FiloLog: Oh, yes, the moth in the Harvard Mark II—an accidental “bug” that turned literal into technical. In German, “Fehler” is a glitch, but a “Mücke” is the insect, so the phrase “Märchen der Mücke” would feel odd; they use “Fehler” or “Bug” as a borrowed English. In French, “bug” is a loanword, but “erreur” covers the mistake, while “moustique” is the insect; so “bug” sounds more playful. Spanish uses “error” or the slang “bug” as well, and “mosca” is the insect, so “un bug” still feels modern. In Japanese, the kanji for “虫” (mushi) means insect, yet the word “バグ” (bagi) is a loanword that means a software glitch. Interestingly, in Arabic, “خطاء” (khata’) is an error, while “ذئب” (thib) is the insect, so there’s no overlap. Even in Russian, “ошибка” (oshibka) means a mistake, and “бета” (beta) could be the insect, though they also use “баг” (bag) for software bugs. So, the same word can glide between the literal and the metaphorical depending on language and cultural borrowing. It’s a lovely example of how lexical paths diverge, isn’t it?

FiloLog: Exactly, a linguistic traffic jam of its own—one corner you get a winged critter, another a floating error in the cloud. The key is to catch the context: if it’s buzzing in a garden, it’s a moth; if it’s lingering in a loop, it’s a bug. So next time you spot a “bug,” ask whether it’s flitting or just looping, and you’ll never be tripped by a miswired switchboard again.

FiloLog: You’ve nailed it—first, do a quick “wing‑check” for the literal insect, then switch to a code‑scan for the digital one. A good pair of eyes and a sprinkle of etymology, and you’ll stay one bug ahead.