A tax or attacks?

[Tony Williams]

Just heard a TV newsreader talking about "a tax on bankers' bonuses" - although it could have been "attacks on bankers' bonuses". I was intrigued that two different word combinations could sound exactly the same and, in this example, be interchangeable without changing the basic sense of the phrase.

I can think of one other example offhand - the sick note from a not entirely literate mother explaining that her kid would be off school because he was suffering from "dire rear". Quite....

Anyone think of any more?

[blackjack]

I think you might enjoy a little book called 'Words fail me' by Teresa Monachino which is about word oddities.

Here's an example:

"Finally the bill would go to the House of
Lords where we would hope that those tit-
led gentlemen may defeat it."
This is from the section which explores words which change their meaning with the addition of a hyphen, yet both forms could technically be appropriate.

She also asks such questions as "Why does monosyllabic have five syllables?"

[Tony Williams]

Here's an example:

"Finally the bill would go to the House of
Lords where we would hope that those tit-
led gentlemen may defeat it."

I remember being rather startled when I first came across the word "anal-
yst".

[Croydon Bob]

I remember being rather startled when I first came across the word "anal-
yst".

A financial system that I used to use at work many years ago had a column headed:

ANAL -
- YSIS

Of course we used to pronounce it as it looked on the screen and would be shouting "what do I put in the anal yusis column?" across the office without realising that half our colleagues had no idea what we were talking about. I still can't see the word without thinking of it as two words...

[chaggle]

I helped develop a financial suite some time ago where the representatives analysis report program contained a module called "reps-anal-entry"

[Stompy]

Alan is an anagram of anal.
This always surprises my students, whereas it is completely obvious to me. Not that I know many Alans.



Psychotherapist will always read as "psycho the rapist" to me, unless I am in polite company. Which has never happened and Gord willing never will.