Remember When Words Meant Words
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Everything is changing, even the phrases; it used to be "carpe diem" which sounded cool for us, now it is "YOLO" 8O
It's all about economy, really. Why use a word with 20 letters when you can use one with only 6? :D
Rule 16: Never use a large word when a diminutive one will suffice.........
And I live in Yolo County, CA— nothing to do with the kid's phrase, YOLO! But grammatically it should be: You live only once! But that lacks impact and "YLOO" sounds like a sound a bird in the swamp would make.
And I live in Yolo County, CA— nothing to do with the kid's phrase, YOLO! But grammatically it should be: You live only once! But that lacks impact and "YLOO" sounds like a sound a bird in the swamp would make.
Guy was an Anglicisation of 'Guido' which was Guy Fawkes real name!
Making a 'Guy' was the process that children used to and still occasionally do in making a figure to burn on a Bonfire on Guy Fawkes Night or Bonfire Night on the 5th of November. I guess as the effigy was poorly dressed and looked a bit scary the term 'Guy' then went on to mean a badly dressed or horrible looking man.
They shout out 'Penny for the Guy!' as payment for making the effigy! (although these days the penny is more likely to be a pound!)
Just thought I'd let some of the Non-Brits here in on some useless cultural info!!
Intercourse used to mean any interaction with another; I guess it might still mean that, in a different context...
"Fixin'" and "carry me" are two southern expressions that are heard in the deep south. The former is used to mean preparing to do something as in "I'm fixin' to cut the grass" (usually with the intent of procrastinating). The latter is used to transport someone as in "Could you carry me to the store?". My favorite is "mash". I was interviewing for a residency position at the [then] Children's Hospital National Medical Center in Washington, DC and was boarding an elevator. I asked the person in front of me to "mash 4". Everyone simultaneously turned around and looked at me like I had just arrived from another planet. Of course, I was just asking them to press the button for the 4th floor!
"Fixin'" and "carry me" are two southern expressions that are heard in the deep south. The former is used to mean preparing to do something as in "I'm fixin' to cut the grass" (usually with the intent of procrastinating). The latter is used to transport someone as in "Could you carry me to the store?". My favorite is "mash". I was interviewing for a residency position at the [then] Children's Hospital National Medical Center in Washington, DC and was boarding an elevator. I asked the person in front of me to "mash 4". Everyone simultaneously turned around and looked at me like I had just arrived from another planet. Of course, I was just asking them to press the button for the 4th floor!
@Maxx: I was quite confused when I first came to Peru and was learning Spanish and heard "liberal" (spelled the same, pronounced a bit differently in Spanish, haha) used to mean "conservative"... Turns out they are using it to refer more to "economic liberalism" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_liberalism), which is something we would tend to associate more closely with conservatives or libertarians in the U.S. Is that the way the rest of the world uses the word?
Then we have the word 'niggardly' which means:
1. reluctant to give or spend; stingy; miserly.
2. meanly or ungenerously small or scanty:
A word used by a congressmen (can't remember his name)several years ago, in it's correct context, during a speech and was chastised beyond belief by both whites and blacks alike. It's simply an adjective meaning "stingy" or "miserly", but because of its phonetic similarity to the racial slur "nigger" the ignorant went up in arms, including the media, but then we all know full well that the media has the I.Q. of an egg shell. Etymologically the two words are unrelated.
1. reluctant to give or spend; stingy; miserly.
2. meanly or ungenerously small or scanty:
A word used by a congressmen (can't remember his name)several years ago, in it's correct context, during a speech and was chastised beyond belief by both whites and blacks alike. It's simply an adjective meaning "stingy" or "miserly", but because of its phonetic similarity to the racial slur "nigger" the ignorant went up in arms, including the media, but then we all know full well that the media has the I.Q. of an egg shell. Etymologically the two words are unrelated.
"Roger that", meaning you understood or agree with a statement should not be used at the dinner table in the U.K.... :P
Guy Fawkes (/ˈɡaɪ ˈfɔːks/; 13 April 1570 –31 January 1606), also known as Guido Fawkes,the name he adopted while fighting for the Spanish, was a member of a group of provincial English Catholics who planned the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605.
