Just like an instruction manual to assemble an IKEA dresser, the manuals for the English language (dictionaries and grammar textbooks) can be hard to decipher. Ask an English teacher and they’ll tell you that certain grammatical mistakes are easily overlooked and regularly repeated. One common error that people make is saying words that sound right, despite the actual meaning being different than what was intended. Words are constantly evolving and changing over the decades and centuries, so a word that was intended to be used in one way might mean something new in 100 years. Let’s dive a little deeper to examine some of the most commonly misused English words today.

People often misuse the word “travesty” as a synonym for “tragedy,” implying a situation is filled with suffering or distress. But the true usage of “travesty” is better suited to describe an absurd or distorted representation of something. If a lenient sentence is a “travesty of justice,” for instance, that doesn’t necessarily mean it will cause distress. Rather, it suggests that it’s a mockery of the expected result.

Snakes, spiders, and other critters can be both poisonous and venomous, but the terms mean different things. Something that’s poisonous may cause illness if a toxin enters the body through consumption or absorption. Something that’s venomous, however, will cause suffering if the toxin is forcefully injected through a bite or sting. In other words, biting into a toxic snake (as unlikely as that may be) makes it poisonous, whereas being bitten by that same snake makes it venomous.

Showing empathy for another person is different from having sympathy, though many people use the words interchangeably. To have empathy for someone means to be able to understand the emotions they’re feeling, even if you haven’t been in their position. You can empathize with the sadness someone feels after losing a loved one, or the happiness they exude after a promotion at work, but you don’t need to have personally experienced similar situations. “Sympathy” has two common usages, the first being the counterpart to “empathy.” It means to understand the emotions someone is feeling because you have experienced a similar circumstance. Perhaps you can sympathize with your neighbor after they lose their job because you were laid off last year. The second usage of “sympathy” relates to misfortunes above all else, as it means to feel pity for someone.

Though they’ve come to mean the same thing in modern parlance, “jealousy” and “envy” aren’t quite identical. Historically, jealousy implies fear of losing something one already has; for instance, someone may feel jealous when their spouse receives flirtatious attention. “Envy,” on the other hand, implies a desire for something currently lacking, such as good health, money, or a partne

Some people may not care about how to use the word “ambivalent,” but we sure do. People often say this term as a way to claim they’re indifferent, but to be ambivalent is to have mixed opinions on the topic in question.  Let’s say someone is watching a TV show and they love certain episodes but hate others. In this case, the opposing feelings show true ambivalence, as they aren’t sure how they feel about the show on the whole.

If a book lover goes to a bookstore and peruses the entire selection, they’ll end up there until close. That’s because while many folks use “peruse” as a synonym for “to skim,” it means the exact opposite. To peruse something implies to read it thoroughly, carefully, and in great detail — not to quickly glance over a few pages.

While irony can be humorous by coincidence, that’s not always the case. In reality, the word “irony” signifies the opposite of what was expected more than anything else. One example of irony would be a marriage counselor filing for divorce; in this case, it’s not inherently funny, but the situation is contrary to what might be anticipated. For humorous situations that don’t fit the bill, consider calling them funny coincidences rather than ironic.

Someone who says they have a chronic injury is implying they’re suffering from great pain all the time. But “chronic” has less to do with severity and more to do with the duration of an issue. Think of “chronic” as“habitual” instead of “very bad,” as it’s possible to have a chronic ailment that’s a mild discomfort.

One thing to keep in mind is that the English language is always evolving. Some of these “misuses” are based on centuries-old usages, and new meanings have become accepted in casual conversation and are even listed in the dictionary. We like to consider ourselves lifelong students at Word Smarts, and we’re always open to seeing how vocabulary changes.

One of the best ways to relax on a lazy weekend is with a Food Network marathon. Watching  these shows is not only a good way to decompress, but also helpful in expanding your culinary vocabulary. You might learn about a new ingredient to try in a recipe or hear your favorite celebrity chef use a term that you end up incorporating into your own vernacular. Here are 30 culinary words and phrases pulled straight from the kitchens of popular cooking shows.

