Listening to myself talk about SSH keys, as I "proof-listened" the most recent @npub1mn8y...tm42 episode, I tried to hear it with newer ears, and it reminded me how long it took to grok public/private key infrastructure.
It occurs to me that we missed a MUCH better naming schema. Your private key is just a key. Keys are private by nature. Your public key is a LOCK. Locks are public by nature.
In that metaphor, you install your lock on a server so that your key will unlock it.