# 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:** 61
**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 30, 2026, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/1204 "2026-07-30T22:05:37Z")
> [@bibliophage](#): > > **protege** (or **protégé** ): someone under the protection or instruction of another > **prodigal** : (as a noun) a person who is prodigal (adj.: wasteful of money or other goods) > **prodigy** : an extremely talented person or a wondrous creature or event. The adjectival form is _prodigious_ (“wondrous” or “extremely large”) > **progeny** : one’s offspring and descendants collectively [Proddie](https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/proddie): an offensive word for a Protestant. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2026, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/1205 "2026-07-31T01:24:43Z")
**hurd** : the coarse parts of flax or hemp **herd** : a collection of animals **heard** : past of _hear_ ---
**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 31, 2026, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/1206 "2026-07-31T01:31:57Z")
Hurled: past tense of “drank too much” 🤪 ---
**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 31, 2026, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/1207 "2026-07-31T17:01:25Z")
**border** : an edge, or the frontier between two jurisdictions **boarder** : one who pays for meals and lodging at a private home or a school ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2026, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/1208 "2026-08-07T13:02:58Z")
**hammock** : a swinging sling suspended at the ends used for sleeping or resting **hummock** : a small hill ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2026, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/1209 "2026-08-13T04:59:35Z")
**ween** : to suppose, imagine; to think, believe; to expect, hope, or wish **wean** : to cease to depend on mother’s milk for nutrition ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2026, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/1210 "2026-08-18T22:19:19Z")
**secret** : to make or keep secret; to hide secretly **secrete** : to exude or yield ---
**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:** [September 29, 2026, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/1211 "2026-09-29T14:56:41Z")
**penitence** : the state of feeling remorse or regret **penance** : a voluntary act of self-punishment or hardship, done to show repentance or make amends for one’s misdeeds or sins ---
**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:** [September 29, 2026, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/1212 "2026-09-29T15:58:06Z")
**pennants** - triangular flags ---
**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:** [September 29, 2026, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/1213 "2026-09-29T17:09:37Z")
**penitentiary** : a prison or reformatory where one “pays one’s debt to society” ---
**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:** [September 30, 2026, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/1214 "2026-09-30T05:11:06Z")
**pentagon** - any five sided polygon. May be regular (all 5 sides are equal and all five angles are equal) or not, and may be convex or not. **pentagram** - a regular star pentagon; that is, it consists of the diagonals of a regular convex pentagon. **pentacle** - a pentagram used in Western ceremonial magic, often drawn inscribed in a circle. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2026, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/1215 "2026-10-02T21:44:13Z")
**combination** : an object formed by bringing things together **commination** : a formal threat ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2026, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/1216 "2026-10-02T23:40:54Z")
**bast** : a type of fiber derived from inner stems of dicotyledonous plants; e.g., flax, jute, hemp. **baste** : to stitch fabric pieces together temporarily with long stitches for ease of adjusting seams, from Old French _bastir_ “to build, construct” **baste** : to moisten roasting meat with liquid while cooking, possibly from Old French _basser_ “to soak” **baste** : to beat with a stick, possibly from Germanic word meaning “to strike”, cognate with English “beat” ---
**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 3, 2026, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/1217 "2026-10-03T00:41:08Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > **baste** : to stitch fabric pieces together temporarily with long stitches for ease of adjusting seams, from Old French _bastir_ “to build, construct” So Frankenstein’s Monster was, literally, a bastard? ---
**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 3, 2026, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/1218 "2026-10-03T00:48:19Z")
Basteard. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2026, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/1219 "2026-10-03T06:01:02Z")
No no no, Frankenstein’s monster was doubtless properly seamed for durability once his construction had been adequately tweaked in the fitting process. You don’t send an anthropoid monster out into this harsh world merely held together with basting stitches. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2026, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/1220 "2026-10-09T01:52:28Z")
**few** : only a small number, not many. Typically implies lack, paucity, dearth, with negative connotations. **a few** : a small but nonzero number, a meaningful amount, enough for right now. Typically implies a sort of last-ditch **preservation** from lack, paucity, dearth, with **positive** connotations. This one’s subtle, and I was reminded of it when reading a work in South Asian English (a set of linguistic varieties of English that evolved in the colonial South Asian subcontinent), in which the former term is used the same way the latter is in US English. Which can be surprisingly confusing. For instance, I’d read a sentence like _“There were few remaining teachers, so the ancient art was rescued from oblivion”_ and feel a bit puzzled, because I’d expect a sentence beginning that way to turn out more negative: _“There were few remaining teachers, so the ancient art sank into oblivion”_ or something like that. But no, the author meant _“few”_ in the sense that I would use _“ **a** few”_, or _“some”_, etc.: i.e., there were just enough remaining teachers to **prevent** the ancient art from sinking into oblivion. Two nations divided by a common language, indeed! ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2026, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/1221 "2026-10-15T04:49:07Z")
**supernal** : pertaining to heaven, celestial; exquisite, exalted **superb** : first-rate, exceptionally good ---
**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 15, 2026, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/1222 "2026-10-15T15:17:20Z")
Combine those two and one gets the idea that the Heavenly City has suburbs. ---
**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:** [October 15, 2026, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/1223 "2026-10-15T18:16:52Z")
That’s really interesting - never noticed this. You explained the difference well. English has a lot of verbs that are made of a “verb plus preposition,” with a different meaning than the bare verb (usually, the “v plus p” version equates to a completely different word in another language, like “throw” is _lanzar_ in Spanish, but “throw up” is _vomitar_). In Malaysian English, the “p” is often dropped from a “v plus p” verb. So, my wife (raised in Malaysia, but a longtime US resident/citizen) will still ask me to “throw this banana peel,” when she wants me to throw it _away_. I’m always tempted to hurl the thing across the room. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772.md?page=60) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772.md?page=62)