How to Tell the Difference Between 14 Commonly Confused Things

Is that jam or jelly? Great Britain or the United Kingdom? Disinformation or misinformation? Let’s find out.

Life is bursting with pairs of commonly confused things. In this roundup—adapted from the above episode of The List Show on YouTube—we’ll teach you how to tell a bunch of them apart.

1. Concrete vs. Cement
2. Crocheting vs. Knitting
3. Yams vs. Sweet Potatoes
4. Equity vs. Equality
5. Disinformation vs. Misinformation
6. Fun Fact vs. Factoid
7. Ice Cream vs. Gelato
8. Macaron vs. Macaroon
9. Frosting vs. Icing
10. Jam vs. Jelly
11. Caskets vs. Coffins
12. England vs. Great Britain vs. United Kingdom
13. Perfect Game vs. No-Hitter vs. Shutout
14. Iced Coffee vs. Cold Brew

Concrete vs. Cement

Concrete and cement are not quite as synonymous as you might think. Technically, concrete is the gray, gritty building material used in construction, and cement is an ingredient used to make it. Cement itself is a dry powder comprising any number of minerals, from limestone and clay to seashells and potentially even volcanic ash. When people say they’re “mixing cement,” then, what they probably mean is that they’re mixing cement with other materials to make concrete. Those other materials include water and some kind of aggregate, like sand. Churn them all up and you get the pourable paste—concrete—that cats, dogs, and birds just love to walk all over before it’s set.

Crocheting vs. Knitting

The fastest way to tell the difference between knitting and crocheting is to look at the tool used to do it. If there’s a hook at the end, it’s crocheting. No hook? That’s knitting. To crochet, you only ever need one hooked needle, which harbors just one “active loop” at any given time. Knitters typically use two; they stack them with loops of yarn and pass them back and forth between the needles. As for what a crocheted garment looks like versus a knit one, crochet stitches often resemble knots, while knit stitches look flatter and less bulky.

Yams vs. Sweet Potatoes

Think you’re chowing down on yams on Thanksgiving? You’re probably actually eating sweet potatoes, which aren’t even potatoes. They belong to the morning glory family, while other potatoes are members of the nightshade family. 

Sweet potatoes can have white or purple insides, but the version Americans know best has bright orange flesh and brown or reddish skin. Yams, meanwhile, usually have white or yellow flesh and a thicker, almost bark-like skin. They belong to the Dioscoreaceae family, also known as the yam family. When early-20th-century farmers started growing sweet potatoes with orange flesh, they needed to distinguish them from the white-fleshed ones already in the market. So they called the orange ones “yams.” 

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Equity vs. Equality

Just because something’s equal doesn’t mean it’s equitable. Equality involves distributing resources evenly, regardless of need. Equity factors in need.

One popular illustration of this distinction shows three people of varying heights trying to see over a fence: Each is given one box to stand on—very equal. But the shortest person still can’t see, and the tallest person could see without any boxes. To achieve equity, the shortest person should get two boxes, and the tallest person should get none.

Disinformation vs. Misinformation

Disinformation is false information spread deliberately to mislead people. Misinformation is false information spread without intent. Often, the spreader simply didn’t realize it wasn’t true. Think of it this way: Disinformation is dishonest, while misinformation is a mistake. 

Fun Fact vs. Factoid

A factoid isn’t a cute little fun fact—though enough people use it in that sense that it’s sort of now accepted as correct. Technically, a factoid is a fake fact that people widely believe because it seems like it could be true. 

Here’s an actual fun fact: Norman Mailer is the first person to have used the word factoid in writing. It showed up in his 1973 biography of Marilyn Monroe. 

Ice Cream vs. Gelato

The word gelato is Italian for “ice cream.” But anyone who’s sampled both desserts knows that gelato is denser, softer, and richer—it’s sometimes even described as elastic. The difference is partly due to the natural fat in milk, a.k.a. milkfat or butterfat. In the U.S., the FDA mandates that anything labeled “ice cream” must contain at least 10 percent milkfat. A lot of ice cream has much more than that—somewhere between 14 and 25 percent. Gelato’s milkfat content, on the other hand, is usually somewhere in the 4-to-9-percent range. 

