diff --git a/dotdrop/comparator.py b/dotdrop/comparator.py
index bb874c4..7cab104 100644
--- a/dotdrop/comparator.py
+++ b/dotdrop/comparator.py
@@ -123,7 +123,7 @@ class Comparator:
 
     def _diff(self, left, right, header=False):
         """diff using the unix tool diff"""
-        out = diff(left, right, raw=False,
+        out = diff(modified=left, original=right, raw=False,
                    opts=self.diffopts, debug=self.debug)
         if header:
             lshort = os.path.basename(left)
diff --git a/dotdrop/installer.py b/dotdrop/installer.py
index a08cbc1..2c5936a 100644
--- a/dotdrop/installer.py
+++ b/dotdrop/installer.py
@@ -437,14 +437,14 @@ class Installer:
         if content:
             tmp = utils.write_to_tmpfile(content)
             src = tmp
-        diff = utils.diff(src, dst, raw=False)
+        diff = utils.diff(modified=src, original=dst, raw=False)
         if tmp:
             utils.remove(tmp, quiet=True)
 
         # fake the output for readability
         if not diff:
             return
-        self.log.log('diff \"{}\" VS \"{}\"'.format(src, dst))
+        self.log.log('diff \"{}\" VS \"{}\"'.format(dst, src))
         self.log.emph(diff)
 
     def _create_dirs(self, directory):
diff --git a/dotdrop/utils.py b/dotdrop/utils.py
index c4b82e2..893af71 100644
--- a/dotdrop/utils.py
+++ b/dotdrop/utils.py
@@ -70,9 +70,9 @@ def shell(cmd, debug=False):
     return ret == 0, out
 
 
-def diff(src, dst, raw=True, opts='', debug=False):
+def diff(original, modified, raw=True, opts='', debug=False):
     """call unix diff to compare two files"""
-    cmd = 'diff -r {} \"{}\" \"{}\"'.format(opts, src, dst)
+    cmd = 'diff -r {} \"{}\" \"{}\"'.format(opts, original, modified)
     _, out = run(shlex.split(cmd), raw=raw, debug=debug)
     return out