Misused English words/terms maybe leading to death?
May 31, 2023 12:39 PM Subscribe
What are some of the most misused English words/terms which could potentially lead to serious consequences, even death?
Best answer: Confusing hypo and hyper medically can have pretty significant consequences.
posted by eyeofthetiger at 12:50 PM on May 31, 2023 [11 favorites]
posted by eyeofthetiger at 12:50 PM on May 31, 2023 [11 favorites]
Best answer: I would imagine most speakers use "hyper" and "hypo" correctly. The problem is hearing correctly, which is not always easy in fast-paced, high-pressure situations with numerous distractions.
posted by kevinbelt at 1:09 PM on May 31, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by kevinbelt at 1:09 PM on May 31, 2023 [3 favorites]
Best answer: Also in the medical context, confusing milligrams/micrograms can have serious (or lethal) consequences.
posted by stillmoving at 1:09 PM on May 31, 2023 [7 favorites]
posted by stillmoving at 1:09 PM on May 31, 2023 [7 favorites]
Best answer: 'Should I turn left?' 'Right!'
posted by Tsuga at 1:29 PM on May 31, 2023 [11 favorites]
posted by Tsuga at 1:29 PM on May 31, 2023 [11 favorites]
Best answer: EB White on 'flammable': https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/1195998-flammable-an-oddity-chiefly-useful-in-saving-lives-the-common
"Pulchritudinous" is the ugliest-sounding word that means "beautiful."
"Gift" is the German word for "Poison," which means every time I drive by "Das Gift Haus," I giggle until I get home.
Some words mean their own opposites: https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/words-own-opposites#:~:text=A%20contronym%2C%20also%20known%20as,words%2C%20antagonyms%2C%20and%20autoantonyms..
posted by adekllny at 1:37 PM on May 31, 2023 [2 favorites]
"Pulchritudinous" is the ugliest-sounding word that means "beautiful."
"Gift" is the German word for "Poison," which means every time I drive by "Das Gift Haus," I giggle until I get home.
Some words mean their own opposites: https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/words-own-opposites#:~:text=A%20contronym%2C%20also%20known%20as,words%2C%20antagonyms%2C%20and%20autoantonyms..
posted by adekllny at 1:37 PM on May 31, 2023 [2 favorites]
Best answer: The difference between mils (1/1000 of an inch) and millimeters (mm)(1/1000 of a metre) is huge and can make all sorts of electrical things go boom (among many I'd imagine but electrical is my jam).
Also in two countries separated by a common language sense tabling a legislation means either withdrawing or proposing the legislation depending on which side of the nominal 49th you are standing on.
posted by Mitheral at 1:42 PM on May 31, 2023 [7 favorites]
Also in two countries separated by a common language sense tabling a legislation means either withdrawing or proposing the legislation depending on which side of the nominal 49th you are standing on.
posted by Mitheral at 1:42 PM on May 31, 2023 [7 favorites]
Best answer: Inflammable? TIL. Holy shit.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 1:55 PM on May 31, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by TWinbrook8 at 1:55 PM on May 31, 2023 [2 favorites]
Best answer: I know some people who think “enervate” means to energize or invigorate, but it means the opposite. I’m not sure how serious the consequences of this might be.
posted by angiep at 2:02 PM on May 31, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by angiep at 2:02 PM on May 31, 2023 [3 favorites]
Best answer: Using the word "niggardly", especially if you are in the fields of education or politics, can have some pretty serious consequences for your career.
posted by Athanassiel at 2:05 PM on May 31, 2023
posted by Athanassiel at 2:05 PM on May 31, 2023
Best answer: Sorry, hit post too soon. Strictly speaking, my example relates to using the word correctly, not incorrectly, but it seemed sufficiently related to mention.
posted by Athanassiel at 2:08 PM on May 31, 2023
posted by Athanassiel at 2:08 PM on May 31, 2023
Best answer: CBT is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy as well as things a sexual masochist would enjoy. And in a similar vein to adekllny, it is also name of business that I drive by many times a week (it doesn't service either of these niches).
posted by mmascolino at 2:13 PM on May 31, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by mmascolino at 2:13 PM on May 31, 2023 [2 favorites]
Best answer: A case that gets some discussion in connection with the Whorf-Sapir hypothesis is the use of the word 'empty'. From the wikipedia entry on Benjamin Lee Whorf:
"Whorf described a workplace in which full gasoline drums were stored in one room and empty ones in another; he said that because of flammable vapor the "empty" drums were more dangerous than those that were full, although workers handled them less carefully to the point that they smoked in the room with "empty" drums, but not in the room with full ones. Whorf argued that by habitually speaking of the vapor-filled drums as empty and by extension as inert, the workers were oblivious to the risk posed by smoking near the "empty drums""
Terms that would seem to have a similar gravity might include 'open' and 'closed' (or 'shut'), where the relative threshold for whether something is indeed open / closed is highly variable; consider the difference between a departure gate in an airport being closed (a rope or cordon has been drawn across the walkway) and a door on an aircraft being closed (entirely non-open to anything).
