The un-unravel-able mystery of ravel.

As fate would have it the analysis of ravel, unravel, and un-unravel fell once again upon my doorstep. It appears that I did a slipshod job of dealing with it the first time and it has come home to roost. I now dare to delve into the subject a second time.

I think there is probably consensus on what unravel means…but let’s start there. According to Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) it means:

1. to separate or disentangle the threads of (a woven or knitted fabric, a rope, etc.).
2. to free from complication or difficulty; make plain or clear; solve: to unravel a situation; to unravel a mystery.

Fair enough. However if you look further down the page you’ll notice that The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition from Dictionary.com defines it as

1. a. To undo or ravel the knitted fabric of.
   b. To separate (entangled threads).

To undo or ravel? To separate or entangle? That's kind of weird… Instinctively one would think to unravel would be the opposite of to ravel. Perhaps we need to take a closer look at the definition of ravel.

Let’s see what our good friend Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) thinks:

1. to disentangle or unravel the threads or fibers of (a woven or knitted fabric, rope, etc.).
2. to tangle or entangle.

Ack! That seems to indicate that its definition is contradictory! Perhaps Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) is just a little confused. Let’s see what The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition from Dictionary.com thinks:

1. To become separated into its component threads; unravel or fray.
2. To become tangled or confused.

Ack! They agree that it makes no sense? Ravel is a contradiction? Ravel can mean to ravel or unravel? That makes my head hurt. It definitely doesn’t help shed light on un-unravel. Which definition of unravel would we be un-ing?

The only take away I can find from the quagmire is that you’re always safe if you use ravel - whether you mean to ravel or unravel. Plus ravel is just fun to say. Give it a try. Ravel.