- Butterflies and buttercups do not relate in any way to the dairy product butter or flies.
- The Bayeux Tapestry is not an actual tapestry. It is an embroidered cloth.
- Guinea pigs are not pigs and do not come from Guinea. The "Guinea" may be a re-analysis of "Guyana", though they originate from the Andes and not Guyana.
- A multi-valued function is not a mathematical function in the proper definition.
- The same can be said about a generalized function, as such a function cannot be evaluated in some point(s); only the integrals of such functions have a 'common sense' meaning.
- A disk laser usually is not disk at all; only the pumped region (sometimes) has a disk-shaped form.
- A lead crystal is not a crystalline solid but an amorphous glass.
- The Nintendo GameCube without an attached Game Boy Player accessory is not a cube because the sides are not all squares.
- The Hundred Years' War did not last for 100 years but 116. It was actually a series of separate campaigns and battles which continued for 116 years (from 1337 to 1453).
- The First World War and the Second World War were not fought throughout the entire world.
- The Blitz was the sustained bombing of the United Kingdom by Nazi Germany between 7 September 1940 and 16 May 1941. Although the word Blitz is a shortening of the German word blitzkrieg, meaning "lightning war", it was not an example of blitzkrieg but was an early example of strategic bombing.
- Catgut is made from sheep intestines.
- Podcasting is not limited to the iPod, nor does the technology involve any casting as the consumers pull audio data onto their audio players. However, like broadcasting, it is a way of distributing audio or visual data to large numbers of people.
- Heat lightning is actually lightning that is too far away for the thunder to be heard, but generally occurs during hot weather
- Sugar soap contains neither sugar nor soap.
- Smoked glass is so-called because it is stained to look like smoke, not because it is literally kippered.
- Salad cream (a mayonnaise substitute) is so-called because mayonnaise is often (although not exclusively, as implied) used as a salad dressing. Unlike mayonnaise, salad cream is not particularly creamy.
- An egg cream is really chocolate flavored syrup with seltzer and milk. It typically contains neither eggs nor cream.
- Eggplants, although egg-shaped, are not ova.
- An egg roll is an appetizer usually made by wrapping a combination of chopped vegetables, not eggs. It is actually so-called because the dough is dipped in egg or an egg-wash before frying.
- The English Horn is, in fact, neither English nor a horn.
- Head cheese is actually a meat product.
- Grape-Nuts are made from neither grapes nor nuts.
- A Mountain Beaver (Aplodontia rufa) is a primitive rodent unrelated, though fairly similar in appearance, to beavers not usually found in mountainous areas.
- "Horny toads" or "horned frogs" are actually lizards.
- In baseball, the common term "ground rule double" does not refer to ballpark-specific ground rules but is, in fact, provided in the standard rules, such as in Official Baseball Rules, Rule 6.09(d) through (h). Likewise, an uncaught third strike is often referred to as a "dropped" third strike, even though it is not necessarily dropped but it is simply not legally caught by the catcher. In addition, the foul lines on a baseball field are located in fair territory (Rule 2).
- At Stanford University, the term "Stanford Cardinal" is often thought to refer to the bird. It actually refers to the school's team colors.
- Photoshopping maybe done with image editors other than Adobe Photoshop, such as GIMP or Paint Shop Pro.
- Vinho Verde is often supposed to be pale green, due to a too-literal translation of its name; in fact, in Portuguese as in English "green" is a metaphor for "young", and most Vinho Verde for the export market is white (and a pale yellow in colour).
- Though from above a starfish resembles the popular five-point artistic rendering of a star, it is not, in fact, in the shape of a star, which is spheroid in shape. In addition, it is not a fish.
- An inchworm is neither an inch long, nor a worm.
- The English present and past subjunctive do not relate to the present and past in the literal sense, but are so named because they resemble the indicative present and past tenses in form.
- A velvet ant is actually a type of wasp.
- Source: wikipedia.com
