# 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:** 7
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2017, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-not-the-same-but-get-interchanged/787944/121 "2017-06-08T01:54:45Z")
> [@Sangahyando](#): > > I find that I can forgive the business of “loose” taking over the role of “lose” – envisage a mental link on the user’s part, involving something “breaking loose from”, or “getting loose of”, one. No, I think the lose/loose one comes from “rose” “nose” “hose” would mean “lose” is pronounced like “lows” so obviously to make it right you’d need an extra ‘o’. ---
**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 8, 2017, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-not-the-same-but-get-interchanged/787944/122 "2017-06-08T03:37:48Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > No, I think the lose/loose one comes from “rose” “nose” “hose” would mean “lose” is pronounced like “lows” so obviously to make it right you’d need an extra ‘o’. To me double O means a hard S, except choosy and anything else I didn’t think of. ---
**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 8, 2017, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-not-the-same-but-get-interchanged/787944/123 "2017-06-08T03:42:24Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > Yes, I made a mess of that, didn’t I. The most common sense in everyday speech is “subject to debate” with the implication of unsettled, unresolved. I guess the similarity in meaning to “mute” is kind of vague, but I think it’s still there - we can’t speak definitively about it \<–\> we should keep quiet about it. In the US the common usage definition of moot is “of no practical significance.” This and mute are perfect examples of the OP. Are you a brit? ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2017, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-not-the-same-but-get-interchanged/787944/124 "2017-06-08T04:21:48Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > allusive / elusive / illusive Even Harvard geniuses have gotten that wrong. [https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3106/2574392988\_27c287281d\_o.png](https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3106/2574392988_27c287281d_o.png) ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2017, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-not-the-same-but-get-interchanged/787944/125 "2017-06-08T07:13:26Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > To me double O means a hard S, except choosy and anything else I didn’t think of. If they were going to think that deeply into it before deciding how to spell it, they’d take the time to look it up. ---
**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:** [June 8, 2017, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-not-the-same-but-get-interchanged/787944/126 "2017-06-08T07:51:10Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > In the US the common usage definition of moot is “of no practical significance.” This and mute are perfect examples of the OP. Are you a brit? Yes, I’m a Brit. That meaning is common in the U.K. too. You’re right, that’s closer to “mute” in meaning. Isn’t it common in U.S. English for moot to be used when somebody is assuming the truth of something that has not been settled? ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2017, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-not-the-same-but-get-interchanged/787944/127 "2017-06-08T08:33:16Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > Yes, I’m a Brit. That meaning is common in the U.K. too. You’re right, that’s closer to “mute” in meaning. > > Isn’t it common in U.S. English for moot to be used when somebody is assuming the truth of something that has not been settled? No, and I don’t think that sense is common in BrE either. The senses of _moot_, the adjective are: 1. A question which is, or is proposed as, the topic for a hypothetical discussion; a question fit for debate by people who want to practice their debating skills, rather than because they care about the question. 2. A question which would be suitable/appropriate for this purpose because it is open to argument, uncertain, debatable, doubtful. 3. A question which would be suitable/appropriate for this purpose because it is of no practical significance or relevance. I suppose if somebody is proceeding on the basis that a particular proposition is true or settled and you think it’s debatable or uncertain, you might use _moot_ in sense 2 to express that view. But there’s nothing inherent in “moot” to imply that anyone has mistakenly taken a moot point to be settled. ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2017, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-not-the-same-but-get-interchanged/787944/128 "2017-06-08T09:03:09Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > The “would of” one is tricky, because it only shows up in writing, not in speech (or at least, isn’t recognizable as such in speech). The incorrect “would of” is pronounced identically with the correct “would’ve”, which would’ve course be the origin of the mistake. This does depend on accent, though. Here in North East England (and, I’m sure, in other parts of Britain) the difference between “could of” and “could’ve” is quite clear, particularly at the end of a sentence. ---
**Author:** ![Sangahyando](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f14d63/32.png) [@Sangahyando](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sangahyando)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2017, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-not-the-same-but-get-interchanged/787944/129 "2017-06-08T09:47:50Z")
> [@Sangahyando](#): > > I find that I can forgive the business of “loose” taking over the role of “lose” – envisage a mental link on the user’s part, involving something “breaking loose from”, or “getting loose of”, one. > [@drad\_dog](#): > > Right but this doesn’t explain why they don’t tie it with looser, hard “s” meaning less tight, automatically. **It’s chaos I tell you**. > [@GuanoLad](#): > > No, I think the lose/loose one comes from “rose” “nose” “hose” would mean “lose” is pronounced like “lows” so obviously to make it right you’d need an extra ‘o’. > [@GuanoLad](#): > > If they were going to think that deeply into it before deciding how to spell it, they’d take the time to look it up. **GuanoLad** – I concur with your words immediately above; less perhaps, with those concerning "pronounced like ‘lows’ ". IMO logic, consistency and methodical thinking things through, don’t play a great part in language use – written or spoken. I reckon **drad dog** right about the chaos-content; and that that has always been the case. ---
**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 8, 2017, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-not-the-same-but-get-interchanged/787944/130 "2017-06-08T12:32:35Z")
> [@UDS](#): > > No, and I don’t think that sense is common in BrE either. > > The senses of _moot_, the adjective are: > > 1. A question which is, or is proposed as, the topic for a hypothetical discussion; a question fit for debate by people who want to practice their debating skills, rather than because they care about the question. > > 2. A question which would be suitable/appropriate for this purpose because it is open to argument, uncertain, debatable, doubtful. > > 3. A question which would be suitable/appropriate for this purpose because it is of no practical significance or relevance. > > I suppose if somebody is proceeding on the basis that a particular proposition is true or settled and you think it’s debatable or uncertain, you might use _moot_ in sense 2 to express that view. But there’s nothing inherent in “moot” to imply that anyone has mistakenly taken a moot point to be settled. In BrE there seems to be another sense of “moot.” I often read “… the question was mooted. …” in BrE writing. Where the plain sense is that the question has been or is being brought up for discussion. IOW, it’s now the current topic of conversation, highly relevant to whatever’s going on. That usage is, IME, completely absent in USA English. AIUI in AmerE “moot” is purely for things that are inoperative by design or circumstance. “He’s dead Jim; whatever he wanted for dinner, it’s moot now.” The “moot court” is a debating and lawyer training technique where fake trials of real cases are held and decided by fake judges and fake juries. The issues are real; it’s the fact the fake court has no real power to implement its decision that renders the whole thing “moot.” etc. ---
**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:** [June 8, 2017, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-not-the-same-but-get-interchanged/787944/131 "2017-06-08T12:50:23Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth **Riemann** : > > Actually, I’d say this has been an exceptionally civilized discussion, among threads of the genre! > > One of the surest ways to generate a huge number of comments is to start a thread along the lines of “What things about language annoy you?” And the anger and vitriol with which language peeves are sometimes expressed can be quite astonishing. The only one I get vitriolic about is “literally”, because it significantly diminishes the ability to communicate. So long as the word “literally” retains its meaning, all other metaphorical, sarcastic, and other figurative usages are on the table, because if it’s ever unclear, you can ask the speaker whether they mean it literally. But when “literally” itself becomes subject to the same treatment, you have no further recourse. That said, the “loose” one does hold a special annoyance for me, because there is a verb definition for “loose”, and whenever I see it used as a verb, my mind always goes there. The example that sticks most clearly in my head was the MA Senate special election of 2010, where someone said something like “The Democrats are about to loose Massachusetts”. And so I pictured someone nocking the state of Massachusetts to a gigantic bow, drawing, and letting it fly. ---
**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 8, 2017, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-not-the-same-but-get-interchanged/787944/132 "2017-06-08T12:57:31Z")
nm. 'Twas a fine joke, but probably too close to political for GQ. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2017, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-not-the-same-but-get-interchanged/787944/133 "2017-06-08T14:22:57Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > Saw [this coffee mug yesterday,](http://i1.