discrepancy
dih-SKREP-un-seenounMeaning a difference between things that should match
Memory hook DIS-CREPE-ancy: 3 CREPES paid, 2 served. The ticket says three crepes, but Lin’s plate holds only two. She spots the discrepancy.
Lin noticed a discrepancy between the receipt and the number of crepes on her plate.
In context The detective focused on one discrepancy: the butler said he had been asleep by ten, yet his tea was still warm at midnight.
Similar mismatch, inconsistency, difference, gap
Opposite agreement, consistency, match
From Latin discrepantia, from discrepare, “to sound differently, disagree”: dis (apart) + crepare (to rattle).