Has someone ever told you that you used a wrong word? Well, you're not alone. Many people confuse terms without even knowing it. You might think that it's usually the English language learners who get the names of concepts or objects all mixed up, but it's not unusual for native speakers to get tangled up in misconceptions too.
The truth is, some terms seem so synonymous that people don't even bother to look them up. So, if you ever find yourself in an argument whether muffins have icing or whether tofu and panner are the same thing, it might mean that you need to do some research. But no worries. This time we've got you covered. Inspired by a Scoop Whoop post we dug around and collected some of the most confusing words to explain the differences between them.
Check out if you've made any of these mistakes and let us know in the comments.
(h/t)
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or as we were taught, poisonous: hurts if you bite it, venomous: hurts if it bites you.
had been told 'shrimp' is used more in American English, while 'prawn' is favoured in British English
"All fungi are edible. Some fungi are only edible once." - Terry Pratchett
Their expression say that they are disappointed in you that you didn't know this.
Do not tell this to all this alternative right movements who claim that there are certain "people" native to places, and that their intermingling with other "races" will weaken the national identity. We may form nations and e may come from different ethnicies, but we are all humans!
"I never know... What's the difference between a stalagmite and a stalactite?" "Stalagmite has an 'm' in it"
How do people not know the difference between a butterfly and a moth???
I'm not sure about everyone else, but I'm pretty sure people know this. Right? Or is it just me?
I did a Masters and a PhD in anurans. The distinction between 'frogs' and 'toads is arbitary. Not all dryish anurans are short-leggedish, or smoothish, or stringy-eggedish, and not all mucussy anurans are the obverse in one or more of those characteristics. The notion of frogs versus toads is simply a gradient of perceptions with no biological significance. And the teeth thing that another commernter claimed is a nonsense...
Wasps can be pollinators - there are many species of orchids whose flower structures are predicated on exactly this fact. Look it up.
Paneer is awesome. Especially when coated with a layer of spiced corn flour or spiced bread.
I am not sure about this.. The one on the right is also eaten as a fruit in my natives.. It's more like a different variety of Banana..
in S.A the tangerines are called naartjies. pronounced 'nar-chies' . think it comes from the Afrikaans language.
Like other differences on this list, the distinctions are arbitrary and not consistent. There is not biological difference between kangaroos and wallabies, save size, and small kangaroos and be smaller than large wallabies. Some wallaby species are distinctly plain in colour. My bona fides? I'm a biologist, with three species of macropod that that come out to graze on my paddocks every night.
Rats are amazing, intelligent creatures and it's about time people stopped being scarred of them and start educating themselves about them. They deserve respect.
I thought it's more of US/UK thing. UK calls it biscuits while US cookies.. no?
No we have biscuits and cookies here. Biscuits like Rich Teas and Digestives and stuff whereas cookies are soft
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actually in the US the left is a cracker and the right a cookie. a biscuit is a bread/roll type thing
I call BS! Biscuits are big and fluffy. Covered in honey or sausage gravy. These biscuits are crackers, and the cookies are cookies, yum. Hello from TEXAS! Bear in mind most of these are just linguistic differences. I'd never own a lorry, but I'd never be without a truck.
Right! It's biscuits and gravy no crackers and gravy.
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I still like cookies that are not soft. But that's just how the cookie crumbles. Ginger snaps as an example or Famous Amos chocolate chip ones.
In the US, at least the locations I've been in (New England and West Coast), "biscuit" is a savory-to-sweet fluffy, non-yeasty, bread roll. Typically made with baking powder or equivalent constituents. "cracker" is savory-to-sweet thin crunchy bread product. "Cookie" is either soft or crunchy, always sweet. I think the post is discussing the British distinction between "biscuit" and "cookie" only.
In Britain these are both biscuits. In most of the US, this shows crackers & cookies - no biscuits in sight.
In America, biscuits are like bread or rolls, made with baking powder instead of yeast. We don't use the term biscuit in general for any kind of cookie.
this must be british...biscuits in the US are a roll/bread type thing
crackers are salty, biscuits are sweet as far as I know.
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In the US those would be crackers and cookies. Biscuits are a form of bread like rolls. In the South we like them for breakfast with egg, sausage, ham, cheese, and/or bacon in them.
