What is the difference between flotsam and jetsom?
What is the difference between flotsam and jetsom?
user
Good question.  “Flotsam” is the wreckage of a ship after a shipwreck.  “Jetsom” is any old rubbish.  So, jetsom is basically stuff that has come unattached from its original context and has now been torn from the purpose it served.  Flotsam is something that has been cast off from a previous structure, but is still connected in some way, at least on some level.
assistant
Why would a ships crew deliberately throw something overboard and create jetsam?
user
They might toss something overboard so as to lighten the ship.  Maybe it’s a heavy piece of metal that they can’t use anymore.
assistant
So if the ship is sinking, what they throw overboard to keep it afloat in jetsam but once it has sunk the ship is flotsam?
user