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:** [October 11, 2023, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/616 "2023-10-11T11:07:27Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > **Scorpus** : charioteer > **Scorpius** : constellation **Scorpio** , an astrological star sign derived from Scorpius. Note; this is probably the word most people are familiar with. **Scorpii** , a named or numbered star in the constellation Scorpius (such as **Alpha Scorpii** , also known as Antares or Xīnxiù’èr) ---
**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:** [October 11, 2023, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/617 "2023-10-11T11:46:45Z")
Origins / Oranges. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2023, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/618 "2023-10-11T14:24:29Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > **forego** : to go before > **forgo** : to do without It’s not this tidy. You see the “do without” meaning commonly spelled both ways. ---
**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:** [October 11, 2023, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/619 "2023-10-11T14:44:46Z")
Fluke = Flounder (fish); ≠ Flounder (struggle/stumble); ≠ Fluke (a stroke of luck, barb of an arrow, or parasitic flatworm). ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2023, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/620 "2023-10-11T15:20:02Z")
A **fluke** is also a whales tail fin. ---
**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:** [October 11, 2023, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/621 "2023-10-11T19:39:42Z")
A **fluke** is also a type of wormlike internal parasite. > **[Trematoda](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trematoda)** > > Trematoda is a class of flatworms known as flukes or trematodes. They are obligate internal parasites with a complex life cycle requiring at least two hosts. The intermediate host, in which asexual reproduction occurs, is usually a snail. The definitive host, where the flukes sexually reproduce, is a vertebrate. Infection by trematodes can cause disease in all five traditional vertebrate classes: mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles, and fish. > Trematodes are commonly referred to as flukes. Th... And a well-respected brand of electronic test gear. > **[Fluke Corporation: Fluke Electronics, Calibration and Networks](https://www.fluke.com/)** > > Fluke Corporation is the world leader in the manufacture, distribution and service of industrial engineering electronic test tools, thermal imaging, calibration and networking solutions. ---
**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:** [October 12, 2023, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/622 "2023-10-12T02:12:11Z")
> [@eburacum45](#): > > **Scorpio** , an astrological star sign derived from Scorpius. Note; this is probably the word most people are familiar with. > **Scorpii** , a named or numbered star in the constellation Scorpius (such as **Alpha Scorpii** , also known as Antares or Xīnxiù’èr) Scorpii is the Latin genitive (possessive) form of Scorpius. All the stars with a Bayer name use the genitive form of the constellation’s Latin name. So “Alpha Centauri” is the “first of Centaurus”, “Beta Pictoris” is the “second of Pictor”, “Episilon Eridani” is the “fifth of Eridanus” and so on. ---
**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:** [October 12, 2023, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/623 "2023-10-12T02:20:06Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > A **fluke** is also a type of wormlike internal parasite. > > [Trematoda - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trematoda) It’s enough to make you wonder if on the sixth day, God left the office early and let Beelzebub oversee the project. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772.md?page=30) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772.md?page=32)