Landlord a tax cheat?

[Brah]

he's an ole farmboy like I am and doesn't use a heck of a lot of tack

Tact. Man, you've been here too long....

[sundaymorningstaple]

Horses use tack. I ride bareback.

But yeah, you are right. Can't spell for sh*t. But never could, truth be told.

[JR8]

That was weird, as either word would have been appropriate in the context of the sentence.


[For clarity: Tack being what most people put on a horse in order to ride it, example: saddle w/stirrups, reins etc. Tact being acting in a prudent and diplomatic manner in the hope of attaining a desired outcome].

[x9200]

Nice to know. For me tack so far was a property of the surface making it sticky.

[sundaymorningstaple]

We call it tacky. But to get the dust off just prior to varnishing the surface we use what is called a tack rag, which is a wee bit tacky/sticky but doesn't leave any residue on the prepped surface to be coated.

[Brah]

That was weird, as either word would have been appropriate in the context of the sentence.

[For clarity: Tack being what most people put on a horse in order to ride it, example: saddle w/stirrups, reins etc. Tact being acting in a prudent and diplomatic manner in the hope of attaining a desired outcome].

If the former was the intended meaning, then I was off-base.

[Brah]

We call it tacky. But to get the dust off just prior to varnishing the surface we use what is called a tack rag, which is a wee bit tacky/sticky but doesn't leave any residue on the prepped surface to be coated.

Right, and the other thing we call tacky is some people's sense of dress or behavior.

[sundaymorningstaple]

True. But to assuage your fears about being off base, you weren't, I can't spell worth a sh*t, (actually I can no longer type worth a crap) so tact actually became tack and because it is somewhat interchangeable, spellcheck didn't pick up on it either.

[x9200]

We call it tacky. But to get the dust off just prior to varnishing the surface we use what is called a tack rag, which is a wee bit tacky/sticky but doesn't leave any residue on the prepped surface to be coated.

Yep, but I believe "tack" in this meaning and the noun form is still correct. I.e. time when the paint is dry enough not to have any particles (i.e. dust) adhering to it is called tack free time and is a standard parameter for many paints.

[JR8]

Nice to know. For me tack so far was a property of the surface making it sticky.

Yes, that is another example. For example you can get 'low-tack' masking tape. It is useful when painting things like window-frames as you put the tape around the edges of the glass where it meets the frame, and you don't get paint smudges on the glass. [Normal masking tape if left for any time leaves it's glue on the glass, which is then a real bugger to clean off!).

A tack is also a small nail, or a thumb-tack (aka drawing-pin).

To tack, is to change path in yacht, and by tacking to and fro, sail into the wind.

Saying something is tacky means you find it low class, cheap looking, unsophisticated.

Isn't language fun

[Brah]

Isn't language fun

Right, so this leads me to say what I bothered being the English Police in the first place, with a native speaker.

In another thread recently, can't remember where, I mentioned local mixed metaphors, idioms, cliches, etc. and in that same mix are people here using similar-sounding but wrong words for things. Had this been from a non-native speaker and not a typo, this would have qualified. That is, if one could consider locals to be non-native.

Some of these 'substitutions' are rather entertaining, and I wanted to list ones I'd heard but when I try I can't think of any....

[x9200]

It is fun, especially if you already know one meaning. It makes a good base to remember any other.
A separate category are words of common pan-European origin. You could not imagine how many of them overlap in different language families with the same or very similar spelling and meaning. Or what Brah mentioned above, similar spelling/pronunciation but different meaning.
The mentioned above tact is of Latin orig. and is (i.e.) in Polish takt. Exactly the same meaning.

[QRM]

"Last night I choked my toilet"
"ice cream cum buffet" ( I have a photo of the sign somewhere)

[Brah]

"Last night I choked my toilet"
"ice cream cum buffet" ( I have a photo of the sign somewhere)

[JR8]

Sounds like:
"Shot-ah!" [with flick of head in someone's direction]

Actual words:
"Short ah!"

Literal meaning:
"That person is a bit short upstairs"

Actual meaning:
"That person is educationally sub-normal [ESN, i.e mildly retarded]