And there was a time that gay meant happy and a removed was a piece of fire wood. Though the Brits, in their usual word butchery, turned that into fag for cigarette.
Languages change and morph. They are living things. And despite the French's best effort to try and prevent it.
I would feel bad for arsenal supporters but they've always been a bunch of wankers.
"Gimme the good old days when a pair of boobs were a couple of dumb guys." - Sheriff Buford T. Justice
Edited to fix attribution. I was sure it was Dangerfield, but DDG says otherwise.
Australians think “rooting around” means something very different so you have to be careful not to use it in a work context.
I miss when gay means happy.
Okay I'm not that old but i had a boss who said he's old enough to remember when gay literally means happy.
For me, my little pet peeve is when society changed the meaning of ironic to mean joking or satirical.
My little pet peeve is when society changed the meaning of ironic to mean joking or satirical.
Satire: noun: wit, irony, or sarcasm used to expose and discredit vice or folly.
I would argue irony is PART of satire, not irony is satire.
Relevant sketch from A Bit of Fry & Laurie from ~30 years ago.
For me, my little pet peeve is when society changed the meaning of ironic to mean joking or satirical.
Did they 'literally' changed it?
Perhaps not officially but i can see scholars eventually yielding to equate irony to mean satire.
I remember growing up when the word ultimate is used everywhere and being equated to "super duper". I later learned it ultimately (no pun intended) means final. I guess the same will happen to the word irony now also to mean satire.
That's literally insane
What does it mean now? This is the only definition I know.
Masturbate
Ahh.. Its the new 'baitin
go away. baitin'.
Ironically (given the original name of this community), the ancient Chinese had entire discourses on the idea that in order for society to function correctly, people needed to be able to agree what words meant.
A superior man, in regard to what he does not know, shows a cautious reserve. If names be not correct, language is not in accordance with the truth of things. If language be not in accordance with the truth of things, affairs cannot be carried on to success. When affairs cannot be carried on to success, proprieties and music will not flourish. When proprieties and music do not flourish, punishments will not be properly awarded. When punishments are not properly awarded, the people do not know how to move hand or foot. Therefore a superior man considers it necessary that the names he uses may be spoken appropriately, and also that what he speaks may be carried out appropriately. What the superior man requires is just that in his words there may be nothing incorrect.
--Master Kong (AKA Confucius)
https://ctext.org/analects/zi-lu
The established names of the later kings: penal and legal terms followed those of Shang, noble titles followed those of Zhou, literary titles followed those of Li. As for miscellaneous names applied to all things, they conformed to the established customs and conventions of Zhuxia; in distant regions with different local customs, these were adapted accordingly for general understanding.
As for miscellaneous names applied to people: the inherent nature that causes a person to be what he is called "xing." The harmony of xing gives rise to refined interactions and responsive 感应; when things occur effortlessly and naturally without deliberate action, this is called xing. The inclinations of xing—liking, disliking, joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness—are called qing. When the emotions arise and the mind makes choices in response, this is called lü (deliberation). When the mind deliberates and is thus able to act intentionally, this is called wei. When deliberation accumulates and becomes habitual, and only then achieves formation, it is called wei. Acting in accordance with what is righteous and beneficial is called shi (affairs or actions). Acting in accordance with righteousness is called xing (conduct or behavior). The capacity for knowledge within a person is called zhi. When knowledge aligns with something, it is called zhi (wisdom). The capacity for action within a person is called neng. When ability aligns with something, it is also called neng (capability). When xing is harmed, it is called bing (illness or affliction). A person's encounter with measured circumstances is called ming (fate or destiny): these are the miscellaneous names applied to people, and they represent the established terms of later kings.
Therefore, when a sovereign establishes names, once names are fixed and realities distinguished, the Way is put into practice and aspirations become clear; thus, he carefully leads the people toward unity. Therefore, to split words and arbitrarily create names in order to confuse established terms, causing the people to be doubtful and leading to frequent disputes among them, is called a great jian (great villain or great wrongdoer). Their crime is still akin to that of falsifying tokens, seals, and measurements. Therefore, the people dare not fabricate strange words to confuse established names; thus, their people are sincere and upright. Sincerity makes them easy to lead, and being easy to lead leads to public harmony. The people dare not fabricate strange terms to confuse established names, so they remain unified in the Way and law, and are careful to follow commands. If this is done, then their legacy will be enduring. An enduring legacy and accomplished achievements represent the highest attainment of governance. This is the achievement of carefully upholding the conventions of names. Now that the sage kings have passed away, the guardianship of names has become lax; strange terms arise, and the correspondence between names and realities becomes confused. When the forms of right and wrong are unclear, even those officials who uphold the law and Confucian scholars who recite canonical texts also fall into disorder. If a sovereign were to arise, he would surely follow established names while also creating new ones as needed. Therefore, the reasons for having names, the basis on which things are deemed the same or different, and the essential principles of establishing names must not be overlooked.
--Master Xun
https://ctext.org/xunzi/zheng-ming
Of course, there are also plenty of modern examples of how unclear communication can cause catastrophe.
And grok used to mean "understand", not "nazi shithead propaganda machine".
TIL grok is an actual word.
I recommend Stranger In A Strange Land by Robert Heinlein. It's a pretty influential work of early science fiction.
Mind you, it's been like 30 years since I read any Heinlein. Not sure I'd feel the same way about his stuff now as late teen me did, but the many books of his I read definitely shaped a lot of my philosophy.
And meme used to refer to a unit of cultural information that spreads by imitation, not a funny picture on social media.
Memes are absolutely fascinating
In fairness to memes, that definition is still largely true, its just that the common usage tends to refer to this specific form of meme. Like with squares and rectangles, not all anthropological memes are image macros, but all image macro memes are a subset of anthropological memes
This feels like your boss saying you get a company car and then giving you a scale model of a car with the company logo on it.
It was one of my favorite words.
Such is life
From Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein. I wonder if the estate could sue for damages.
People tweeting stuff. We allow tweets from anyone.
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