historic mistakes

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mm - 22 Jan 2007 15:51 GMT

How would you understnd the prhrase "historic mistakes"?

Are they mistakes which have been made in the past, or are they
mistakes that will have an effect in the future, thereby changing
history, or are they some third thing.

If they are the second, isn't it too soon to know if a mistake made in
the last 4 years is a historic mistake? Don't we have to wait to see
how things turn out, to see if the given mistake has any effect on
history?

Or is this just a word that speakers throw out to make their words
sound important? In this case, they were discussing the war in Iraq.

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for some reason, remove NOPSAM :-)

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ChrisR - 22 Jan 2007 16:07 GMT

> How would you understnd the prhrase "historic mistakes"?
>
[quoted text clipped - 9 lines]
> Or is this just a word that speakers throw out to make their words
> sound important? In this case, they were discussing the war in Iraq.

From Dictionary.com: "Historic and historical have different usages, though
their senses overlap. Historic refers to what is important in history: the
historic first voyage to the moon. It is also used of what is famous or
interesting because of its association with persons or events in history: a
historic house. Historical refers to whatever existed in the past, whether
regarded as important or not: a minor historical character."

An historic mistake would be one of historical importance. You could say a
mistake made now was an historic mistake, but you would have to be
prejudging its effect on history. It gets used interchangeably with
"momentous".

Chris R

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mike.j.harvey@gmail.com - 22 Jan 2007 16:22 GMT

Historic refers to what is important in history:

The historic first voyage to the Moon.
The historic tearing down of the Berlin Wall

My country seems on the verge of making an historic mistake, one that
will forever change the political dynamic which has governed the world
since the end of the Second World War - Scott Ritter, September 2002

German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned on Wednesday failure to revive
the European Union's constitution would be a 'historic mistake'

It is also used of what is famous or interesting because of its
association with persons or events in history:

A historic house.

(Actually I am a middle aged Brit, and I tend towards "an historic
house", - I say "an hotel" - but never mind)

The historic River Tiber

Historical refers to whatever existed in the past, whether regarded as
important or not:

a minor historical character.

Historical also refers to anything concerned with history or the study
of the past: a historical novel, historical discoveries.

In this connection, an (or a) historical mistake might be to suppose
that King Edward VII of England was Queen Victoria's father.

While these distinctions are useful, don't be surprised if you see
these words used interchangeably, as in historic times or historical
times.

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Discussion Groups / English Usage / January 2007

historic mistakes