# 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:** 1\ **Showing post:** 106
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2022, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/106 "2022-09-20T01:36:07Z")
**Penultimate** — second to last. We had a thread about this, a couple of years ago. ETA here it is, it was a question I had 3 years ago — > [@Is this use of 'penultimate' correct?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-use-of-penultimate-correct/841216): > > I am an engineer, not a writer, and yet I find myself responsible for writing an SOP. I am not enjoying this. How can I succinctly state that something is important but it’s not the most important thing, that there is something else of higher importance? Here is my draft so far: “These products are to be first and foremost, safe, accurate, and effective. It is of penultimate importance that they be developed as quickly as reasonably practicable.” So, speed is of secondary importance. But spee… --- _[View the full topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772)._