SSC: pairs of confusion

[muckefuck]

Here are some words I often confuse for no reason:

cartoon, commercial
forbidding, foreboding
gambit, gamut

Comments

[mlr.livejournal.com]

The etymology of gamut is interesting.

[muckefuck.livejournal.com]

Fascinating!

Apropos of nothing, the entry right before "gamut" in the OED is "gamisgradite Min. A velvet-black variety of amphibole." (And if you don't recognise the word "amphibole", perhaps you know it under its alias "hornblende".)

[mlr.livejournal.com]

both amphibole and hornblende are new to me

[muckefuck.livejournal.com]

Me too! But they are my new favourite words. (Particularly amphibole, which is really two words in one.)

hornblende

[ursine1.livejournal.com]

Hornblende are those black specks you see in granite (and other igneous rocks). If you look closely, you can see that they are often columnar in shape.

Chuck, your geology lesson for today.