Versus

“flaunt” vs. “flout”

Verbs, Versus

I sometimes see or hear these verbs used interchangeably.

Problem:
The verbs “flaunt” and “flout” are not synonyms.

Explanation:
The verb “flaunt” — spelled F-L-A-U-N-T — dates back to the 1560s.

When used with an object, “flaunt” means to display ostentatiously.

When used without an object, “flaunt” means to parade oneself conspicuously.

The verb “flaunt” apparently comes from the Norwegian dialectical word “flanta”, which means to show off.

I first learned the verb “flaunt” from a Braniff Airlines TV ad, in which Braniff had stewardesses proclaim “If you’ve got it, flaunt it!” to brag about Braniff’s superiority over other airlines.

The verb “flout” — spelled F-L-O-U-T — dates back to the late 1300s.

When used with an object, “flout” means to scorn, scoff at, or mock.

When used without an object, “flout” means to show contempt or disdain.

The verb “flout” comes from the Dutch word “fluiten”, which means to play a flute. That word also means to jeer, which apparently was often accomplished hundreds of years ago by someone playing a simple flute or whistle around another person.

Solution:
To remember that “flout” is different than “flaunt”, notice that “flout” looks somewhat like “flute” to remember that “flout” means to mock or to show disdain, as if you were playing a flute in a mocking way around someone else.

“black” vs. “blacken”

Verbs, Versus

I started thinking about these two verbs the other day after seeing a reference to one of them in a technical document.

I saw a reference to the verb “black”, which dates back to the 1200s, in an IPTV technical document.

The document referred to a “blacked screen.”

The transitive verb “black” means to make black.

The intransitive verb “black” means to become black.

Now consider the verb “blacken”, which dates back to the 1300s.

The transitive verb “blacken” primarily means to make black or to darken and secondarily means to sully or defame.

The intransitive verb “blacken” means to become black or dark.

For example, “blackened chicken” and “blackened salmon” and “blackened tuna”, which are popular American menu items now, are not completely black.

So it seems that one can blacken the flesh of animals used as food and can black a TV screen, but not the other way around.

“retch” vs. “wretch”

Versus

I sometimes see these words written interchangeably.

Problem:
The words “retch” and “wretch” are not synonyms.

Explanation:
The word “retch” — spelled R-E-T-C-H — is a verb that dates back to the mid 1500s and means to vomit when used with an object and means to make an effort to vomit when used without an object.

The verb “retch” comes from an Old Norse word that means to hawk or spit and, when spoken, sounds like hawking or spitting.

The word “wretch” — spelled W-R-E-T-C-H — is a noun that dates back to before 900 and means an unhappy person or a person of base character.

The noun “wretch” comes from the Old English word “wrecca”, which means exile and comes from the German word “Recke”, which means warrior and comes from the Old Norse word “rekkr”, which means man.

So somehow a word for “man” transformed into a word for “warrior”, which transformed into a word for “exile”, which transformed into a word that refers to an unhappy person or a person of base character.

Many readers may know the noun “wretch” from the hymn “Amazing Grace”, which includes the lyrics “Amazing Grace! How sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me …”

Solution:
To distinguish the “retch” that starts with an “r” from the “wretch” that starts with a “w”, remember that the latter is a noun by remembering that another, similar-sounding noun is “witch”, which also starts with a “w”.