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/001/262/398/637.png) gave me a good laugh. Where do I get one? > [@aceplace57](#): > > Uh, I think of gross as a shortened form of grotesque. > > Were you referring to the weight? Gross vs Net weight? > [@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. “Gross” in the vernacular means “grisly,” or “disgusting.” Since “grotesque” means unnaturally shaped, usually in a disturbing way," sometimes the words can describe the same thing, like a person who has been hit by a car, or some other kind of body, say, a partially decomposed and bloated one, or a serial killer’s victim. And sometimes figures in art that are grotesque and meant to disturb might be “gross” to some viewers-- but not always. They painting at the end of the movie _The Picture of Dorian Gray_ is both grotesque and gross. Some of Picasso’s figures might legitimately be described as grotesque, but I can’t think of one I would call “gross.” Some things, on the other hand, are just gross. Having meat go bad and develop maggots in your fridge is really gross, but not grotesque. ---
**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:** [June 8, 2017, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-not-the-same-but-get-interchanged/787944/134 "2017-06-08T15:01:42Z")
```auto ``` > [@RivkahChaya](#): > > Where do I get one? From post #106. 🆒 ---
**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:** [June 8, 2017, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-not-the-same-but-get-interchanged/787944/135 "2017-06-08T17:58:12Z")
Personally, I define “gross” as “excessively biological”. I can’t really think of anything considered “gross” that doesn’t derive its grossness from biological activity, and anything biological in excess seems to end up gross. ---
**Author:** ![UncleFred](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f0a364/32.png) [@UncleFred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleFred)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-not-the-same-but-get-interchanged/787944/136 "2017-06-09T01:09:39Z")
When I saw the title of the thread, I thought it meant something like the old George Carlin joke; "Flammable InFlammable Non-Inflammable The thing either flams or it doesn’t." But that’s not quite the same, or is it? ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-not-the-same-but-get-interchanged/787944/137 "2017-06-09T03:08:55Z")
Nobody’s mentioned defuse/diffuse yet? You defuse a tense situation. You do not diffuse it. ---
**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 9, 2017, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-not-the-same-but-get-interchanged/787944/138 "2017-06-09T23:08:23Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > Yes, I’m a Brit. That meaning is common in the U.K. too. You’re right, that’s closer to “mute” in meaning. > > Isn’t it common in U.S. English for moot to be used when somebody is assuming the truth of something that has not been settled? Moot is very common in the US and used to say that something has been settled already, in other words someone is assuming an issue exists which has been rendered meaningless, usually by succeeding events. I don’t hear “We mooted it” too much, never used it myself. I have heard “mute point” a few times in conversation. ---
**Author:** ![NetTrekker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nettrekker/32/2909_2.png) [@NetTrekker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NetTrekker)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2018, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-not-the-same-but-get-interchanged/787944/139 "2018-07-15T21:35:46Z")
Not exactly a case of interchange both ways but ‘misnomer’ is often used incorrectly where ‘misconception’ would be appropriate (when it’s not about a name for something). ---
**Author:** ![glowacks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/glowacks/32/5548_2.png) [@glowacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glowacks)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2018, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-not-the-same-but-get-interchanged/787944/140 "2018-07-15T23:06:44Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > Moot is very common in the US and used to say that something has been settled already, in other words someone is assuming an issue exists which has been rendered meaningless, usually by succeeding events. I don’t hear “We mooted it” too much, never used it myself. The “rendered meaningless” part is far more important than “settled already”. If something has been accomplished or decided for once and for all, and what path is to be taken is no longer a point of discussion, I don’t think anyone describing it would call the decision “moot” - the decision very much has meaning, it’s just arguing against a _fait accompli_ will not accomplish anything. Whereas, if a custody dispute ends because of the death of the child, then one would say that the question of custody would become moot, and the point is never actually resolved. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-not-the-same-but-get-interchanged/787944.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-not-the-same-but-get-interchanged/787944.md?page=8)