-courtesy Wikipedia
@Maxx: I was quite confused when I first came to Peru and was learning Spanish and heard "liberal" (spelled the same, pronounced a bit differently in Spanish, haha) used to mean "conservative"... Turns out they are using it to refer more to "economic liberalism" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_liberalism), which is something we would tend to associate more closely with conservatives or libertarians in the U.S. Is that the way the rest of the world uses the word?
In many parts of the United States, "liberal" is a synonym for "socialist or communist" (I tend to agree with this for the most part but that's another discussion.)
I also laugh to my self when people refer to the communism as a political party. At one time communism was just the act of living in a commune. But people today still refer to the old USSR as being a communist country. What they overlook is the obvious which is skillfully hidden in the old name - Union of Soviet Socialist Russia - that they lived under a socialist form of government.
But then again, every one seems to think the United States is a democratic government when in reality it is a representative form of government.
In many parts of the United States, "liberal" is a synonym for "socialist or communist" (I tend to agree with this for the most part but that's another discussion.)
I also laugh to my self when people refer to the communism as a political party. At one time communism was just the act of living in a commune. But people today still refer to the old USSR as being a communist country. What they overlook is the obvious which is skillfully hidden in the old name - Union of Soviet Socialist Russia - that they lived under a socialist form of government.
But then again, every one seems to think the United States is a democratic government when in reality it is a representative form of government.
Just heard a quote by author Ursula Le Guin saying something like, "You can't change culture unless you change the meaning of it's words." Words like that have made me completely distrustful of most anything I hear, see or read anymore. Is there such thing as intellectual honesty anymore? I understand that our culture could use some change, but why resort to word games and semantic manipulation to do it?
Netflix and chill means something contrary to what you might expect.
In Australian politics, the Liberal Party is the conservative party.
But words and phrases evolve over time. One misuse that annoys me is when people misuse the word "literally". Anyway, I saw a reference to a whole bunch of words and their original meanings.
http://hellogiggles.com/10-words-that-youve-probably-been-misusing/
In Australian politics, the Liberal Party is the conservative party.
But words and phrases evolve over time. One misuse that annoys me is when people misuse the word "literally". Anyway, I saw a reference to a whole bunch of words and their original meanings.
http://hellogiggles.com/10-words-that-youve-probably-been-misusing/
*Used* to be there was a language called "English." Now it's like Coke: which one?
British English
Canadian English
Australian English
American English
Indian English
... and now, the "new" English of word trade, "Global English"
An Indian tried to correct my copy once in approvals. He had wanted a word used that my dictionaries don't include. He thought it logical, because if a negating prefix could be attached to the root, why not an affirming prefix? Well, I told him, it just isn't done that way. But the word *is* in the new Global English dictionary (I think that first came out in 2014).
I appreciate now the complaints of British editors about Americanisms and concern that their expertise no longer matters. I was hired for my own expertise in American written English and am realizing my days are numbered. The silly little rules and etymologies I tried so hard to preserve as an English teacher no longer seem to matter much. Indian and Pakistani writers/editors compete for freelance projects against me. And win contracts (bidding well beneath our rates).
Frost: "Nothing gold can stay."
British English
Canadian English
Australian English
American English
Indian English
... and now, the "new" English of word trade, "Global English"
An Indian tried to correct my copy once in approvals. He had wanted a word used that my dictionaries don't include. He thought it logical, because if a negating prefix could be attached to the root, why not an affirming prefix? Well, I told him, it just isn't done that way. But the word *is* in the new Global English dictionary (I think that first came out in 2014).
I appreciate now the complaints of British editors about Americanisms and concern that their expertise no longer matters. I was hired for my own expertise in American written English and am realizing my days are numbered. The silly little rules and etymologies I tried so hard to preserve as an English teacher no longer seem to matter much. Indian and Pakistani writers/editors compete for freelance projects against me. And win contracts (bidding well beneath our rates).
Frost: "Nothing gold can stay."
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