Wordsmith.org: the magic of words

Wordsmith Talk

About Us | What's New | Search | Site Map | Contact Us  

Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Page 1 of 2 1 2
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 5
stranger
stranger
Offline
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 5
Why invent (or backform) 'sipid' as the antonym of 'insipid'?
Who banished 'sapid' [having savor or flavor; palatable (Webster's Collegiate, 5th ed)] into outer darkness?


Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
sipid...sapid

Do we have us a case of reverse umlaut going on here?


Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
wwh Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
innocuous is very common, I have never seen "nocuous" until I just now looked it up. Perhaps "noxious" took its place.


Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 2,605
Carpal Tunnel
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 2,605
Now don't be uncouth, dr. bill.
[Would "anastrophic" count?]


Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 2,605
Carpal Tunnel
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 2,605
And by the way, clyde, that was a SUPERB question. Thank you, and welcome aboard!


Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
wwh Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Dear Keiva: I cannot be "kempt" because a washcloth is all I need. But I manage to be unkempt for all of that.


Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 320
enthusiast
enthusiast
Offline
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 320
"Wait'll you hear this!" he said chalantly.


Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 2,605
Carpal Tunnel
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 2,605
Very eptly done, slithy.


#66146 04/18/2002 10:09 PM
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
wwh Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
"What did I do wrong?" he asked nocently.


#66147 04/19/2002 12:28 PM
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,526
veteran
veteran
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,526

My cousin gave me a book of poems written by Felicia Lamport and illustrated by Edward Gorey which contains one about "souciance."


k



Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,189
Carpal Tunnel
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,189
My impressions of this matter are quite delible, markable, and phatic.





The Only WO'N!

Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
wwh Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
markable and phatic? Bad form, old boy.


#66150 04/20/2002 11:10 PM
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 2,605
Carpal Tunnel
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 2,605
dr. bill, is it thinkable that W'ON would have no rationale that makes his post explicable? Let's be more gonistic.


#66151 04/20/2002 11:25 PM
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,189
Carpal Tunnel
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,189
markable and phatic? Bad form, old boy.

re em > reem > I guess I just got reemed, huh?


The Only WO'N!

Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
wwh Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Dear WO'N: you reminded me of my wife's favorite grandfather, a traveling salesman, who picked up a lot of salty expressions from his companions, and got revenge for being henpecked by teaching his wife and my mother-in-law some of them, which they repeated totally unaware of the indecent content. So I had trouble keeping my face straight when my mother-in-law would complain about having been "rimmed" in an unsatisfactory purchase.He also taught them to describe being detained by pointless conversation as being "hung up by the tongue." I had to explain that to my wife to keep her from using it. She had trouble believing her dear sweet grandfather could be so devious.


Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296
Carpal Tunnel
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296
AWAD members can cut the mustard!

WW m.m.


Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542

Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,891
Carpal Tunnel
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,891
FF: My cousin gave me a book of poems written by Felicia Lamport and illustrated by Edward Gorey which contains one about "souciance."

I can see where this would happen FF, since souciance is a word commonly used in French - so is insouciance. Correct me if I'm wrong all you word etymology mavens out there but insouciance looks like it has been borrowed from the French.


Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
wwh Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
And for those who may be interested in WW's "cut the mustard" here is Quinion's (www.worldwidewords.com) URL about it:

http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-cut1.htm


Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
wwh Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
And for those who may be interested in WW's "cut the mustard" here is Quinion's (www.worldwidewords.com) URL about it: When I tested it, it worked only with edit,copy,,,edit, paste

http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-cut1.htm


Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511
Carpal Tunnel
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511
"ana" is not a negative. YCLIU


Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,189
Carpal Tunnel
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,189
"ana" is not a negative. YCLIU


From Merriam-Webster's:

Main Entry: ana-
Variant(s): or an-
Function: prefix
Etymology: Latin, from Greek, up, back, again, from ana up -- more at ON
1 : up : upward <anabolism>
2 : back : backward <anatropous>


Backward is postive?

And what about anaphrodisia?





The Only WO'N!

Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400
Carpal Tunnel
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400
re: And what about anaphrodisia?

Juan-- what part of getting up is negative?

back can be a return, or in anastrophia, a back(wards) formation of a sentence. not negative.. Order reversed, still, meaning clear.not very good at that on the spur of the moment.



Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
wwh Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Dear WO'N: what is a "phrodisiac"?


Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,189
Carpal Tunnel
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,189
Dear WO'N: what is a "phrodisiac"?

Oh, that's easy, Dr. Bill! Aphro-disiac is a sexual stimulant you find growing in Africa!



The Only WO'N!

Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 2,605
Carpal Tunnel
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 2,605
"ana" is not a negative.

Agreed. Reversal is akin to negation, each being a kind of "opposite", but is not identical. So whether anastrophic fits this thread depends on how widely the net of this tread is cast [hence my question mark].


Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
wwh Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Dear WO'N: I would watch the discards if I played poker with you.


Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,189
Carpal Tunnel
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,189
Dear WO'N: I would watch the discards if I played poker with you.

Huh, Dr. Bill? Are you talkin' about dis card or dat card?



The Only WO'N!

Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 4,757
Carpal Tunnel
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 4,757
Are you talkin' about dis card or dat card?

nah, he's suspicious of the W'ON you've got up your sleeve ;)


Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,189
Carpal Tunnel
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,189
nah, he's suspicious of the W'ON you've got up your sleeve ;)

Hey, mav...aren't those Aces 'n' Eights you're holding?...I'd be awfully careful if I were you!





The Only WO'N!

Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,189
Carpal Tunnel
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,189
what part of getting up is negative?

Well, since nobody picked up on it...first of all, it's an.aphrodisiac (I cheated), and secondly, here's the def from Merriam-Webster's:

Main Entry: an·aph·ro·di·si·ac
Pronunciation: "a-"na-fr&-'dE-zE-"ak, -zhE-, -'di-zE-
Function: adjective
Date: 1823
: inhibiting or discouraging sexual desire
- anaphrodisiac noun


See, Helen, there's nothing upgetting about that!

The Only WO'N!

Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 2,605
Carpal Tunnel
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 2,605
W'ON!!! Have we neglected to congratulate you on your pooh-bahity???

Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!



Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 3,065
Carpal Tunnel
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 3,065
>"What did I do wrong?" he asked nocently. (Dr. Bill)

>Not yet in horrid Shade or dismal Den
Nor nocent yet, but on the grassy Herb
Fearless unfeared he slept
(John Milton: Paradise Lost Book IX 185-7)

Bingley


Bingley
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
watch the discards

You peek at the discards I ain' playin no poker with *you, Dr. Bill. You won' need no aces and eights.


Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542

Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 1,692
dxb Offline
Pooh-Bah
Pooh-Bah
Offline
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 1,692
This thread was full of effable beauty.

dxb


#66174 04/29/2002 10:55 PM
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 618
addict
addict
Offline
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 618
This thread was full of effable beauty

We'll have none of that language around here, thank you!!


#66175 04/29/2002 11:17 PM
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
wwh Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
As long as the effable beauty is not pictured in action, what's the beef?


Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,189
Carpal Tunnel
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,189
As long as the effable beauty is not pictured in action, what's the beef?

Yeahbut®, what good is effable beauty if it's not nocuous?


The Only WO'N!

Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
wwh Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Dear WO'N : If you were an effable beauty, would you want to have somebody noccuoup?


Page 1 of 2 1 2

Moderated by  Jackie 

Link Copied to Clipboard
Forum Statistics
Forums16
Topics13,916
Posts230,312
Members9,209
Most Online4,606
Sep 17th, 2025
Newest Members
Peripatetic Toad, JerryC, blvd, Tony Hood, Wood Delivery
9,209 Registered Users
Top Posters(30 Days)
Top Posters
wwh 13,858
Faldage 13,803
Jackie 11,613
wofahulicodoc 11,158
tsuwm 10,542
LukeJavan8 9,974
AnnaStrophic 6,511
Wordwind 6,296
of troy 5,400
Disclaimer: Wordsmith.org is not responsible for views expressed on this site. Use of this forum is at your own risk and liability - you agree to hold Wordsmith.org and its associates harmless as a condition of using it.

Home | Today's Word | Yesterday's Word | Subscribe | FAQ | Archives | Search | Feedback
Wordsmith Talk | Wordsmith Chat

© 1994-2026 Wordsmith

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 8.0.1