what tact to take definition
Take A Different Tact ( or ) Take A Different Tack. Previous Page. Take A Different Tact ( or ) Take A Different Tack : This expression has nothing to do with tactfulness and everything to do with sailing, in which it is a direction taken as one tacksâabruptly turnsâa boat. To âtake a different tack is to try another approach.
Tack vs. tact. Tact is sensitivity in social situations. A tack is a course or an approach (the word has nautical origins). When switching courses or taking a different approach, one changes tack, not tact. Tact often appears in place of tack. Presumably some people think of it as short for tactic, which is synonymous with tack in some contexts.