Proving My Sister Right
This weekend I told my sister that Angry Candy and I discuss words and grammar. She said that I was boring.
Tonight I attended a meeting where someone referred to a talented fundraiser as a "hustler," but in an exaggerated, complimentary way. I started thinking that this was the opposite of a euphemism (not the logical opposite, as "plain" or "literal" would be), but I didn't know the word for it. I called up Johanna, but then did the modern thing and looked it up online via thesaurus.com's antonym collection.
The word is dysphemism n. An offensive or disparaging expression that is substituted for an inoffensive one; "his favorite dysphemism was to ask for axle grease when he wanted butter." [ant: euphemism] (Source: WordNet ® 2.0, © 2003 Princeton University)
Master Shake and I also use the following terms differently: moving a date back, moving a date ahead/forward; this weekend, next weekend, the following weekend.
When I say, "This meeting will be moved back to next Saturday," I mean that the meeting was originally scheduled before the Saturday following this Saturday. The same sentence, if uttered by Master Shake, would mean that the meeting was originally scheduled after this upcoming Saturday.
I found an online source that discusses the first difference as well as the second. I need to add this site in my list of links.
posted by Benni @ 12:32 AM
8 comments
8 Comments:
dysphemism! that's gorgeous! i was out to dinner with friends when benni called with her puzzle. I asked, "do y'all like words?" Ayes all around, but on second thought, "enough to like, say, words about words?" yep, no one else was curious about the antonym for euphemism. maybe it's like math, or certain forms of music. ya love it or ya don't.
Makes me so much happier knowing I have you!
well. i have to chime in here. since i believe my interpretation is the correct one. "this" saturday, and "next" saturday are the same, upcoming saturday. if it is monday, then the nearest saturday is next saturday, or this saturday. if an event was scheduled for "this/next" saturday and was moved ahead one week, it would be moved to the following week, (not this/next saturday). therefore, it would be the following saturday from this/next saturday. unless you are benni, where "move ahead" means to move back in time, and not forward in time. hence this is where all life misunderstandings and confusion may occurs. hmmm, this would make a good red dwarf episode.
Oh, geez, I don't even think I'm "right." I do believe that the terms are ambiguous and people use them differently. What's important for communication is understanding what the other person means, and I think we know to always double-check with each other from now on.
I can't believe shake got lectured on a blog by a meetwad.
crap - mispelled meatwad
Do you want me to go eat spaghetti in the dryer now? Cuz I'll go, if that's where the spaghetti is.
I think I emphasized more on nerdy than boring...but that's why I love you!
Ellen Sue
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