Mise en place is French for “to put in place,” and it’s a preliminary step that involves cutting and sorting ingredients prior to cooking. This process allows a chef to have everything prepared in advance so that the actual cooking is more efficient.

A favorite term of TV chef and talk show host Rachael Ray, “spoonula” refers to a curved spatula. It can perform the stirring and spreading tasks a normal spatula can, but as an added benefit, the curved nature of the utensil makes it easy to scoop out food bits from the bottom of any jar.

Fans of The Great British Bake Off know that “soggy bottoms” are an absolute nightmare for bakers. This term refers to any underbaked base on a pie, tart, or similar pastry, often due to the wet filling seeping into the crust.

The surest way to avoid a dry turkey on Thanksgiving is by basting it, a process that involves soaking up and reapplying the juices to the meat as the cook progresses. This prevents the bird from drying out and becoming too chalky.

Giada De Laurentiis — star of the smash hit show Giada at Home — will be the first to tell you that al dente is the best way to prepare pasta. Al dente is Italian for “to the tooth,” and it means the pasta maintains a firm texture without being overly hard or mushy.

French chefs such as Jacques Pépin are familiar with a technique called “chiffonade.” This comes from the French chiffon, referring to fine adornments used by women in the 18th century. The knife skill involves slicing herbs or greens into long, thin ribbons.

While it’s not explicitly a cooking term, fans of The Bear have heard chefs yell “heard” while in the kitchen. This is another way to say “understood” and convey you got the message, which is particularly helpful in loud, busy kitchens.

Not to be confused with boiling something, “blanch” is an adjacent term that refers  to briefly cooking food in rapidly boiling water and then dipping it into cold water to stop the cooking process. Chefs may commonly blanch nuts or fruit to help remove the skin.

Any chef worth their muster knows how to deglaze a pan, by adding wine or stock to a hot pan to loosen browned bits of food. Those caramelized bits (called “the fond”) are packed with flavor, and after the deglazing they can be mixed into a sauce for added depth.

To emulsify something in the kitchen means to create a smooth mixture of multiple ingredients that normally wouldn’t combine so easily. Mayonnaise is an emulsion of oil, egg yolk, and an acidic agent such as vinegar or lemon juice.

If you’ve ever watched a show centered around British chefs — for instance, Masterchef UK — you may have seen them prepare an aubergine-based dish. Americans will recognize the main ingredient as an eggplant.

Not to be confused with the musical instrument known as a “mandolin,” a mandoline is a kitchen tool that’s perfect for slicing thin strips of food. Many people use mandolines to portion ingredients like potatoes and zucchini into equally sized strips to ensure an even cook all around.

If you hear someone in the kitchen yell “eighty-six,” it means that a menu item is no longer available. During busy dinner services, restaurants may have to eighty-six specials or popular dishes as they run out of ingredients.

Baking shows commonly refer to an ingredient called “shortening,” which is a fat that turns into a solid at room temperature. Adding shortening to flour  results in a crumbly, flakier crust by reducing the elasticity of the dough.

Active kitchens are full of people moving in every direction, which can result in disastrous collisions and spills if people aren’t careful. That’s why you’ll hear many chefs yell “behind” to alert fellow chefs of their presence when walking behind someone, or “corner” when turning a blind corner.

To dredge up a ship means to remove it from the seabed, but in the context of cooking, “dredge” means something entirely different. Dredging involves coating a food in a dry ingredient like flour or breadcrumbs, usually prior to frying it or cooking it over high heat. This helps seal in moisture and results in a crispy exterior.

This term is French for “under chef,” as sous chefs serve as the main assistants in all aspects of food preparation. Every great TV chef has a sous chef working under them behind the scenes, providing the support that’s essential to run an efficient kitchen. 

A pinch of salt is often added to a dish at the end of cooking to perfect the flavor. But it’s not just any old pinch. To chefs, a pinch is a precise measurement — one-sixteenth of a teaspoon, to be exact. Furthermore, a dash is one-eighth of a teaspoon and a tad is one-fourth.

