An aphorism is a terse saying embodying a general truth, or astute observation. (dictionary.com.)

American icon, Mae West (1893—1980) was an actress, comedian and sex symbol whose career spanned seven decades. She became famous for her bawdy, double entendres, producing a prodigious output of aphorisms to the delightful thrills of her audiences and to the fierce opposition of her censors. She voiced many aphorisms on timely subjects, like: history, fashion, love, choice, and even temptation. A sampling:

— “Men like women with a past, because they hope history will repeat itself.”

— “It is better to be looked over than to be overlooked.”

— “Love is what you make it, and who you make it with.”

— “When choosing between two evils, I always like to take the one I haven’t tried before.”

— “When I’m good, I’m very good; but when I’m bad, I’m better.”

— “When women go wrong, men go right after them.”

— “Lead me not into temptation, I can find the way myself.”

— “I generally resist temptation, unless I can’t resist it.”

Mae West encountered much opposition, particularly censorship, due to her seductive, suggestive comments, and even did some jail time for expressing her First Amendment right. True to character, she made light of her opposition: ”I believe in censorship. I made a fortune out of it.”

In the end, she amassed a large following, and became the largest box office attraction during the Depression. During Word War II, US servicemen added to her considerable fame by dubbing their yellow, inflatable life vests as “Mae West’s.” Suitably, I end this post with her epitaph:  “Come up and see me some time.”

The answer to the title question: a confusing lot. “Onym” is a word syllable stemming from an ancient Greek root, meaning “name,” which form parts of many English words, particularly those that describe unusual characteristics of some English words.

When writing and speaking, the “onym” syllable usually identifies words that share either the same spelling or sound while encompassing a different meaning. Confusing? Just wait until I explain. We all know and use synonyms (similar meaning) and antonyms (opposite meaning), but may not be familiar with other “onym” words. Consider a few:

Homonym: words that impart multiple meanings while sharing either the same sound or spelling; like, bare (naked)/bear (animal), fair (exhibition)/fair (just). We cannot stop here without first mentioning other homonym subcategories; namely:
— homophone, which describe words that sound alike with different spelling and meaning like aisle/ isle; here/hear;
— homographs, which describe words that spell alike, with different meaning, as bear (uphold)/bear (animal)
— heteronym which classifies words that share the same spelling, but have different sounds and meanings, like close (shut) and close (near)

Oronym: phrases that sound the same, but differ in spelling and meaning, like: Gray day or Grade A; stuffy nose or stuff he knows.

Capitonym: words that spell or sound the same, but differ in that one word carries an initial letter capital; like, Polish (nationality) and polish (shine); Turkey (nation) and turkey (bird).

Paronym: words that are “similar”, not necessarily identical, but contain a significantly different spelling, like accept/except, addition/edition

Acronym: an abbreviation using the initial letters of each word in a phrase; like Scuba (Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus) or Nato (North American Treaty Organization.)

Contronym: a word having two meanings that contradict one another, like sanction, which may mean to approve or to boycott; moot, which may mean a debatable point or a point not worth debating.

Conclusion: An onym by any other name may qualify as a pseudonym.