Word Confusion: Broach versus Brooch

Revised as of 11 April 2021

Whale-watching is so incredibly amazing. I love watching them broach the water, but if I ever see one wearing a brooch…well, I just might faint dead away. It’d be like seeing someone wearing a lip ring or a barbell through their eyebrow. I mean, where would a whale go to get a piercing like that done?

You may also want to explore “Breach versus Breech” when it comes to whales.

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 noir for you from either end.

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Broach	Brooch
Credit to: Apple Dictionary.com
Slickline Tubing Broach is Schwindj‘s own and and under the GNU Free Documentation or the CC BY-SA 3.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons.	Porceleyne Fles Ship’s Brooch is Delftjewelrypal’s own work under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons. — I love the combination of crackled porcelain with its elaborate frame in this brooch.
Part of Grammar:
Noun 1; Verb, intransitive 1, 2 & transitive 2 Plural for the noun and third person present verb: broaches Past tense or past participle: broached Gerund or present participle: broaching	Noun Plural: brooches
Noun: A sudden and hazardous veering or pitching of a ship 1 Spit for roasting meat Long, tapered, toothed cutting tool for enlarging holes Roof covering the corner triangle on the top of a square tower having an octagonal spire Tool used to tapping kegs Verb, intransitive: [Nautical; broach to] A ship with the wind on the quarter veers and pitches forward because of bad steering or a sea hitting the stern, causing it to present a side to the wind and sea, lose steerage, and possibly suffer serious damage 1 A fish or mammal breaking the surface of the water 2 Verb, transitive: Raise (a sensitive or difficult subject) for discussion 2 Pierce (a cask) to draw liquor Open and start using the contents of (a bottle or other container) Make a hole in something for the specific purpose of drawing off liquid	Piece of jewelry An ornament fastened to clothing with a hinged pin and catch
Examples:
Noun: The helmsman was forced to use the engines in conjunction with the wheel to prevent a broach. Get the broach and we’ll tap this keg. Verb, intransitive: The whale broached with a mighty leap. We had broached badly, side on to the wind and sea. The ship would have broached to if the captain had not sprung to the wheel. Verb, transitive: He broached the subject he had been avoiding all evening. He broached the last cask of wine. When I broached the subject of her attack, she burst into tears.	Do you plan to wear your lion brooch tonight? I can’t believe Geoffrey gave you that emerald brooch! That brooch is part of a set with a necklace, earrings, and tiara.
Derivatives:
Adjective: unbroached Noun: broacher	Verb, transitive: unbrooch
History of the Word:
Early 18th century and of unknown origin. Middle English from the Old French brochier, based on the Latin brocchus, broccus meaning projecting. The earliest recorded sense was prick with spurs, generally pierce, which gave rise (late Middle English to pierce a cask. To raise a sensitive subject is a figurative use of this, dates from the late 16th century.	Middle English, a variant of broach, originally meaning skewer or bodkin, which is from the Old French broche meaning spit for roasting and based on the Latin brocchus, broccus meaning projecting.

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 more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.

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Pinterest Photo Credits:

Breaching Humpback Whale by Gregory “Slobirdr” Smith, 12 June 2013, is under the CC BY 2.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons. “On this summer’s trip to Alaska, we were again fortunate enough to have calm seas and clear weather out of Seward on a Kenai Fjords tour. At least eight different marine mammal species put in an appearance. This humpback whale was kind enough to breach four times next to our boat, giving me plenty of time to setup the focus and composition. The Common Murre in the foreground did not seem the least bit perturbed…”

Brooch from the St Ninian’s Isle Treasure, <https://visualhunt.com/f2/photo/7814150270/26a69e29c6/>, by dun_deagh, <https://visualhunt.com/author/162ca2>, is under the CC BY-SA 2.0 license, via VisualHunt.