Words you confuse due to similar spelling

[Takhisis]

Thaw - Dethaw

Surely the 2nd thing shouldn't even be a word? Yet it somehow is - and doesn't even mean "to freeze". I'm not sure how that happened, but I refuse to admit that this word exists.

Is that similar enough?

"This term generally is regarded as nonstandard and an illiterate term for thaw; consequently, it is usually inappropriate in formal contexts." From wiktionary.

Public and pubic

Both can be applied to the words 'hair' and 'area'. I understand your confusion.

 

[Quintillus]

It's the stupidest thing ever, pretty much as stupid as inflammable:

Verb 1. dethaw - become or cause to become soft or liquid; "The sun melted the ice"; "the ice thawed"; "the ice cream melted"; "The heat melted the wax"; "The giant iceberg dissolved over the years during the global warming phase"; "dethaw the meat"
Synonyms: thaw, unfreeze, unthaw, melt, dissolve

Thanks a lot.. whoever's in charge of English

That is pretty stupid, and on the same scale as flammable/inflammable, though with less disastrous consequences from a misunderstanding.

Similarly, debone: synonyms: bone.

Isn't "debone" the standard one, there? As in "debone the fish, then cook it..." - take the bones out, then cook it. Still rather bad. In that case, I can kind of see how "bone" may have come up as shorthand - "do what you do with bones in fish, then cook it --> bone the fish, then cook it". Still silly, since what would it mean to put bones in a fish, but unlike inflammable and dethaw I can see how it may have happened.

This also reminds me of the term "dust", which means "to remove dust", along the same lines of "bone" meaning "to remove bones". Why the term is "dust" and not "dedust", is a fair question. "Dedust" sounds ridiculously silly to a native English speaker, but would better describe what's actually being done.

 

[Borachio]

I can't say I agree. "Bone" is the word for me. As you say, what would it mean to put bones into something. A corset maybe?

How about "skin", and "gut"? Would you rather they were deskin and degut?

 

[IglooDame]

Except and accept, but I don't know how much it really affects the effects.

Oh, wait, similiar spelling - nevermind.

 

[H4run]

beach and b*t*h, I always nervous when I want to say "beach", I'm worry I spell it wrongly.

Like:

"In archipelagos countries there are so many beautiful beaches."

In fact there is one girl who mentioned a certain archipelagos country and said: "it has wonderful beaches" and people laughing at her because she say it as it is b***hes.

For me I cannot found her mistake until now and that concern me and makes me quite nervous. I still don't know how to pronounce those two words differently (correctly?). Try to use google translate once, and both sound identical.

 

[Borachio]

Ah. But those two are near homonyms. They are indeed very close in sound.

I knew a French woman who couldn't distinguish between "sheet" and "sh*t", with unfortunate consequences. To the extent that she refused to say either.

Also, "wander" and "wonder" are very close, though without any associated humour.

 

[H4run]

Ah. But those two are near homonyms. They are indeed very close in sound.

I knew a French woman who couldn't distinguish between "sheet" and "sh*t", with unfortunate consequences. To the extent that she refused to say either.

Also, "wander" and "wonder" are very close, though without any associated humour.

"sheet" and "s**t" are really sound quite similar, maybe the different is the "ee" in "sheet" is pronounce longer than "i" in sh**.

Wonder and Wander I pronounce it totally different, one with "a" another with "o".

However beach and b**** I cannot distinguish any different between those words, even a very slightly different (if there's any). Those words really sound identical. And when people laugh at her when I see there's nothing wrong on how she said it, it really makes me nervous I'm worry to be misunderstood by others.

 

[SamSniped]

I knew a French woman who couldn't distinguish between "sheet" and "sh*t", with unfortunate consequences. To the extent that she refused to say either.

Similarly, Sean Connery never asked a girl to sit on his face again.

 

[Takhisis]

Ah. But those two are near homonyms. They are indeed very close in sound.

Near homophones, then.

 

[Borachio]

Yup. You've got me there, bang to rights. That's the 5,345th mistake I've made today. So far.

Now, what's my next blunder going to be?

 

[Takhisis]

Erm, that it wasn't today but yesterday…

 

[Hygro]

beach and b*t*h, I always nervous when I want to say "beach", I'm worry I spell it wrongly.

Like:

"In archipelagos countries there are so many beautiful beaches."

In fact there is one girl who mentioned a certain archipelagos country and said: "it has wonderful beaches" and people laughing at her because she say it as it is b***hes.

For me I cannot found her mistake until now and that concern me and makes me quite nervous. I still don't know how to pronounce those two words differently (correctly?). Try to use google translate once, and both sound identical.

I'm spitchless.

sry the difference is in the long "e" sound vs the short "i" sound. The long "e" requires more tautness (in mouth/throat/jaw/speaking-area-muscles) to pronounce. I'm sure you'll grasp it if you give it some more time.

 

[Kyriakos]

One classic example is proscribe and prescribe. Yet their definitions are the exact opposite.

What are similar spelt words that you confuse?

Do note that i am typing this in jest!!!

Remember 'mute point'?

 

[Borachio]

Erm, that it wasn't today but yesterday…

I wondered if you'd spot that. Well done! Let me give you a virtual pat on the back, old chap.

Spoiler :

No no. Really I did. I know I can't prove that's what I thought. But I honestly did.

Then I thought 'Shall I change my post to make it conform to the day before to save someone pointing the error out?' And then I thought I couldn't be bothered. ("And who's going to go to the trouble of pointing it out anyway?", thought I.) So I didn't.

 

[Takhisis]

It took me some time to figure it out. I thought you were daring me and that you had done something on purpose so started looking.

 

[Borachio]

Nope. I'm simply not that subtle. And, of course, I'm far too lazy.

Spoiler :

Or am I? This could be a double bluff.