posted by Joeruckus at 2:16 PM on May 31, 2023 [3 favorites]
"Whorf described a workplace in which full gasoline drums were stored in one room and empty ones in another; he said that because of flammable vapor the "empty" drums were more dangerous than those that were full, although workers handled them less carefully to the point that they smoked in the room with "empty" drums, but not in the room with full ones. Whorf argued that by habitually speaking of the vapor-filled drums as empty and by extension as inert, the workers were oblivious to the risk posed by smoking near the "empty drums""
Terms that would seem to have a similar gravity might include 'open' and 'closed' (or 'shut'), where the relative threshold for whether something is indeed open / closed is highly variable; consider the difference between a departure gate in an airport being closed (a rope or cordon has been drawn across the walkway) and a door on an aircraft being closed (entirely non-open to anything).
posted by Joeruckus at 2:16 PM on May 31, 2023 [3 favorites]
Best answer: A medical crisis that was caused by a Spanish word that sounded similar to an English word but meant something different: "In The Hospital, A Bad Translation Can Destroy A Life".
posted by akk2014 at 2:44 PM on May 31, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by akk2014 at 2:44 PM on May 31, 2023 [1 favorite]
Best answer: On the political symbols front: socialist, communist, anarchist, globalist, radical, patriot, alien, illegal, real, pro-life, freedom, family values, pornography ...
posted by trig at 2:50 PM on May 31, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by trig at 2:50 PM on May 31, 2023 [1 favorite]
Best answer: All of the protocols used in military and police radio communication are intended to prevent critical miscommunications in high stress situations. Spelling things out correctly, using unmistakable terminology, and repeating information back to create closed loop communication.
posted by Dip Flash at 2:50 PM on May 31, 2023
posted by Dip Flash at 2:50 PM on May 31, 2023
Best answer: "Ok" contributed to the Tenerife airport disaster. Since then:
Air traffic instruction must not be acknowledged solely with a colloquial phrase such as "OK" or even "Roger" (which simply means the last transmission was received),[64] but with a readback of the key parts of the instruction, to show mutual understanding. The word "takeoff" is now spoken only when the actual takeoff clearance is given, or when canceling that same clearance (i.e., "cleared for takeoff" or "cancel takeoff clearance"). Until that point, aircrew and controllers should use the word "departure" in its place (e.g., "ready for departure").
posted by Rich Smorgasbord at 2:52 PM on May 31, 2023 [8 favorites]
Air traffic instruction must not be acknowledged solely with a colloquial phrase such as "OK" or even "Roger" (which simply means the last transmission was received),[64] but with a readback of the key parts of the instruction, to show mutual understanding. The word "takeoff" is now spoken only when the actual takeoff clearance is given, or when canceling that same clearance (i.e., "cleared for takeoff" or "cancel takeoff clearance"). Until that point, aircrew and controllers should use the word "departure" in its place (e.g., "ready for departure").
posted by Rich Smorgasbord at 2:52 PM on May 31, 2023 [8 favorites]
Best answer: Before my first appointment with a neurologist at a headache clinic, they made me watch a 5+ minute slideshow about how "migraine" is in fact a legitimate medical diagnosis with real treatment possibilities beyond OTC meds, and that is understood to be potentially debilitating, and that as such nobody should conclude they are not being taken seriously if that's what the doctor ended up diagnosing them with. I can imagine how not understanding that could leave a person feeling failed by the one place that was really supposed to help them out, and potentially therefore have significant impacts on mental health and/or continuation of care.
posted by teremala at 2:58 PM on May 31, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by teremala at 2:58 PM on May 31, 2023 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I believe the inability of people to differentiate between “paediatrician” and “paedophile” has led to a few of the former being assaulted.
The phrase “table a motion” means, in the UK “we are going to talk about this now, round the table” and in the US “I’m going to write this in a table so we can remember to talk about it another time”. Amusing but also potentially dangerous.
The Portuguese word for “pull” is “puxe” which is pronounced approximately “push”. I imagine there have been a few Anglophones breaking their noses on doors in Lisbon, over the years.
posted by rongorongo at 3:26 PM on May 31, 2023
The phrase “table a motion” means, in the UK “we are going to talk about this now, round the table” and in the US “I’m going to write this in a table so we can remember to talk about it another time”. Amusing but also potentially dangerous.
