Revised as of
13 July 2023
People! There is a distinct difference between “wicked behavior” and “a clamping hold”!
Of course, I suppose that a vice may well have a vise-like grip on a person, as addicting as that vice might be. However. It is no excuse to grab someone with a vice-like grip . . . hmmm . . . I may be wrong about that. A drug that could cause someone to become addicted could be considered to have a vice-like grip, I suppose . . . Unfortunately, vice is more of a metaphysical noun while vise is definitely physical. In America. If you are writing for a British audience, go ahead and swap ’em around.
I do like C.S. Lakin’s example: “I often see writers talk about being ‘squeezed in a vice grip’. But that makes me conjure up the image of a team of cops closing in on a criminal who has drugs hidden in his pocket” from her post, “Don’t Elicit Illicit Behavior“.
So pay attention: it is physically impossible (unless you’re writing for a British audience) to grip someone in a vice of any sort.
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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| Vice | Vise |
|---|---|
Heating Up the Heroin, 2001, by Hendrike of Hamburg, Germany, is under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license, via Wikipedia Commons. — Looks like a nasty vice to me. |
Bench Vise is Biser Todorov‘s own work under the CC BY 4.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons. |
| Part of Grammar: | |
| Noun 1, Preposition 2, 3
Plural:
Alternate spelling: vise [British] |
Noun
Plural:
Alternate spelling: vice [British] |
| Noun: Bad, immoral, or wicked behavior 1 Weak character Bad habit [Informal] Short for vice president, vice admiral ++ Preposition: Acting as a deputy or substitute for [Combination form; vice-] Next in rank modifying any noun it precedes indicating a deputy 3 |
A tool with movable jaws used to hold an object firmly in place while work is done on it, typically attached to a workbench
May denote a screw or winch |
| Examples: | |
| Noun: Chocolate is my vice. That man has more vices than the devil! Alcohol can be a vice, if you drink too much of it. Preposition: The letter was drafted by David Hunt, vice Bevin who was ill. She’s the vice-admiral of the Solarian Navy. The vice-president is scheduled to be here. He was appointed vice regent to the Crown. |
That dog grabs on like a vise!
Use the vise to hold the two pieces together. He held on with a vise-like grip. |
| History of the Word: | |
|
Middle English and denoting a screw or winch and from the Old French vis, which is from the Latin vitis meaning vine. |
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.
Resources for Vice versus Vise
Apple Dictionary.com
Pinterest Photo Credits
I resized and cropped the image, Red Clothespins BDSM by Diana Blackwell, which is under the CC BY 2.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons, which depicts “a woman wearing a BDSM collar placing red clothespins on a man’s nipples and below his stomach, to emphasize the mini vises attached to the man’s nipple area. While this was obviously an activity he enjoyed, some people do see it as a vice . . . *grin* . . .
