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Han Solo would be pleased, I'm sure.
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May 6, 2013
This week's theme
Terms that appear offensive but aren't
This week's words: queer street
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A.Word.A.Day with Anu Garg
Language is meant to communicate and offending someone is also a way to communicate, though not a very nice one. There are plenty of offensive words in a language, any language, and this week's words may appear offensive, but aren't.
They may sound, look, or feel like they have something to do with well-known distasteful words, but they don't. This similarity may cause some to take offense if the words are used in conversation. So should they be?
A dictionary meaning of a word tells only so much. A word in a dictionary is inert. It comes alive only when we use it and give it real meaning. A word can take multiple meanings depending on the speaker, listener, tone, and the context.
Take an everyday word like boy, for example. An adult man wouldn't think twice about his mother calling him a boy. But chances are he'd resent a store clerk or his boss, even an older boss, calling him thus. And that may also explain to folks who wonder, for example, why blacks use the N-word amongst themselves, yet are offended if people outside their community say it.
One might say: Words don't offend people, people offend people.
So should you use this week's terms? Technically, these are perfectly agreeable words, but technically is not how life works. It all depends on the context. For example, I'd avoid using the term queer street if I knew the person I was speaking to was gay.
What do you think? I invite you to discuss this in our online forum Wordsmith Talk.
Even though words featured this week are not offensive, email filters are not smart enough to understand that. It's possible that the filter at your organization tries to protect you from looking at this week's emails. If you find any missing emails, you can view them online.
queer street
PRONUNCIATION:(kweer street)
MEANING:noun: A state of hardship, especially financial hardship.
ETYMOLOGY:
The origin of the term is not clear. Carey Street, site of the bankruptcy court in London, has been proposed, but the court came decades after the term. It's also been suggested that traders put a query mark against customers suspected of having financial difficulties. Earliest documented use: 1811.
USAGE:
"Mike Bessey said: You can't really make a case that UK farmers are on queer street as a whole -- on average they are surviving and starting modest investment."
Caroline Stocks; £25m Aid Won't Help Struggling UK Dairy Farmers; Farmers Weekly (UK); Jan 22, 2010.
A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
What a strange illusion it is to suppose that beauty is goodness.
______________________________________Leo Tolstoy
_______________________________________________________
minus S
QUEER TREET (alt. sp.) queer treat, ex: bacon flavored ice cream
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QUEEN TREAT Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee
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QUEER STREPT - This bug I isolated from my sore throat patient defies classification!
QUEEG STREET - runs off Caine Street, branches into Ball Street and Strawberry Ice Cream Lane. Noted for the homes of Humphrey Bogart, José Ferrer, Van Johnson, and Fred MacMurray, among others.
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Two great ones, wolf. But not me, brother. I don't want to go down Queeg Street 'cause there ain't no comming back. Damn drunk lawyer. . . 
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niggler
PRONUNCIATION:
(NIG-luhr)
MEANING:
noun:
1. A person who pays excessive attention to petty details.
2. A person who criticizes constantly or repeatedly.
ETYMOLOGY:
Origin unknown, perhaps of Scandinavian origin. Earliest documented use: 1781.
__________________________________
n --> w
WIGGLER - a corrupt political upon whom blame no one can pin.
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NOGGLER - a person who overdoes the Christmas quaffing
HIGGLER - one who proclaims the Coming of the God particle
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tar baby
PRONUNCIATION: (TAHR bay-bee)
MEANING: noun: Something to be avoided: a sticky situation or problem from which it's almost impossible to get out.
ETYMOLOGY: After "Brer Rabbit and the Tar Baby",
How 'bout I do a different algorithm this time. Say, Spoonerize it:
BAR TABBY - keeps the mice out of the saloon
(Y'all all go right ahead and use the standard add-subtract-change routine if you like. Don't let me stop you.)
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Ok wolf, you got me. I left Slasher's Bar last night without paying the tabby but you doesn't have to post it here for the whole world to see. add S minus B STAR ABY - the price one must pay for being a rich and famous and beautiful person.
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CAR GABBY - back seat driver
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