i was ringing up a winter hat for a man the other day and i said “oh, it’s so cute! i love the pom-pom on the top.” and he smiled and agreed and a few seconds later he picked the hat out of the bag and said “you called this a pom-pom?” and i said yes, that’s what i call them, and he explained that he was still learning english before he touched the hat again and said “pom-pom“ in a fascinated voice
English is going to be tricky again.
Here’s a pom-pom…
…and here’s a pom-pom (OK, un pompon rouge, so not quite English…)
…and here’s a pom-pom and a biretta (you can see where this is going)…
Yup. Here’s a pom-pom and a Beretta…
I’ve seen - and laughed at - the biretta/Beretta mistake in professional print. Spelling matters, specialist spelling in particular, so don’t rely on your copy-editor. A hat is not a gat, but keyboard proximity can make it happen.
These are pom-poms…
…and so are these…
Even without pictures, the difference will be clear in context. A bit like not needing to spell mail as maille… :-P