# Words that are not the same but get interchanged **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 2, 2017, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-not-the-same-but-get-interchanged/787944 "2017-06-02T17:05:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2017, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-not-the-same-but-get-interchanged/787944/41 "2017-06-03T01:30:48Z")
“Paralyzed” and “Petrified” ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2017, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-not-the-same-but-get-interchanged/787944/42 "2017-06-03T02:14:58Z")
bear / bare allude / elude allusive / elusive / illusive fortuitous / fortunate hungry/ Hungary comprise / compose ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2017, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-not-the-same-but-get-interchanged/787944/43 "2017-06-03T05:29:03Z")
> [@Enginerd](#): > > Gross and grotesque. Uh, I think of gross as a shortened form of grotesque. Were you referring to the weight? Gross vs Net weight? ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2017, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-not-the-same-but-get-interchanged/787944/44 "2017-06-03T06:48:25Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > Gantlet/gauntlet You’re about 200 years late on that one. ‘Gauntlet’ is the preferred spelling, nowadays. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2017, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-not-the-same-but-get-interchanged/787944/45 "2017-06-03T07:12:53Z")
Compliment/complement. ---
**Author:** ![RadicalPi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/radicalpi/32/9806_2.png) [@RadicalPi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RadicalPi)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2017, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-not-the-same-but-get-interchanged/787944/46 "2017-06-03T07:38:46Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > “Dampen” means to moisten. Rain dampens the street. Your mom dampens a washcloth with her own spit to wipe that smudge off of your cheek. I’m not so sure about this one. The OED has quotes for dampen meaning “to dull, deaden, diminish the force or ardour of, depress, deject” that date to 1633. It does say, though, that this is now chiefly an American usage. ---
**Author:** ![Bones\_Daley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@Bones\_Daley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bones_Daley)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2017, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-not-the-same-but-get-interchanged/787944/47 "2017-06-03T09:08:21Z")
I just now saw this comment on youtube on a Monte Montgomery video …“He used SWR amplifiers along with a few peddles in this video.” ---
**Author:** ![campp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@campp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/campp)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2017, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-not-the-same-but-get-interchanged/787944/48 "2017-06-03T11:47:51Z")
Insure / Ensure ---
**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:** [June 3, 2017, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-not-the-same-but-get-interchanged/787944/49 "2017-06-03T12:55:44Z")
> [@moldmonkey](#): > > The one that drives me nuts: > > idea/ideal Don’t forget idear. That’s how 1/3rd of the US pronounces it. And more and more of them spell it that way too. Sigh. ---
**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:** [June 3, 2017, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-not-the-same-but-get-interchanged/787944/50 "2017-06-03T13:35:52Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > home / hone (as in “home in on something”) Hmm; the jury’s out on this one, I think. > **[Home In vs. Hone In – Meaning and When to Use Them](https://grammarist.com/eggcorns/home-in-hone-in/)** > > Home in is the more common and more logical form, but hone in is generally accepted in North America. > [@](#): > > Hone in began as an alteration of home in, and many people regard it as an error. It is a very common, though, especially in the U.S. and Canada—so common that many dictionaries now list it—and there are arguments in its favor. Hone means to sharpen or to perfect, and we can think of homing in as a sharpening of focus or a perfecting of one’s trajectory toward a target. So while it might not make strict logical sense, extending hone this way is not a huge leap. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2017, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-not-the-same-but-get-interchanged/787944/51 "2017-06-03T13:40:18Z")
> [@Bones\_Daley](#): > > I just now saw this comment on youtube on a Monte Montgomery video …“He used SWR amplifiers along with a few peddles in this video.” I don’t know where the error is in this one. Sent from my XT1635-02 using Tapatalk ---
**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:** [June 3, 2017, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-not-the-same-but-get-interchanged/787944/52 "2017-06-03T13:47:15Z")
Assuming Montgomery is a performer / musician of some sort, the foot operated controls I think \*\*Bones \*\*is talking about are “pedals”. To “peddle” is to “sell, typically at small scale, like from a pushcart or the back of a truck.” ---
