Get It Right, Writers!- Poisonous VS Venomous

Hello Writers! Welcome to the first ever post in my new series, Get It Right, Writers! I decided to start this because of common mistakes that have nothing to do with the literary part of the book, but that are false facts about the real world. Usually something that the standard author or writer would have no idea about unless they did some research. This series is highlighting the common mistakes that I see often and explaining what’s wrong with them and the correct way to do them. The topic I chose for today is one of my pet peeves when I see this mistake in books: when they call a venomous creature poisonous or a poisonous creature venomous. Gets. On. My. Nerves. So, I’m writing a blog post about it. Hope you enjoy it!

This is probably the most common non-writerly mistake I see in books. Snakes and spiders are very common animals that are used in books, and authors make the mistake of calling them poisonous when they are actually venomous. What’s worse, is when these two terms are used interchangeably. If these two words have different meanings, then what are they?

VENOMOUS: organisms that have to bite or sting to inject toxins

POISONOUS: organisms that have to be touched or swallowed in order for toxins to take into effect

Venom has to be injected into you, it could be with fangs from a snake or spider, or it could be a sting from a bee or a wasp.

Poison has to be touched or swallowed, it’s not called venom ivy, it’s called poison ivy. because you have to come into skin to plant contact to gain a reaction. Monarch butterflies are also poisonous, but you have to consume them for the toxins to take into effect.

Understand the difference? Venom has to be injected into you, like a shot, while poison has to be swallowed or touched. Most authors don’t understand the difference, and end up switching the two up, or using them as synonyms of each other. You’ll often see snakes and spiders that are referred to as “poisonous” when what the author actually means is “venomous.”

Don’t make this mistake! It’s not hard to remember which is which, if you think about it. You never hear about anyone swallowing venom, but you hear about poisonous berries (which you have to eat) or poison ivy (which you have to touch). If you can remember one, you can remember the other. You have to touch poison ivy, so it’s poisonous, which means that venom is the one where you are injected.

Hope you learned something new!

Until Next Time,

~Kamama Deere