Cookies are not necessarily soft. In America, they are necessarily sweet.
Ok now this one is not quite correct. Depending on where you are from..in the US, cookies are always sweet and can be hard if you bake them long enough. Biscuits are always soft and are savory often used like bread, they are eaten at meal times, sometimes covered in gravy. Of course then you have crackers and those are a totally different treat. In the UK and Australia, it's all switched around. Do they even have cookies there? I thought their idea of a cookie is a biscuit. Cant remember as its been years since I was in OZ.
In the US, biscuits are soft and not sweet. Frequently topped with butter and jam or jelly.
Crunchy things like the "biscuits" above are called "crackers".
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nope nope nope. not correct for all English speaking. Cookies tend to be sweet. Biscuits depending on the country can be savory or flaky or fluffy.
If that's the case, most of the "cookies" here are biscuits, our "soft cookies" are cookies, and the "biscuits" like you get at KFC, Popeye's, etc., are actually cookies.
Oreos are biscuits in the U.K. cookies are the same as the pic on the right
The photo on the left are what we call “crackers.” The photo on the right are what we call “cookies.” What we call “biscuits” are similar to what British call scones and Irish refer to as soda bread. However, our biscuits are a bit sweeter than traditional soda bread (not so much soda in them). FYI: your crumpets are similar our “hoe cakes.”
...and that's how it should be! Except of course in the Christmas season, because suddenly there are Plätzchen! O.o
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More of a US difference, down under they are all biscuits, with a descriptive adjective prior.
Biscuits are a savory baked good and cookies are a sweet baked good. Those crazy people in the UK are all sorts of wrong ;)
no, my oatmeal cookies are very crunchy, thank you. Biscuits are served with eggs and gravy, cookies can be soft, chewy, or crunchy.
Rubbish, just rubbish, one's an Americanism, the other is pan-European and most of the rest of the World, who haven't picked-up on baggie, cookie, buddy at al....
We call cookies biscuits, and biscuits crackers. Cookies may be crisp though. Gingernuts are rock hard, if they’re made right :)
NOPE. Biscuits are savory (and frequently hot, soft and flaky) and cookies are sweet (and frequently crisp). That thing on the left is a cracker if savory or a cookie if sweet. I knew we kicked you Brits off of our continent for a reason! JK. :)
Sure. In America they are, but in Britain they are a dessert biscuit designed for dunking in your coffee or tea. Cookies are also very popular and great with a long cold glass of milk. We have savoury crackers too good for eating with cheese after a meal, and what we call crispbread which is a nice snack with cheese, salad, or even peanut butter. The most popular here is called Ryvita by name. Incidentally, Scottish Shortbread is eaten like a biscuit or cookie, yet is neither really. We don't have any equivalent to the biscuits and gravy you have in America, although our gravy is brown in colour and what you call gravy is a savoury white sauce to us. The nearest thing we have to your biscuit, is a scone, and can be savoury, but most people associate it with a cream tea, and it is eaten with jam and cream.
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There should be one with stockings and pantyhose. Stockings only cover from toe to thigh. Pantyhose covers from toe to waist.
The ones on the left are probably solid and sweet and not what Americans call crackers. Except for graham crackers, which are the only example of a sweet 'cracker' I can think of.
The UK-parliament deffinition is, that when a biscuit get to old it gets soft - and a cookie gets hard.
Isn't that (also?) the difference between biscuit and cake - used to solve the Jaffa Cake conundrum? I can see that a soft cookie would get hard as it gets old though. Sigh, now I want a Jaffa Cake...
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I thought the British & Irish referred to all cookies as biscuits- which has a totally different meaning in America- I mean, you don't want to have sausage gravy with your cookies...
Cookies can be hard or soft. Think of gingersnaps. Also, most US commercial cookies are hard, like Oreos, Nutter Butter, Chips Ahoy, etc.
This doesn't work. Many types of cookies are crunchy and biscuits can be soft. Cookies are sweet, biscuits are more savory.
Those biscuits look sort of like crackers. Are crackers supposed to be salty and biscuits sweeter?
