# 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:** 56
**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:** [January 27, 2026, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/1104 "2026-01-27T02:25:50Z")
Then there’s the [Indian Myna](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myna) bird, and the Australian [Noisy Miner](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noisy_miner) bird. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2026, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/1105 "2026-01-27T02:35:18Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > A friend of mine is notorious for mixing up her idioms. She always says “flush it out” when she means “flesh it out”. Last week, she told me about someone who was “slow on the uptick”, instead of “slow on the uptake”. My husband. My favorite husbandism was “we have to put our butts to the metal.” He’s the only person I will actually correct. ---
**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:** [January 27, 2026, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/1106 "2026-01-27T12:27:22Z")
Heh - “husbandism”. Great term! I sometimes enjoy creating those mixed malapropisms just to see if I can get a response out of somebody. But I know if I’m doing that; and if not I’ll be using an existing idiom correctly. Is that your husband, or is he doing this unconsciously? ---
**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:** [January 27, 2026, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/1107 "2026-01-27T16:02:46Z")
**tax return** : the paper or electronic form(s) that a taxpayer or his or her preparer fills out and sends to the tax authorities that indicates, among other things, how much tax is owed **tax refund** : the money the tax authorities remit back to the taxpayer if the taxpayer has overpaid his or her taxes (e.g., through paying more in withheld taxes throughout the year than what the tax liability is calculated to be on the tax return) ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2026, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/1108 "2026-01-27T16:55:51Z")
It’s totally unconscious for him. He is a highly intelligent man and I think his thoughts come faster than he can get them out of his mouth, so these mixups occur a lot. It’s also very common that he gets single words confused with similar words - he’d probably benefit from reading this thread. Someone mentioned prevaricating - until recently I was under the impression this meant something like vacillating, until a writer friend helpfully pointed out, “I don’t think it means what you think it means.” ---
**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:** [January 28, 2026, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/1109 "2026-01-28T22:50:52Z")
**warship** : any naval ship used for combat, including cruisers, destroyers, and submarines **battleship** : a particular type of surface warship, common from the late 19th century to the mid-20th century and known for its heavy armor and large guns. The United States Navy currently has hundreds of active warships, but zero active battleships. The last one, U.S.S. _Missouri_, was decommissioned in 1992. Recent proposals for a new so-called “Trump-class battleship” are controversial because they (1) probably will never be built and enter service, (2) would serve no very useful purpose if they were built, and (3) would not meet the usual definition of a battleship. ---
**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:** [February 2, 2026, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/1110 "2026-02-02T18:08:49Z")
**trammel** : (1, n) something that impedes freedom or (2, v) to impede, hamper, or hinder someone’s freedom. Hence, **untrammeled** means “unrestrained.” **trample** : (v) to crush something by stepping on it heavily, literally or figuratively. Hence **untrampled** means “not crushed underfoot.” When speaking about threats to civil rights and freedoms, both words can be used, but I think there is a difference. To trample another’s rights is to utterly destroy them, while to trammel another’s rights is to restrict them. _Trampled_ is a more common word than _trammeled_ but _untrammeled_ is more common than _untrampled._ ---
**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:** [February 9, 2026, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/1111 "2026-02-09T15:11:15Z")
**apprise** : to give notice to; inform **appraise** : to estimate the monetary value of; determine the worth of; assess. ---
**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:** [February 9, 2026, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/1112 "2026-02-09T17:20:23Z")
**doughy** : pale and pasty like dough **doughty** : brave, dauntless ---
**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:** [February 9, 2026, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/1113 "2026-02-09T17:22:32Z")
Perhaps the generals of World War One boasted that their soldiers were “doughty” when in fact they were more “doughy”. 😀 ---
**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:** [February 9, 2026, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/1114 "2026-02-09T21:11:05Z")
Well, they WERE called doughboys, weren’t they? ---
**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:** [February 9, 2026, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/1115 "2026-02-09T22:12:55Z")
Exactly. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![fedman1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e495f1/32.png) [@fedman1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman1)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2026, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/1116 "2026-02-10T11:12:08Z")
isn’t it interesting that in English adding 1 letter anywhere inside/after a word can change the whole meaning of it? ---
**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:** [February 10, 2026, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/1117 "2026-02-10T12:06:03Z")
Or removing. I once saw a typo which went something like: _After 6 hours on the road the coach stopped, the passengers were able to stretch their legs and the driver was hanged._ ---
**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:** [February 10, 2026, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/1118 "2026-02-10T14:53:45Z")
😆 I have absolutely no doubt that on multiple occasions the passengers of a coach wished that the driver could have been hanged. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2026, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/1119 "2026-02-10T23:32:11Z")
“They said you was hung!” ---
**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:** [February 13, 2026, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/1120 "2026-02-13T10:22:08Z")
Stocks and Pillory. The words aren’t similar, but a lot of people say one when they mean the other. A pillory traps someone’s neck and hands. [![](https://sharonlathanauthor.com/wp-content/uploads/pillory-illus.jpeg) ](https://sharonlathanauthor.com/wp-content/uploads/pillory-illus.jpeg) The stocks traps someone’s legs [![](https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQAnZs3Lsjc2WqcKHasxzNhBUox25ACtwMa_A&s) ](https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQAnZs3Lsjc2WqcKHasxzNhBUox25ACtwMa_A&s) ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2026, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/1121 "2026-03-03T17:26:53Z")
Yesterday, I heard someone say “dishoveled” when they meant “disheveled”. I actually thought that worked pretty well. ---
**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:** [March 3, 2026, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/1122 "2026-03-03T18:08:19Z")
There’s also **disheveled** : “of a person’s hair, clothes, or appearance) untidy; disordered.” versus **dishabille** : “the state of being only partly or scantily clothed”. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2026, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/1123 "2026-03-03T18:20:45Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > **Led/Lead** is still getting confused on this board all the time. Just the word _lead_ can get confusing. Take electronics, for example. A component like a resistor or capacitor will have two (or sometimes more) _leads_. Furthermore, each lead will have a surface finish, and sometimes the surface finish is a metal alloy containing the element _lead_, like lead-based solder. Some Mil Specs will say something like, “The surface finish on the lead must contain a minimum of 3% lead.” Using _terminal_ instead of lead can clear up the confusion. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772.md?page=55) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772.md?page=57)