**Author:** ![DummyGladHands](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/49beb7/32.png) [@DummyGladHands](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DummyGladHands)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2017, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-not-the-same-but-get-interchanged/787944/53 "2017-06-03T13:55:33Z")
On tenderhooks. WTF Flout and flaunt-someone on radio said so and so was flaunting the immigration rules. It bugged me enough to look it up on line and I HATE when it says something along the lines of "Flout is correct, but flaunt is now common usage and accepted. Why does that outrage me so much? ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2017, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-not-the-same-but-get-interchanged/787944/54 "2017-06-03T14:04:49Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Assuming Montgomery is a performer / musician of some sort, the foot operated controls I think \*\*Bones \*\*is talking about are “pedals”. > > To “peddle” is to “sell, typically at small scale, like from a pushcart or the back of a truck.” Of course. Thank you. ETA: And boy, do I feel dumb for missing that! Sent from my XT1635-02 using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Cub\_Mistress](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea666f/32.png) [@Cub\_Mistress](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cub_Mistress)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2017, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-not-the-same-but-get-interchanged/787944/55 "2017-06-03T14:13:15Z")
saw/seen The younger people I work do this all the time. “Mrs. Smith seen the doctor yesterday.” Drives me crazy. ---
**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:** [June 3, 2017, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-not-the-same-but-get-interchanged/787944/56 "2017-06-03T15:04:21Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > … > ETA: And boy, do I feel dumb for missing that! It was 9am. You’d only just gotten home from a very long very fun Friday night. Anyone in those circumstances could have made the same mistake. 🙂 Remember this motto: “The older I get, the better I was!” It can apply to yesterday just as well as yesteryear. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Enginerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bcef8e/32.png) [@Enginerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enginerd)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2017, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-not-the-same-but-get-interchanged/787944/57 "2017-06-03T16:19:08Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Uh, I think of gross as a shortened form of grotesque. > > Were you referring to the weight? Gross vs Net weight? Nope. The way you use them is pretty common (you might say they’re [words that are not the same but get interchanged](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=827592)), but the two words mean different things. [Gross](http://www.dictionary.com/browse/gross?s=t) (among other definitions): indelicate, indecent, obscene, or vulgar. [Grotesque](http://www.dictionary.com/browse/grotesque): odd or unnatural in shape, appearance, or character; fantastically ugly or absurd; bizarre. ---
**Author:** ![Flyer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/flyer/32/7298_2.png) [@Flyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flyer)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2017, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-not-the-same-but-get-interchanged/787944/58 "2017-06-03T16:26:28Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > A brake is something you use to stop a moving vehicle. If you are braking, you are slowing down. > > A break is an interruption of some kind (a break from work, a break in a structure). If you are breaking, you are falling apart. I have seen a surprising number of posters on this board confuse the two. > [@John\_DiFool](#): > > My favorite (from a spell on a radar detector board) was “wreckless” when they mean “reckless” (as in driving). Made even more hilarious by the fact that the former means almost exactly the opposite of the latter. Of course, it is usually possible–for a short time–to drive both recklessly and wrecklessly. But the odds will catch up to you at some point. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2017, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-not-the-same-but-get-interchanged/787944/59 "2017-06-03T17:04:12Z")
> [@Enginerd](#): > > Nope. The way you use them is pretty common (you might say they’re [words that are not the same but get interchanged](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=827592)), but the two words mean different things. > > [Gross](http://www.dictionary.com/browse/gross?s=t) (among other definitions): indelicate, indecent, obscene, or vulgar. > > [Grotesque](http://www.dictionary.com/browse/grotesque): odd or unnatural in shape, appearance, or character; fantastically ugly or absurd; bizarre. They seem interchangeable to me, at least for my usage. But I’m not a white House correspondent so I don’t need a lot of these. ---
**Author:** ![barath\_s](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/90ced4/32.png) [@barath\_s](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barath_s)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2017, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-not-the-same-but-get-interchanged/787944/60 "2017-06-03T17:20:25Z")
> [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](#): > > Previously posted by me: > Basketball player is unconscious I think his shooting is automatic, does not require a conscious decision, it is like breathing…It is unconscious [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-not-the-same-but-get-interchanged/787944.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-not-the-same-but-get-interchanged/787944.md?page=4)