The Portuguese word for “pull” is “puxe” which is pronounced approximately “push”. I imagine there have been a few Anglophones breaking their noses on doors in Lisbon, over the years.
posted by rongorongo at 3:26 PM on May 31, 2023
Best answer: Avianca Flight 052 was allowed to crash on Long Island in 1990 because, although they used all kinds of urgent language to explain they were low on fuel, they never used the word "emergency."
posted by JimN2TAW at 3:36 PM on May 31, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by JimN2TAW at 3:36 PM on May 31, 2023 [2 favorites]
Best answer: On Would I Lie To You, Rhod Gilbert tells how a mistake he made over a medical word on the phone in French put someone in the hospital in England.
posted by zadcat at 3:45 PM on May 31, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by zadcat at 3:45 PM on May 31, 2023 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: zamboni, and eyeofthetiger,
I thought I responded to your posts as soon as you reponded. Something like zamboni, that, has to be the number one on the list... I couldn't believe it when I first learned it."
posted by amfgf at 4:45 PM on May 31, 2023
I thought I responded to your posts as soon as you reponded. Something like zamboni, that, has to be the number one on the list... I couldn't believe it when I first learned it."
posted by amfgf at 4:45 PM on May 31, 2023
'Homely' isn't super likely to cause fatalities, but it could definitely be inflammable if one person sees it as a compliment and the other an insult. Could ravel a relationship pretty quick.
posted by Jacen at 7:11 PM on May 31, 2023
posted by Jacen at 7:11 PM on May 31, 2023
How about these:
"Allergic" vs. "Intolerant"
"Poisonous" vs. "Venomous"
posted by Perplexity at 7:48 PM on May 31, 2023 [2 favorites]
"Allergic" vs. "Intolerant"
"Poisonous" vs. "Venomous"
posted by Perplexity at 7:48 PM on May 31, 2023 [2 favorites]
I can imagine a scenario in which the difference between a gigabyte and a gibibyte, or a terabyte and a tibibyte, ends up being very dangerous. In general, unit conversions present a lot of opportunities for fuckups that don't get noticed until something fails catastrophically.
posted by potrzebie at 7:50 PM on May 31, 2023
posted by potrzebie at 7:50 PM on May 31, 2023
In general, unit conversions present a lot of opportunities for fuckups that don't get noticed until something fails catastrophically.
I present to you, ladies and gentlemen, the Gimli Glider.
posted by kate4914 at 9:33 PM on May 31, 2023 [2 favorites]
I present to you, ladies and gentlemen, the Gimli Glider.
posted by kate4914 at 9:33 PM on May 31, 2023 [2 favorites]
I don't know that "niggardly" is a good example of this, since it's usually (almost always?) used by racist trolls rather than being used in good faith.
posted by Umami Dearest at 9:59 PM on May 31, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by Umami Dearest at 9:59 PM on May 31, 2023 [2 favorites]
I learned how important this is in aviation directly (quite safely and mundanely) when I was rather young.
My dad, who was a career pilot, explained to me that if you're ever seeing a car out of a parking space or at a junction where you have better vision than the driver, it's much safer to avoid the instinctive habit of saying "No... no... no... ... ... no.... " while waiting for traffic to pass, because of how easy it is to confuse "no" and "go". Much better to use an explicit and distinctive pair of words like "busy" and "clear".
posted by protorp at 5:16 AM on June 1, 2023
My dad, who was a career pilot, explained to me that if you're ever seeing a car out of a parking space or at a junction where you have better vision than the driver, it's much safer to avoid the instinctive habit of saying "No... no... no... ... ... no.... " while waiting for traffic to pass, because of how easy it is to confuse "no" and "go". Much better to use an explicit and distinctive pair of words like "busy" and "clear".
posted by protorp at 5:16 AM on June 1, 2023
Dunno about MISused, exactly, but I could see any number of American/Brit conversations involving the word "quite" leading to hilarious results.
posted by catesbie at 7:21 AM on June 1, 2023
posted by catesbie at 7:21 AM on June 1, 2023
“Cleave” can both mean to chop in two and to hold/adhere firmly.
posted by aspersioncast at 10:30 AM on June 1, 2023
posted by aspersioncast at 10:30 AM on June 1, 2023
Not sure if this quite suits, but.... The phrase "let him have it" could have two radically different meanings: "give him the object you are holding", or "shoot him". For British burglar Derek Bentley, this lead directly to his execution, as a jury decided that he had been encouraging his accomplish to shoot a policeman, rather than to surrender to him.
posted by Pink Frost at 1:34 AM on June 2, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Pink Frost at 1:34 AM on June 2, 2023 [1 favorite]
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posted by zamboni at 12:43 PM on May 31, 2023 [10 favorites]