Calico is splotchy colors, tortise shell has kind of a color with veiny color throughout

ETA: I'm wrong. Here's what I found

A "tortoiseshell" or "tortie" is randomly patched all over with red, black, and cream. The patches may be very mingled, or they may be more distinct.

A "blue-cream" (also called "blue tortie" or or "dilute tortie") is randomly patched all over with blue and cream. This is a soft, pastel color.

A "calico" has more white. As a rule, the more white there is on the cat, the larger and more distinct the red and black patches will be. You'll notice that the large black patches are solid black, and the large red patches are actually red tabby.

A "dilute calico" has the same amount of white as a calico, but instead of red and black patches, it has blue and cream patches. The blue patches are solid blue, and the cream patches are cream tabby.

Wild guess...distinct tri-color patches (calico), vs. tweedy mix of two colors.

I'm probably too old to build a pillow fort and hang a sign on it telling people to go away, aren't I?

I'd always used calico for parti-colored cats with significant amounts of white and tortie for ones with little or no white. But if y'all and my Regency writers loop are to be believed, apparently I'm in the minority. Of course, the part-white ones usually are splotchy while the brown-black-gold ones are generally more tweedy.

I'm probably too old to build a pillow fort and hang a sign on it telling people to go away, aren't I?

If all of us do it, maybe we can make it grown-up behavior.

I'm probably too old to build a pillow fort and hang a sign on it telling people to go away, aren't I?

Yes.

You should build your fort out of bricks, and tie your sign to rocks that you lob at those who dare approach.

Calico vs tortie: I've always used the terms the way Susan does. The mostly-dark with veiny color, I always heard called brindle.

What's the difference between a calico and a tortoiseshell cat?

Generally, I think of a calico as white with patches of color, and tortoiseshell as darker with the colors all smushed together.

When the guy the cube over asks me Microsoft Project questions, I'm only surprised for a little. It's odd for me to realise he's coming to me with "Do you know this guy here? What does he do?" questions and I can answer them. I'm totally like an oldtimer.

Except around here? NSM. More that I'm just chatty.

Right. Resume work. Getting right on that.

DJ, you talk about your husband so sweetly. I just wanted to say that.

You're never too old for a pillow fort.