I wrote this on a social networking site, and decided to repost it here to boost the startup of my blog! I wrote this in response to the large number of forum posts in which people used the wrong term.

Dec. 30 2008

I am so fed up with hearing people talk about something being a "mute point"!!!!! It isn't "mute point", it is "MOOT point"!

It makes absolutely zero sense to say "mute point"! Are we saying something is a silent point? And if we are, doesn't the fact that we audibly say it negate its "muteness"!? I hear this ALL the time, and I want to scream when I do. It isn't so much that the phrase is annoying, it is that people aren't even thinking about what they are saying when they say it.

For the reasons stated above, it is blindingly obvious to any casual observer that "mute point" must be incorrect.

If anyone is still unconvinced let us look at the context the phrase is used in.

One could say something like this "whether or not Bob left the gate unlatched is a moot point, the fact is that the horses are running across the freeway".

In other words, at the present time, the fact that the horses are running across the freeway is of far more importance than blaming Bob for leaving the gate unlatched.
It is a moot point, and is unimportant and at present, quite irrelevant. The speaker is saying that right now these unfortunate people must hurry and catch their horses before someone gets hurt. (there will be PLENTY of time to chew Bob out later... )

It is certainly not a "mute" or silent point, it is just an irrelevant point.

Here is the Wiktionary definition of moot point "(US) An issue regarded as potentially debatable, but no longer practically applicable. Although the idea may still be worth debating and exploring academically, and such discussion may be useful for addressing similar issues in the future, the idea has been rendered irrelevant for the present issue."

Clearly those people who say "mute point" mean "moot point" because they use it in the correct context, they just have confused the similar sounding terms.

So in conclusion, to avoid sounding ridiculous, please use the correct term! I know they sound very similar, but they mean drastically different things!

Ok, I will get off of my soapbox now!