Discreet Illusions.
This title reminds me of a song from an eighties band. I think it’s calling to mind Queensryche’s Silent Lucidity, or maybe something by Sting. I’m having flashbacks to the awful poetry I wrote as a teenager. But my cryptic title has a purpose (and I don’t mean a porpoise, which is a sea creature.)
The title:
1). Caught your attention, if only because you began thinking, “What the heck is she talking about?”
2). Uses two out of four commonly confused words we’ll discuss today.
Discreet v. Discrete
If you’ve been shopping for Valentine’s Day, you may have noticed a lot of lingerie on the Web advertised with “Discrete shipping!” or “Discrete Packaging!” It makes me wonder if they mail the top and bottom separately. “Oh, darling, just what I wanted! Half a babydoll nightie! And one stocking! Thank you!”
Since I’ve now used up my allocation of exclamation points for the week, I’ll continue in a more serious tone.
Discreet: (courtesy of www.dictionary.com):
1. judicious in one’s conduct or speech, esp. with regard to respecting privacy or maintaining silence about something of a delicate nature; prudent; circumspect;
2. showing prudence and circumspection; decorous: a discreet silence.
3. modestly unobtrusive; unostentatious.
Of course, the packaging for the raciest of undergarments comes in discreet packaging, according to the first definition – it respects the purchaser’s privacy and prevents knowing smirks from the mailman. Definitions 2 and 3 also apply, to a degree.
On the other hand, “discrete” means separate. We can remember this because the “E’s” in discrete are separated by that “t,” like a chaperone at the prom positioning himself between those hormonally charged teenagers.
The “E’s” in discreet are snuggly close – perhaps they should show some discretion, don’t you think?
Illusion v. Allusion
Now, that may have been more than enough to absorb in one day, but then I wouldn’t get to touch on the last word of my headline and its counterpart, which I alluded to in my lede paragraph.
The use of “illusion” and “allusion” can get confusing, since both are somewhat ethereal. An illusion (noun) is a vision that is not real. Our friend Dictionary.com defines it as: Something that deceives by producing a false or misleading impression of reality.
We can remember this because illusion and vision are both spelled with “I’s” and have the same sound. Additionally, we may have illusions or hallucinations when we’re ill. Finally, illusions can be a sign of mental illness.
Allusion is simply an indirect or passing reference to something.
Dictionary.com’s definition of allusion: a passing or casual reference; an incidental mention of something, either directly or by implication.
This is often used in literary terms when we allude to, or mention, a book, play, song or poem. I alluded to Queensryche in my first paragraph – I didn’t go on and on about it. I also alluded to Synchronicity (if you caught that) but I didn’t mention the Sting song by name, mostly because I couldn’t remember it until now.
Here are a few fun examples.
“I made an allusion to my bizarre illusion, but I was too embarrassed to share the details.”
“Her bathing suit is composed of two discrete parts, but it’s not very discreet at all.”
Please feel free to share your own sentences in the comments section. I have nothing to give away this week, but I might be tempted to find something if a reader can use all four words correctly in one sentence that is also:
- Grammatically correct in every other way
- Not awkward
- Makes sense in some context
How’s that for a challenge?
My disco loving neighbor has made several discrete allusions to her skills on the dance floor; however, her skills appear to be an illusion and her flashy yet clumsy moves are far from discreet.