ROGET'S THESAURUS OF ENGLISH WORDS AND PHRASES ...

in error, under an error &c n.; mistaken &c v.; tripping &c v.; out, out in one's
reckoning; aberrant; beside the mark, wide of the mark, wide of the truth, way off, far off;
astray &c (at fault) 475; on a false scent, on the wrong scent; in the wrong box, outside
the ballpark; at cross purposes, all in the wrong; all out.
Adv. more or less.
Phr. errare est humanum [Lat.]; mentis gratissimus error [Lat.] [Horace]; on the dubious
waves of error tost [Cowper]; to err is human, to forgive divine [Pope]; you lie -- under a
mistake [Shelley].
496. Maxim -- N. maxim, aphorism; apothegm, apophthegm † ; dictum, saying, adage,
saw, proverb; sentence, mot [Fr.], motto, word, byword, moral, phylactery, protasis † .
axiom, theorem, scholium † , truism, postulate.
first principles, a priori fact, assumption (supposition) 514.
reflection &c (idea) 453; conclusion &c (judgment) 480; golden rule &c (precept)
697; principle, principia [Lat.]; profession of faith &c (belief) 484; settled principle,
accepted principle, formula.
accepted fact.
received truth, wise maxim, sage maxim, received maxim, admitted maxim,
recognized maxim &c; true saying, common saying, hackneyed saying, trite saying,
commonplace saying &c
Adj. aphoristic, proverbial, phylacteric † ; axiomatic, gnomic.
Adv. as the saying goes, as the saying is, as they say.
497. Absurdity -- N. absurdity, absurdness &c adj.; imbecility &c 499; alogy † , nonsense,
utter nonsense; paradox, inconsistency; stultiloquy † , stultiloquence † ; nugacity † .
blunder, muddle, bull; Irishism † , Hibernicism † ; slipslop † ; anticlimax, bathos; sophism
&c 477.
farce, galimathias † , amphigouri † , rhapsody; farrago &c (disorder) 59; betise [Fr.];
extravagance, romance; sciamachy † .
sell, pun, verbal quibble, macaronic † .
jargon, fustian, twaddle, gibberish &c (no meaning) 517; exaggeration &c 549;
moonshine, stuff; mare's nest, quibble, self-delusion.
vagary, tomfoolery, poppycock, mummery, monkey trick, boutade [Fr.], escapade.
V. play the fool &c 499; talk nonsense, parler a tort et a travess [Fr.]; battre la campagne
[Fr.]; hanemolia bazein [Gr.]; be absurd &c adj..
Adj. absurd, nonsensical, preposterous, egregious, senseless, inconsistent, ridiculous,
extravagant, quibbling; self-annulling, self-contradictory; macaronic † , punning.
foolish &c 499; sophistical &c 477; unmeaning &c 517; without rhyme or reason;
fantastic.
Int. fiddlededee!, pish!, pho! † , in the name of the Prophet--figs! [Horace Smith].
Phr. credat Judaeus Apella [Lat.] [Horace]; tell it to the marines.
498. Intelligence, Wisdom -- N. intelligence, capacity, comprehension, understanding;
cuteness, sabe [U.S.], savvy [U.S.]; intellect &c 450; nous [Fr.], parts, sagacity, mother
wit, wit, esprit, gumption, quick parts, grasp of intellect; acuteness &c adj.; acumen,