Word Confusion: Threw versus Through

Posted December 12, 2016 by Kathy Davie in Author Resources, Self-Editing, Word Confusions, Writing

Revised as of
4 Jan 2023

Who knew someone could confuse threw and through? Sure, they’re heterographs and sound alike, but oh boy . . .

No, I don’t think “they will take on moisture threw the plaster”, through the plaster, yes.

Nor do I think “that a lot of air flow threw a small hole in interior stucco will lead to condensation at dew point”. Through a small hole, perhaps.

I could go through reams of words, but then I threw it up into the ether. What the heck. Y’all can read through everything below . . . and then throw it away, if you like.

Word Confusions . . .

. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.

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Threw	Through
Jenny Threw a Stool at His Head by Edgar Wilson “Bill” Nye is in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.	Mauritius Road Information Signs: No Through Road is Kingroyos’ own work under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons. — Don’t take the road to the left, as it doesn’t go through. You’re better off taking the right through road.
Part of Grammar:
Morpheme: throw Verb ¹, intransitive & transitive, ² Third person present verb: throws Past participle: thrown Present participle: throwing	Adjective; Adverb; Preposition
Noun: As threw does not have a noun form, I’m not including its definition or examples. Verb, intransitive: To cast, fling, or hurl a missile or the like ¹ Verb, transitive: Cause to enter suddenly a particular state or condition ¹ Put someone in a particular place or state, especially in a rough, abrupt, or summary fashion Disconcert Confuse [Informal] To baffle or astonish Send one’s opponent to the ground in wrestling, judo, or similar activity [Of a horse] Unseat its rider [Of a horse] Lose a shoe [Of an animal] Give birth to young, of a specified kind Form ceramic ware on a potter’s wheel Turn wood or other material on a lathe Twist silk or other fabrics into thread or yarn Have a fit or tantrum Give or hold a party Propel something with force through the air by a movement of the arm and hand ² Push or force someone or something violently and suddenly into a particular physical position or state Put in place or erect quickly Move a part of the body quickly or suddenly in a particular direction Project or cast light or shadow in a particular direction Deliver a punch Direct a particular kind of look or facial expression Project one’s voice so that it appears to come from someone or something else, as in ventriloquism [throw something off; throw something on] Put on or take off a garment hastily Move a switch or lever so as to operate a device [Game] Roll dice Obtain a specified number by rolling dice [Informal] Lose a race or contest intentionally, especially in return for a bribe	Adjective: [Attrib.; of a means of public transportation or a ticket] Continuing or valid to the final destination [Attrib.] Denoting traffic that passes from one side of a place to another in the course of a longer journey Denoting a road that is open at both ends, allowing traffic free passage from one end to the other [Attrib.; of a room] Running the whole length of a building [Predic.; informal] Having no prospect of any future relationship, dealings, or success Adverb: Moving in one side and out of the other side of an opening, channel, or location So as to make a hole or opening in a physical object Moving around or from one side to the other within a crowd or group So as to be perceived from the other side of an intervening obstacle Expressing the extent of turning from one orientation to another Continuing in time toward completion of a process or period So as to complete a particular stage or trial successfully From beginning to end of (an experience or activity, typically a tedious or stressful one) So as to inspect all or part of a collection, inventory, or publication By means of an intermediary or agent So as to be connected by telephone Preposition: Moving in one side and out of the other side of an opening, channel, or location So as to make a hole or opening in a physical object Moving around or from one side to the other within a crowd or group So as to be perceived from the other side of an intervening obstacle Expressing the position or location of something beyond or at the far end of an opening or an obstacle Expressing the extent of turning from one orientation to another Continuing in time toward completion of a process or period So as to complete a particular stage or trial successfully From beginning to end of (an experience or activity, typically a tedious or stressful one) So as to inspect all or part of a collection, inventory, or publication [North American] Up to and including a particular point in an ordered sequence By means of a process or intermediate stage By means of an intermediary or agent
Examples:
Verb, intransitive: She threw up again, sick and weak. He threw off a few jokes. They were bitter enemies thrown together by circumstance. Verb, transitive: The last question on the test paper threw me. I threw a brick through the window. A uniformed guard threw open the door and entered the room. The stewards threw a cordon across the fairway. She threw her head back and laughed. A chandelier threw its bright light over the walls. “Ouch . . . he really threw a punch,” he said, as he fingered his jaw. She threw a withering glance at him. Jamie threw his voice and made them think someone was coming in from the other side of the room. I threw on my housecoat and went to the door. Peter threw the lever and turned the machine off. He threw a seven! Turns out the jockey threw the race to get his wife medical treatment. He threw all her emotions into turmoil. The bond market was thrown into confusion. These guys should be thrown in jail. Kevin threw her by this apparent change of tack. Jokester threw Mary at that last fence. Charity threw a shoe. Ol’ Maggie sometimes threw a completely black calf. Further on, a potter was throwing pots. Yep, Johnny threw this wooden bowl for me. Gabby threw another fit. You missed that great party Hank and Edna threw last week.	Adjective: George and Hannah took a through train from Boston. There weren’t many neighborhoods from which through traffic would be excluded. The shopping center is on a busy through road. The hall ran through the entire length of the house. She told him she was through with him. You and I are through. The bullet was a through-and-through. Adverb: As soon as we opened the gate, they came streaming through. It was only a cucumber, slit, but not all the way through. The glass in the front door where the moonlight streamed through was cleaned last week. He showed up halfway through the second act. I will struggle through alone rather than ask for help. Karl will see you through, Ingrid. She read the letter through carefully. He put a call through to the senator. Preposition: She had some nerve, stepping so boldly through the doorway. The truck smashed through a brick wall. Janie was making her way through the guests. The sun was streaming in through the window. The approach to the church is through a gate. Each joint can move through an angle within fixed limits. He showed up halfway through the second act. She had come through her sternest test. We sat through some very boring speeches. She’s been through a bad time. We found him flipping through the pages of a notebook. They will be in town from March 24 through May 7. Dioxins get into mothers’ milk through contaminated food. We are seeking justice through the proper channels.
Derivatives:
Adjective: throwable Noun: throw, throwing, upthrow Verb: misthrow, misthrew, misthrown, misthrowing	Adjective: throughother Adverb: throughother, throughout Noun: throughball, throughflow, throughfall, throughput, throughway, thruway Preposition: throughout
Phrasal Verb
throw money around throw oneself at throw oneself into throw oneself on throw oneself upon throw people together throw someone out throw someone over throw something away throw something in throw something off throw something open throw something out throw something together throw something up throw up
History of the Word:
Old English thrāwan meaning to twist, turn and related to the Dutch draaien and the German drehen, from an Indo-European root shared by the Latin terere meaning to rub, the Greek teirein meaning wear out. Middle English expressing propulsion and sudden action.	Old English thurh is of Germanic origin and related to the Dutch door and the German durch. The spelling change to thr- appears c. 1300, becoming standard from Caxton (one of the first printers in England in the late 1400s and determined to standardize English) onward.

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C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!

Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.

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