Perpetually Confused » Definitions

Definition: Bolt

The Confused One — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 17:07:22 +0000

Bolt the lock and you’ve secured something. Bolt in general and you’re running as fast as you can.

Definition: Buckle

The Confused One — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 17:06:24 +0000

You can buckle up and fasten something or buckle down and fall apart. So when someone says, “I buckled,” what did he really do?

Definition: Weather

The Confused One — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 17:05:04 +0000

You can weather the storm, or endure, or something can be weathered, or eroded. Endure, erode. Some of our brains go through both at once, don’t they?

Definition: Ravel

The Confused One — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 17:03:06 +0000

Merriam-Webster makes me happy. Ravel means both “to separate or undo the texture of” and “to become entangled or confused.” Ravel is my new favorite word. I might name my next pet Ravel.

Definition: Clip

The Confused One — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 16:59:53 +0000

According to Merriam-Webster, clip means “to encompass” or “hold in a tight grip” and “to cut or cut off with or as if with shears.” So you bring it together and cut it apart. I love English.

Definition: Biweekly

The Confused One — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 00:10:59 +0000

1 : occurring twice a week
2 : occurring every two weeks

Maybe it’s just me, but there’s a bit of a difference there. For more fun, bimonthly says it’s twice a month and every two months. So technically, an article that comes out every two weeks is both biweekly and bymonthly while also not being bimonthly.

Credit to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary for our perpetually confused words for today.