Vague vs. Ambiguous

The term vague is frequently described as a sentence or phrase that is not thoroughly explained and often misunderstood. Earlier this semester, my laptop charger shorted out and I needed to replace it. I asked my room mate where I could find the nearest Best Buy. She told me, "There's one right off the freeway." I didn't know where she was directing me because there are several free ways like I-680, US-101 and I-280. Her di rections would be deemed vague because there is not just one Best Buy off of one freeway. An example of ambiguity is when my boss told me that he would "give me a ring tomorrow". I was sort of caught off guard because I didn't know what he meant by "a ring". I wasn't sure if he was refering to a physical ring or a phone call. Ambiguous language is language used during advertisements and sales pitches to get consumers to BUY! BUY! BUY! These phrases have a tendency to have open-ended meanings and can be interpreted in several ways.