No, they're not really the same thing at all...I love gargoyles, but I just learned the difference today and discovered I actually own three grotesques. Feh.

Walter Arnold is a professional gargoyle and grotesque carver from Chicago, and he has a most excellent G&G page with plenty of images and links - love the "corrupt politician" gargoyle on the homepage:

The word "Gargoyle" shares a root with the word "Gargle"; they come from "gargouille", an old French word for "Throat". A true gargoyle is a waterspout. An unusual carved creature that does not serve that purpose is properly called a "Grotesque".

This also explains the title of the season 3 X-Files episode called "Grotesque," about a murderous living gargoyle...ahem...grotesque. He/she/it did not have a drainspout, at least that we could see on-screen.

Speaking of X-Files, now that the official FOX site has been abducted by aliens, if you're a 'phile you may want to try some alternative, homegrown XF sites, like wearehere.net (named after the ethereal repeating lyric in Mark Snow's "Scully's Theme"). Come to think of it, if you're a 'phile, you've probably sought out the sites already! I also keep an infrequently-updated X-Files related blog called "The X-Log," if you are curious...caveat: it's far from complete, and it's by no means a season-by-season guide.

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