Biscuits are round, approx 1-1 1/2 inches tall, and need butter like bread. Best eaten warm with sausage gravy over the top. British biscuits are crackers. Cookies are sweet, snacks items, hopefully home made!
if all biscuits are crunchy how can a variety of biscuit be soft? this makes no sense.
In America, the ones on the right are actually crackers, because they are crunchy and crack. :]
I think you mean the ones on the left are crackers.
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Where I'm from a biscuit is a flaky tense roll. Cookies can be soft or crunchy. Crunchy things like the left photo is called a cracker. It's all where you're from, I think.
NO. It is cookies. "C" is for cookies, that's good enough for me-Cookie Monster
It's a war around here (BR), almost a killing floor about it.... if someone from Rio de Janeiro meets a São Paulo's friend automatically they become mortal enemies....
what part of the US do you live in that you call crackers cookies?
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Pretty useful post, makes you understand the difference between things that look the same. But i'm pretty sure everybody can see the difference between Gorilla and Guerilla .
Well these are really useful, especially since I don't speak english as my first language
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You should have included chocolate chips and potato chips. I got those mixed up when I tried to make cookies.
Chocolate chips go in cookies whereas potato chips go in biscuits.
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Most important(!) - Things That Most People Don’t Know Are Actually Different your - you'r
Wow! Some of them seem pretty obvious but other were real eye openers! Thanks.
Cupcake and Muffin have different batters. The icing has nothing to do with the difference.
Whether you're a native English speaker or not, I think a lot of these are actually helpful. Some are more what you'd call common knowledge, but I will admit that there are some that I've forgotten. Just my opinion!
I enjoyed this article. Some of the commenters were rather cynical. You're article was one of the most enjoyable things I've read online in a long time.
I was looking forward to seeing 'Floor' and 'Ground'; a pet peeve of mine when I hear people [husband] use them interchangeably, whether they are inside or out.
The turtle vs tortoise bit is wrong. There are land turtles (box turtles for instance). A tortoise has thicker legs and is mostly vegetarian while a turtle has flipper-like legs and are generally omnivores.
The only real difference is that guerrillas fight in small bands using unconventional methods while gorillas prefer to maintain standard military structures and tactics (citation needed).
The one about the cookies only correct from a British speaker's point of view. My oatmeal cookies are very crunchy, thank you, and the fluffy biscuits at breakfast are great with gravy.
Kinda sad that some people don't know the difference between these things. Seeing as how the first giveaway would be the different names...
People also use mugs for tea and cups for coffee. Especially in Europe coffee is served in cups. The difference is only in size and shape, and not in the beverage you drink from it.
'A winged monster of Thebes, having a woman's head and lion's body' *shows picture of an Egyptian Sphinx, which is wingless and, usually has a male face/head* And before anyone gets on me, yes they are different and yes, they could have found an image of a Grecian sphinx to show.
There should be one with stockings and pantyhose. Stockings only cover from toe to thigh. Pantyhose covers from toe to waist.
I actually thought most of these were incredibly obvious, and widely know.
for Aussies there are 2 types of thongs that outsiders get confused by. thong can mean the type of underwear or the shoes
You certainly don't want to muddle up which part of the anatomy you wear them on!!
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Sorry to say, but most of these are so simple and should know the difference between the 2. Wow
True, though for people who do not have English as their first language, it can be hard to tell apart. Plus, some depend on the country where you live. Like cookies and biscuits. English is not my first language, but I knew the difference between all of them. Probably because I have quite some American friends. And speak/write in English a lot. And always writing (well, typing actually) in English over here.
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Please replace "Mr. Madison" with "this article" in the following quotation: "Mr. Madison, what you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul."
In Australia always prawns, drives me nuts if they are called shrimp, but had no idea there was an actual difference. Most Americans I know only call all types shrimp also. I also even being an Aussie did not and had no need to know Crocodile vs Alligator based on snoit shape, so while everyone knows , some haven't needed to and if either one comes at me, I would not much care which was which, and will still never call any variety shrimp 😀
Prawn is favorite dish of Indians. My shrimp roll. Follow Us : https://prmtyms.com/
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Is this aimed at 2 year olds?! Who in their right mind would think any of these pairs are the same thing? The only people who may find this useful are non-native English speakers and only those at a lower level.
