Mistake vs Foible - What's the difference?
mistake | foible |
An error; a blunder.
* 1877 , Henry Heth, quoting , in "Causes of the Defeat of Gen. Lee's Army at the Battle of GettysburgOpinions of Leading Confederate Soldiers.", Southern Historical Society Papers (1877), editor Rev. J. WM. Jones [http://books.google.com/books?id=iDIFAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA292&dq=lee+%22mistakes+were+made%22&hl=en&ei=fchaTbu4L8L98AaVs4n-DQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CDUQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=lee%20%22mistakes%20were%20made%22&f=false]
(baseball) A pitch which was intended to be pitched in a hard to hit location, but instead ends up in an easy to hit place
To understand wrongly, taking one thing for another, or someone for someone else.
* Shakespeare
* Johnson
To commit an unintentional error; to do or think something wrong.
* Jonathan Swift
(obsolete, rare) To take or choose wrongly.
A quirk, idiosyncrasy, or mannerism; unusual habit or way (usage is typically plural), that is slightly strange or silly.
* 1915 ,
* 1959 , Meriden Record, "
(fencing) Part of a sword between the middle and the point, weaker than the forte.
A weakness or failing of character.
* 1932 , , by William Floyd
As nouns the difference between mistake and foible
is that mistake is an error; a blunder while foible is a quirk, idiosyncrasy, or mannerism; unusual habit or way (usage is typically plural), that is slightly strange or silly.As a verb mistake
is to understand wrongly, taking one thing for another, or someone for someone else.As an adjective foible is
weak; feeble.mistake
English
Noun
(en noun)- After it is all over, as stupid a fellow as I am can see that mistakes' were made. I notice, however, that my ' mistakes are never told me until it is too late.
Synonyms
* See alsoUsage notes
* Usually make a mistake. SeeVerb
- Sorry, I mistook you for my brother. You look very similar.
- My father's purposes have been mistook .
- A man may mistake the love of virtue for the practice of it.
- Servants mistake , and sometimes occasion misunderstanding among friends.
- (Shakespeare)
Derived terms
* mistakelessfoible
English
Noun
(en noun)- Try to look past his foibles and see the friendly fellow underneath.
- They made up for the respect with which unconsciously they treated him by laughing at his foibles and lamenting his vices.
An ounce of prevention", July 24 issue
- Final fillip in the Vice-President's study has been a boning up]] on Premier Khrushchev's favorite foible , proverbs. The bibulous Russian leader likes to throw out homely [[homily, homilies in his speeches and conversations..
- Jesus is reverenced as the one man who has lived unspotted by the world, free from human foibles , able to redeem mankind by his example.
