1 post tagged “misuse”

Hello! Two verbs that are constantly being misused. Here we go - definitions courtesy of Ninja Words, aka the slimmest, fastest and best online dictionary ever.

broach
(v) : to make a hole in, especially in a cask of liquor, and put in a tap in order to draw the liquid; to begin discussion about (something)

"I broached the subject of contraceptives carefully when the teenager mentioned his promiscuity."

breach
(v) : to break (in the above senses); , to break into a ship or into a coastal defence
(n) : the act of breaking, in a figurative sense; specifically: A breaking or infraction of a law, or of any obligation or tie; violation; non-fulfillment; as, a breach of contract; a breach of promise

And then we also have these two words that somehow get jumbled into this mass of six letter words that begin with BR and end in H - and are also pronounced the same way (brooch=broach; breech=breach in terms of pronounciation):

breech
(v) : with the hips coming out before the head
(adj) : born, or having been born, breech

brooch
(n) : a piece of women’s ornamental jewellery having a pin allowing it to be fixed to garments worn on the upper body