Remember When Words Meant Words

carver · Oct 1, 2015

This is totally a spin-off.
When chatting about OTC tobaccos, most people mentioned how old this expression is and how inadequate it appears to be today.
Thanks to jpmcwjr (which I am desperate to call a different name or stop quoting him, I can't manage to remember what appears to me to be a random sequence of letters :mrgreen

Words and meanings morph over time. Remember when "dumb" meant silent and not stupid? When "gay" meant a happy, carefree time or event?

So let's see what funny language peculiarities you recall using under different circumstances or simply that you have knowledge of, that we don't use today anymore for that meaning.
Personally I don't know any since English is not the language I grew up with, but after some digging, here goes:
A "guy" was originally a frightful figure, due to Guy Fawkes who thought that the parliament didn't look good and fancied blowing it up during the 17th century. Now a guy is just about any guy.

But don't be a fun ... Gus
cheers.

cosmicfolklore · Oct 1, 2015

Your command of grammar and punctuation is very good for a non-native speaker. It's better than a lot of native speakers. Kuddos!

tbradsim1 · Oct 1, 2015

Yep, and Handshakes meant something.

jpmcwjr · Oct 1, 2015

carver- "JP" would do nicely- a nickname used by some of my pals.
Oddly, I've heard a pack of women and a gaggle of girls, address one another as "guys!"
There are also phrases I recall as a kid (used to mean baby goat, now a child or teenager) that were reversed just for effect. "Wow, that's one tough looking broad" meant a very good looking woman, at least in my teen years.
"Fine" used to mean thin, as in a strand of gold or hair. Now it means just about anything positive. Fine weather. A fine car. A fine looking lady.

agnosticpipe · Oct 1, 2015

I agree that many words were used to mean something else in years past. Now it seems that our language is peppered with acronyms and letters so we don't have to use actual words. I guess it takes too much time to write it all out, but WTH we all seem to do it now.

elbert · Oct 1, 2015

English lacks a second-person plural pronoun--well, except for 'ye', which is archaic. So in the American South its y'all or ya'll--in my neck of the woods, "you guys".

deathmetal · Oct 1, 2015

Oddly, I've heard a pack of women and a gaggle of girls, address one another as "guys!"

It used to be we used a male pronoun for people of indeterminate gender. Now we use a male term for all genders. Hmm

jpmcwjr · Oct 1, 2015

Yes; using his as an impersonal pronoun is a rare occurrence. And there's hardly ever agreement between verb and subject. Where's Edwin Newman when we need him?

Chasing Embers · Oct 1, 2015

A "guy" was originally a frightful figure, due to Guy Fawkes

Working on a Guy Fawkes type mustache. Maybe I should start calling it a "y'all stache". :mrgreen:

tuold · Oct 1, 2015

This happens to all languages over time. If they don't change they go extinct.
I read an article recently about the tough time contemporary listeners have understanding Shakespeare and it's for the same reason. The words are there that we immediately recognize but the meanings have changed over the centuries making comprehension difficult.

Chasing Embers · Oct 1, 2015

Then over time, the language in it's entirety evolves. I love listening to Middle English, but can't comprehend any of it.

jitterbugdude · Oct 1, 2015

"Hook up" used to mean to meet at a later time. Now it means to get together to have sex.

deathmetal · Oct 1, 2015

Then over time, the language in it's entirety evolves.

Evolution goes two ways.

Chasing Embers · Oct 1, 2015

Evolution goes two ways.

Isn't that the truth.

frozenchurchwarden · Oct 1, 2015

I wish English had an official regulatory body like most other languages.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_language_regulators

It's ironic that the U.S. is part of the association for Spanish, but English is left is limbo.
On the upside, with the proliferation of the Internet we actually have all segments of the English speaking world in constant communication with each other, as seen on this forum, so at least this language has a hope of moving as a whole rather than fragmenting endlessly.
Though I hear parts of London are already past the point of no return.

stvalentine · Oct 1, 2015

My German country fellows like to moan about how the language is dying because of our reformed spelling rules from years ago. What we have here even more are anglicysms taking over. Of course the older folks have their troubles with this....

frozenchurchwarden · Oct 1, 2015

I remember one American speaker at a youth event using the word "Crunk", expecting everyone to be familiar with it (this was about fifteen years ago). That event was the only time I ever heard that word.

Maybe colloquialisms is going off topic, but it's fun.

Apparently in Saskatchewan they still have Bunny Hugs.

maxx · Oct 1, 2015

'Liberal' as a word for a political position in the US.

jpmcwjr · Oct 1, 2015

I've heard kids talking about "rubbing out", and there's no baccy involved. Even in a TV show, (cable, not network) an actress said she was "going to rub one out" before heading out the door. (The action so indicated was not shown.)
So when I first saw the phrase here, I did a double take as I'd not heard it in reference to tobacco.

tuold · Oct 1, 2015

I like hanging out with me droogs and taking in some of that moloko plus.

Remember When Words Meant Words

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