My first language isn't English but I knew all of these differences. I think it is literally the uneducated or the lazy who never check up on anything that would get any of these wrong. I mean look at native English speakers mixing up 'their', 'there' and 'they're' or simple things like burgundy spelled as burgandy [rolls eyes] and many, many more. My English boss used to give me his correspondence to check too and I found lots of mistakes.
Load More Replies... Pretty useful post, makes you understand the difference between things that look the same. But i'm pretty sure everybody can see the difference between Gorilla and Guerilla .
Well these are really useful, especially since I don't speak english as my first language
Load More Replies... You should have included chocolate chips and potato chips. I got those mixed up when I tried to make cookies.
Chocolate chips go in cookies whereas potato chips go in biscuits.
Load More Replies... Most important(!) - Things That Most People Don’t Know Are Actually Different your - you'r
Wow! Some of them seem pretty obvious but other were real eye openers! Thanks.
Cupcake and Muffin have different batters. The icing has nothing to do with the difference.
Whether you're a native English speaker or not, I think a lot of these are actually helpful. Some are more what you'd call common knowledge, but I will admit that there are some that I've forgotten. Just my opinion!
I enjoyed this article. Some of the commenters were rather cynical. You're article was one of the most enjoyable things I've read online in a long time.
I was looking forward to seeing 'Floor' and 'Ground'; a pet peeve of mine when I hear people [husband] use them interchangeably, whether they are inside or out.
The turtle vs tortoise bit is wrong. There are land turtles (box turtles for instance). A tortoise has thicker legs and is mostly vegetarian while a turtle has flipper-like legs and are generally omnivores.
The only real difference is that guerrillas fight in small bands using unconventional methods while gorillas prefer to maintain standard military structures and tactics (citation needed).
The one about the cookies only correct from a British speaker's point of view. My oatmeal cookies are very crunchy, thank you, and the fluffy biscuits at breakfast are great with gravy.
Kinda sad that some people don't know the difference between these things. Seeing as how the first giveaway would be the different names...
People also use mugs for tea and cups for coffee. Especially in Europe coffee is served in cups. The difference is only in size and shape, and not in the beverage you drink from it.
'A winged monster of Thebes, having a woman's head and lion's body' *shows picture of an Egyptian Sphinx, which is wingless and, usually has a male face/head* And before anyone gets on me, yes they are different and yes, they could have found an image of a Grecian sphinx to show.
There should be one with stockings and pantyhose. Stockings only cover from toe to thigh. Pantyhose covers from toe to waist.
I actually thought most of these were incredibly obvious, and widely know.
for Aussies there are 2 types of thongs that outsiders get confused by. thong can mean the type of underwear or the shoes
You certainly don't want to muddle up which part of the anatomy you wear them on!!
Load More Replies... Sorry to say, but most of these are so simple and should know the difference between the 2. Wow
True, though for people who do not have English as their first language, it can be hard to tell apart. Plus, some depend on the country where you live. Like cookies and biscuits. English is not my first language, but I knew the difference between all of them. Probably because I have quite some American friends. And speak/write in English a lot. And always writing (well, typing actually) in English over here.
Load More Replies... Please replace "Mr. Madison" with "this article" in the following quotation: "Mr. Madison, what you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul."
In Australia always prawns, drives me nuts if they are called shrimp, but had no idea there was an actual difference. Most Americans I know only call all types shrimp also. I also even being an Aussie did not and had no need to know Crocodile vs Alligator based on snoit shape, so while everyone knows , some haven't needed to and if either one comes at me, I would not much care which was which, and will still never call any variety shrimp 😀
Prawn is favorite dish of Indians. My shrimp roll. Follow Us : https://prmtyms.com/
Load More Replies... Is this aimed at 2 year olds?! Who in their right mind would think any of these pairs are the same thing? The only people who may find this useful are non-native English speakers and only those at a lower level.
My first language isn't English but I knew all of these differences. I think it is literally the uneducated or the lazy who never check up on anything that would get any of these wrong. I mean look at native English speakers mixing up 'their', 'there' and 'they're' or simple things like burgundy spelled as burgandy [rolls eyes] and many, many more. My English boss used to give me his correspondence to check too and I found lots of mistakes.
Load More Replies...