What some TV chefs call “butterfly,” others may call “spatchcock.” Both are terms used in reference to cooking poultry — the method involves cutting into the backbone and laying the bird flat so that it cooks more evenly. The term “butterfly” comes from the fact that the bird will look vaguely like a set of butterfly wings.

No three-hole punch necessary here. A culinary binder is essential for keeping ingredients adhered to one another. For instance, egg is a binder in a meatball recipe, as the wetness keeps the meat and breadcrumbs stuck together so the meatball doesn’t fall apart during cooking.

This popular Mediterranean paste is made from peppers, spices, garlic, and olive oil, resulting in a decadent spread full of flavor and heat. You can mix harissa into a falafel recipe, or spread it onto a lamb chop for some incredible depth of flavor.

Coined by poet Edward Lear in 1871’s “The Owl and the Pussycat,” the term “runcible spoon” describes a fork that’s curved like a spoon and contains three broad prongs (imagine a spork with an edge for cutting). Perhaps it doesn’t get a lot of traction while cooking, but toss one of these in your lunchbox or keep it in the car for emergencies. 

While the bright lights on a cooking set are sure to make anyone perspire, that’s usually not what TV chefs mean when they say “sweat.” This term often refers to putting veggies and a little bit of oil over heat and stirring to make any liquid evaporate, thus making them tender.

The macerating process brings out the flavor of fruits and vegetables by soaking them in a liquid (water, citrus juice, vinegar, etc.). For instance, you may put berries into a bowl of citrus and sugar, let them soak, then add the macerated mixture into a pie.

Yelling “fire” in a crowded kitchen is different from yelling it inside a packed theater. Any chef who hears the term “fire” knows to get to work, as it means to begin cooking a dish ASAP so that it can be delivered quickly to the customer.

British celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay might use the word “coriander,” but Americans will know the leafy green herb as “cilantro.”

Compared to a cleaver or bread knife, a paring knife is a smaller tool that often measures less than 4 inches long. Its primary purpose is performing precise tasks, such as peeling fruits and veggies or deveining shrimp.

On his show No Reservations, the late, great Anthony Bourdain traveled around the world to sample the best international cuisine. One of his favorite places to visit was Vietnam, where locals enjoy a delicious soup called phở (pronounced “fuh”). A big bowl of phở usually features a hearty beef broth filled with noodles, meats, and vegetables.

A French term that translates to “mouth amuser,” an amuse-bouche is a little bite of food meant to tantalize the palate at the start of a dining experience. Competitors on Iron Chef might prepare an amuse-bouche for the judges to showcase their creativity and tease upcoming flavors.

The term “broken sauce” may not be as literal as a glass shattering into pieces, but it can be equally distressing. It references when the liquid and fatty components of a sauce separate, thus ruining the entire thing. This often happens when making hollandaise sauce, for example, as the oils may separate from the egg yolk, resulting in a sauce that’s grainy instead of creamy.

When booking an overnight stay, semantics are likely the last thing on your mind — you’re probably more concerned with a comfy bed and some free breakfast the next morning. But if you’re curious about what makes “hotels” and “motels” distinct from one another, we have the answer. 

The word “hotel” refers to a place providing overnight accommodations, meals, and other similar services for tourists. This often excludes hostels and Airbnbs, which don’t exactly fall under the same umbrella. “Hotel” is an English word whose etymology dates to the 1640s. It’s derived from the French l’hôtel, which originally meant “a mansion” or “large house,” but now refers to the lodging-for-hire “hotel” in French as well.

“Motel,” on the other hand, describes a specific kind of hotel. The portmanteau combining the words “motorside” and “hotel” was coined in the 1920s amid the burgeoning popularity of the personal motor vehicle. Because of this connection, you’ll usually find motels located along major thoroughfares rather than in the heart of a densely packed city — though not always today, as the term now refers more to a style than to a location. Motels tend to have large, free parking lots for anyone staying the night, and each room is typically accessed directly from that parking area. This differs from other types of hotels, where guests are more likely to access rooms through a communal central lobby.

So, while all motels are hotels, not all hotels are motels. While they’re both likely to offer a comfortable place to sleep at the end of the day, their etymological distinctions set the two types of accommodations apart.