Last Updated on February 12, 2022
When choosing between tack or tact, the writer needs to know that while they two words look very closely related, there are important differences.
My dad loves sailing. I don’t.
He tried to instill that love in me when I was growing up, but like my mom, I prefer to either stay on dry land or to travel in a boat that is motorized and at least doesn’t feel that it’s a millimeter or two from tipping over.
One of the things I do know about when it comes to sailing is tack.
We all know the common definition of tack, which, as a noun, refers to either a thumbtack or a small nail used to fasten things; and, as a verb, means to fasten things together.
But in nautical terms, tack refers to the direction of a ship with respect to the trim of the ship’s sails. In fact, the word’s first-known use, according to Merriam-Webster, was in 1574, when it referred to a rope tying down the windward corner of a sail.
As a verb, it means to change the direction of a sailing ship by turning the bow into the wind and shifting the sails.
When one refers to changing direction — in a plan or an approach — one changes tack, not tact.
Tact refers to a kind of diplomacy that involves “the ability to say or do things without offending or upsetting other people.”
It may sound like “political correctness,” but the distinction here is that tact implies that something positive is actually being accomplished because of a sensitivity to others.
Unfortunately, people seem to believe tact is a shortened form of tactic, which leads to confusion.
But tact comes to us from French and traces its roots to the Latin tactus, which means “to touch.”
So if you’re being sensitive to the feelings of others, you have tact. If you’re trying to reach that point, but aren’t there, yet, you need a change of tack.
