Semantics

When one word or phrase with the same meaning is substituted for another, it is referred to as a matter of semantics.

Semantics can be benign. Asphalt, blacktop, macadam, and flexible paving all mean the same thing and can be freely substituted.

Semantics can be inflammatory. Courtesan, lady of the evening, prostitute, and whore all mean the same thing but have different connotations.

Semantics can also be unintentionally comical. In last Sunday's 49ers - Vikings game, the Minnesota defense called false audibles and jumped back and forth in an attempt to get the San Francisco offense to jump off-side. Referee Jerome Boger (Poor soul. Imagine the mockery he endured in middle school. "Yo, Booger Boger! Ha-ha!") correctly signalled a delay-of-game penalty against the Vikings. He then switched on his microphone and announced to a national TV audience, "Delay of game. Five yards. Minnesota was committing an unnatural act."

According to the NFL Rulebook, the term for this foul is actually "disconcerting activity" which is comical in its own right but certainly doesn't bring the same mental image to an audience (particularly one in San Francisco) as "unnatural act".

Somewhere, Mr Roget is saying, "It's time to update that Thesaurus. In my original edition, I never thought of "disconcerting activity" and "unnatural act" as synonyms, but times change. Semantics is an evolving science."