Short answer: a confusing something and a confused something are similar, and closely related, but not necessarily the same.
Let's try a simpler verb: interesting--interested. There are 3 people in this example, A, B, and C. Suppose that,
A interests B. -- Let's say that A successfully gets B's attention by making himself or herself look interesting. We can say that, B finds A interesting.
C may observe that,
- A is an interesting person (to B), and
- B is the interested person.
C may or may not think that B is interesting. However, if C thinks that the fact that B is interested in A makes B interesting, C may think that B is interesting, too, which in turn makes C think that,
- B is the interested person, and
- B is an interesting person.
In this case (to C), B is both interesting and interested.
The same applies to confusing and confused in your question.
When we say or write confusing ideas, we mean that to us, the ideas are confusing, and we look at it from our point of view. We feel that they are "confusing". To us, it's difficult to understand.
When we say or write confused ideas, we mean that the ideas are confused. They are not well organized or explained. We may say that the person who states the ideas "confuse" them, and as a result, the ideas are not clear or not easy to understand.
Thus, a confusing something may not be confused.
And a confused something may not be confusing, either.
In short, they're similar, and closely related, but not necessarily the same.
- I will arrive there at about 8 o'clock or a little later (i.e. at 8:05 or 8:15...)
- I have read about 10 books on Chinese history or a few more (i.e. maybe 11 or 12, I'm not sure).
- She looks 40 years old or a little older (i.e. maybe 42-43).
Both 'or so' and '-odd' can mean either a little more or a little less. If you want the number X to be understood to be the smallest approximate number, you might use "at least X" or "X or more" or "more than X".
- I won't make it there before 8 o'clock. I will probably be 10 or so minutes late.
If you are certain you won't arrive before 8 o'clock, you should say so directly. Otherwise, we would just say "around 8 o'clock, but I might be a little late." with the understanding that if we are lucky and don't have to stop at too many traffic lights, we might show up at 7:55.
- I have read more than 10 books on Chinese history.
If the number were much higher than 10, we would expect you to say "I have read more than 40 books." or "I have read about 100 books on Chinese history."
- She looks at least 40 years old.
Similar to the second example, if you thought she could be a lot older than 40, you might say "She looks around 50 years old." meaning maybe 48 or maybe 52.
I personally find the -odd suffix difficult to use. It always seems better to me to say "about 5 things" instead of "5-odd things". Usually I don't use it with a specific number. I might say for example,
"That sandwich has been in the fridge for a week and some-odd days - throw it away!"
That would mean it has been at least a week and a few days more. If I hear other folks use it in conversation, it doesn't strange to me at all, so don't think I'm telling you not to use the -odd suffix. I would just take someone else's advice on how to use it naturally in your examples.
Best Answer
Question:
Answer:
You could say:
"Around" means "approximately". However, you could not say "I go to work approximately 7 AM"
Those words both mean the same thing, and so are redundant. Specifically "around about" has a slow, relaxed, southern feel to it. "Round about 7pm"