Mumble (2)
A famous person once said, "If you mumble, you don't deserve to be heard."  Although that's kinda mean, I think it's somewhat true.  I just sat through a 2-hour meeting where a guy in the back of the room kept mumbling stuff in response to what was being presented.  He might've had good things to say.  Maybe people should've listened.  But he didn't even try to be heard, so people kept talking over him.  He wasn't a victim though; it's not like he was a quiet little weak guy (like me) who wasn't sure of himself and so got trampled on by the louder, quicker people.  His mumbling was his downfall.  Somebody would be talking and he would say something along the lines of, "Um, but ... the number ... on the slide ... different ... need to redo ... requirements ... huminah huminah ... shrimp scampi ... weaponized plutonium."  In this case, the rule applied:  He mumbled, so he didn't deserve to be heard.  If he had something important to say, he should've spoken up or gotten one of the loud people to say it for him. #business

Small differences
Recently, someone asked about the difference between a sound (such as Puget Sound) and a bay (such as San Fransisco Bay).  Here's what Wikipedia says: 
A bay is an area of water bordered by land on three sides. 
A bight is a large (and often only slightly receding) bay. 
A gulf is a part of a lake or ocean that extends so that it is surrounded by land on three sides. 
A fjord is a narrow inlet of the sea between cliffs or steep slopes. 
A sound is a large sea or ocean inlet larger than a bay, deeper than a bight, wider than a fjord, or it may identify a narrow sea or ocean channel between two bodies of land. 
A bay generally occupies an area wider than a fjord but smaller than a sound or gulf, either of which may include one or more bays. 
Twice in the past 6 months, I've learned and forgotten the difference between a state and a commonwealth.  Here's what Wikipedia says: 
A state is one of the 50 entities of the United States. 
A commonwealth is an area/region that has a "government based on the common consent of the people" as opposed to one legitimized through their earlier Royal Colony status that was derived from the King of England.  This designation, which has no constitutional impact, applies to Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. 
A commonwealth (insular area) is an organized territory or colony that has established with the Federal Government a more highly developed relationship, usually embodied in a written mutual agreement.  This designation applies to the Northern Mariana Islands and Puerto Rico. 
I continually confuse the following two words, though they have completely different (opposite) meanings: 
Condemn:  To express strong disapproval of. 
Condone:  To overlook, forgive, or disregard (an offense) without protest or censure. 
#language