With less fat, gelato’s flavors taste richer. And while ice cream’s ingredient list sometimes includes egg yolks, gelato’s typically doesn’t. Gelato is also often churned at slower speeds, hence its high density compared to ice cream’s fluffier consistency. Plus, it’s stored at warmer temperatures, which explains why it’s softer than ice cream.

Macaron vs. Macaroon

Modern macarons are sandwich cookies: two round, airy wafers with filling between them. Macaroons, on the other hand, are lightly browned, craggy clumps of shredded coconut sometimes dipped in chocolate.

It's possible the two cookies had similar beginnings—both are thought to have originated in Italy; some say Catherine di Medici brought the macaron from Italy to France in the 1500s. English speakers eventually anglicized the word macaron as macaroon. In the late 19th century, shredded coconut began to be used in desserts, which further increased the discrepancy between the two treats.

Frosting vs. Icing

Linguistically, the terms frosting and icing are more or less interchangeable. But most bakers would beg to differ. Frosting is typically thicker and fluffier, thanks to its most important ingredient—fat, often in the form of butter, cream, or cream cheese. Frosting is thick enough to keep its shape, so it’s best suited for cupcakes and cakes.

Icing is runnier and less fluffy because it focuses less on fat and more on sugar. This makes it great for decorating cookies, because you can slather on a thin layer that’ll harden as it dries. That said, not all icing is runny: Fondant is generally thicker even than frosting. But because its base is sugar and water, it’s still considered icing. 

Jam vs. Jelly

What makes jam not jelly? They both contain sugar, fruit, and a starch called pectin. Pectin is already naturally found in fruit, but more can be added to jelly and jam to give it a more gelatinous texture. Here’s the difference: Jelly is made from fruit juice, while jam is made from puréed or crushed fruit. Because it isn’t strained, jam often has bits of fruit in it. Jelly, meanwhile, is more transparent and much smoother; it’s also cooked to a firmer consistency. 

Caskets vs. Coffins

You might think caskets and coffins are the same thing, but funeral directors don’t. The main difference is shape: A casket is perfectly rectangular, while a coffin is a six-sided box wider at the top than at the bottom. Another distinction is the lid. A casket’s lid typically swings open on hinges. Coffins, on the other hand, often have removable lids. Because coffins are tapered, they require less wood (or some other material) to manufacture—which means they’re cheaper. 

England vs. Great Britain vs. United Kingdom

If you’re in England, you’re also in Great Britain and the United Kingdom. But if you’re in the UK, you’re not necessarily in Great Britain or England. The term Great Britain refers to the island on which three countries are located: England, Wales, and Scotland. The United Kingdom includes all of Great Britain, plus Northern Ireland and some other territories. In other words, England is a country located on the island of Great Britain, and Great Britain belongs to the United Kingdom. Part of the confusion is because there’s no adjective to describe the United Kingdom in general—so British is sometimes used to that effect. But if you call someone from Scotland “English,” expect to get corrected.

Perfect Game vs. No-Hitter vs. Shutout

A shutout is when the opposing team doesn’t score a single run. They can get on base any number of ways, hits included. But if nobody crosses home plate and the same pitcher was in the game for every out, they threw a shutout.

In a no-hitter, as its name suggests, there are no hits. Batters can still get on base other ways, though, like walks or catcher interference. Since it’s hard to score any runs without any hits, many no-hitters are also shutouts. But it’s not technically impossible to score during a no-hitter.

In a perfect game, the rarest of the three, a team doesn’t let a single player on base. Since there aren’t any hits, a perfect game is also a no-hitter—and since it’s impossible to score without getting on base, every perfect game is a shutout, too. It’s only ever happened two dozen times in MLB history.

Iced Coffee vs. Cold Brew

There’s a clue to the difference between iced coffee and cold brew in their names. Iced coffee is just hot coffee on ice—or hot coffee that’s been refrigerated and then served on ice. Either way, though, the coffee was originally brewed hot. Cold brew, on the other hand, is steeped in cold or room temp water. It takes about 12 hours for coffee grounds to infuse in the water, and the combination of the low temperature and slow brewing time creates a less acidic, much smoother beverage. And since the coffee-grounds-to-water ratio is higher in cold brew than in regular coffee, cold brew also often contains more caffeine.