WHY A PAN FISH IS A BREAM


English is confusing. Not literature, not grammar, but the vocabulary that makes up our language. There are things like homophones, which have the same spelling or pronunciation, but different meanings. For instance, the word "bow" is a weapon, and a tie, or is used to play a violin. Then there's a heteronym which has the same spelling but a different pronunciation and meaning, at which point "bow" is bending at the waist, or the front of a boat. It is always confusing.


What's that got to do with fishing? Well...consider the term "panfish." Of course, fishermen are never not sure what that is. Yeah, right.