Dear Internet: Stop saying "misnomer" to mean "misunderstanding." "Misnomer" means "misnamed." …
Dear Internet:
Stop saying "misnomer" to mean "misunderstanding." "Misnomer" means "misnamed." I've heard this repeatedly in recent days, including from prominent (and supposedly well-educated) politicians and journalists, saying things like "the biggest misnomer about North Korea is that it has no technological capabilities. ..."
That isn't a misnomer! A misnomer would if North Korea were south of South Korea.
You can say the Affordable Care Act is a misnomer, because it is not affordable, and does not do anything about health care. But you can't say that a "misnomer about the ACA is that it has death panels." That's a "misunderstanding," not a "misnomer."
You're hurting my brain. Stop it. 
"It is the common fate of the indolent to see their rights become a prey to the active. The condition upon which God hath given liberty to man is eternal vigilance; which condition if he break, servitude is at once the consequence of his crime and the punishment of his guilt."
Leave a comment