this post was submitted on 19 Mar 2024
134 points (94.1% liked)

ShowerThoughts

2001 readers
57 users here now

Sometimes we have those little epiphanies in the shower.. sometimes they come from other places. This is a home for those epiphanies.

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
top 10 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] [email protected] 21 points 7 months ago

Conversely, I can imagine a MAGA parent teaching their kid that "Trumped-up charges" refer to all the baseless charges those nasty lib DAs brought against him.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 7 months ago

I'm sure there are adults right now who think the same thing.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

That's very possible. This process is called "folk etymology", and your example of "playing the trump card" is folk etymology-induced semantic drift.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 7 months ago

The rest of us already do now.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I'm still hoping that eventually the trump card in a hand will be the worst card you can get. So far it just helps you win for being lucky, except I guess that sort of fits for him too. Just shouldn't be a positive thing since he's a well of grievances, like festivus year round.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I wonder if this will be seen as being something like the "race card". Oh, there he goes, pulling the "Trump card".

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Trump Card going from “the card that automatically wins” to “playing the victim” seems possible …

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago

Especially if it's "playing the victim in a way that you win". In card games, a "trump card" does sort-of feel like winning by cheating. You have a card that normally wouldn't win a hand, but somehow magically has a special value that allows you to win. That does feel a lot like a guy who keeps on "winning" or at least avoiding the consequences anybody else would have to face just because of who he is.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 months ago

I've made a point to remove the word from my vocabulary

[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 months ago

I won't correct them.