Commonly Confused Words: Segue vs. Segway

Segue is sometimes mistaken with SegwaySegue is a verb meaning “to proceed without stopping from a place, topic, song, etc., to another.” On the other hand, Segway is a trademarked name for an electric transportation device.

segway vs. segue

Commonly confused English words are old duos: affect and effect, or pare and pair. But a new duo has developed in the last dozen or so years: segway and segue. You see it in conversational writing and constructions like “let me segway to a new subject.”

 

The word you need to use in these cases is segue. This use of segue is defined as “to transition without interruption from one topic, activity, scene, or part to another.” This usage comes from music—there, the direction segue means to continue directly on to the next thing without ceasing or to perform the next piece of music like the prior piece. This segue was adopted from Italian to English, where segue means “there follows.”

The other segway is a trademark: it refers to a motorized, two-wheel individual vehicle. The confusion is understandable as both segway and segue have the same pronunciation, and the spelling segway looks more rational than segue. It’s become standard to see Segway tours or security officers using Segways—and perhaps because of the increase of Segways, it’s becoming more common to see segway in print in place of segue.

Remember: Segway should be the last thing on your mind the next time you need to use the word segue in print. But if you still cannot remember how to spell segue correctly, try using the phrase move on instead.

 

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By Connie Fisher

Connie Fisher is a freelance writer and editor specializing in business writing and marketing. She holds a bachelor's degree in media and journalism and has contributed to a slew of printed and online media, including Contra Costa Times, Daily American, the The Tri-Town News, NYC.com, and many more.

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