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Two overused and denatured substitutes that I would like to see consigned to the proverbial dust-bin (we in the USA would say "trashcan")of history are "awesome" (a once valuable descriptor of such things as a waterfall, a volcanic eruption, the power of a storm, but now generally used by pre-teenagers to describe a video or a pair of shoes) and "cool" (in its latter day and debsaed form, generally pronounce almost like "cawl" and frequently used to describe accumulated or desired consumer goods, rather than the jazz musician mystique it once had).
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I regret that I am unable to cite the source of the following:
Mother: "Dear, there are two words I'd like you to stop using. One is "awesome" and the other is "cool."
Daughter: "OK, Mom. What are the words?"
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from a list of Jewish Jokes: (#446) Advice Morris says to his teenage daughter “There are two words I’d like you to drop from your vocabulary. One is ‘awesome’ and the other is ‘gross’.” “Okay,” she replies, “what are they?”
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As a tutor, I read and revise essays by post-secondary students. I attempt to wean my clients away from use of the word "very" by pointing out that use of "very" may be seen as a sign of a limited vocabulary and as indicating a lazy approach to essay writing. I suggest they substitute more sophisticated intensifiers such as "extremely" or "immensely."
Last edited by Davey; 04/07/08 02:53 PM.
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what are they?
I first heard this roughly half a century ago on an episode of I Love Lucy where the words were swell and lousy. I'm sure it's recorded somewhere in the Mahabharata, if not the Rig Veda.
Ceci n'est pas un seing.
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I suggest they substitute more sophisticated intensifiers such as "extremely" or "immensely." That's extremely awesome advice, except... Enormously many people use gargantuanly many "very"s because they tend to over-emphasize humongously much or tremendously exaggerate which this advice will increase a gigantically titanic deal. ;-)
Last edited by Myridon; 04/07/08 03:59 PM.
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the road to hell is paved with very many prodigiously bad adverbs, muttered Tom gracelessly.
-joe (thanks for the marmosets) friday
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bad adverbs
There are no bad adverbs, just badly managed ones.
―beppo (lexeme monger) von und zu schönleinen
Ceci n'est pas un seing.
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formerly known as etaoin...
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speaking of bad commercials..
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what are they?
I first heard this roughly half a century ago on an episode of I Love Lucy where the words were swell and lousy. I'm sure it's recorded somewhere in the Mahabharata, if not the Rig Veda. If the way modern Hindi uses ठीक and अच्छा is any guide, you're probably right. 
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And once these two words (take your pick) are gone, they will be replaced by two more for y'all peevologists to complain about.
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When sales clerks or supermarket checkers ask me how I am, I generally say "vibrant," and sometimes also "radiant." They typically pay no notice, of course, even though these descriptors might seem out of character for a 70-year-old man. I've tried using "ebullient" too, which just brings blank stares. I have yet to try the military version, "e-f***in'-bullient," but I have my doubts if that would do any better.
Last edited by CRBW; 04/08/08 05:26 AM.
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what are they?
I first heard this roughly half a century ago on an episode of I Love Lucy where the words were swell and lousy. I'm sure it's recorded somewhere in the Mahabharata, if not the Rig Veda. And if not there then Aristotle said it for sure! Nothing new under the sun. From time immemorial the words of 'young people these days' have got up the noses of their parents.
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Does anyone seriously believe that the language is so woefully deficient that the concept originally referred to as awesome cannot be expressed in English because the word has been devalued through overuse?
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the language is so woefully deficient
How awesomely awful! Just look at what the words mole, set, and drive have done to the glove maker's son's vocabulary.
[Deleted extra to.]
Last edited by zmjezhd; 04/08/08 12:56 PM.
Ceci n'est pas un seing.
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I do believe that original meanings can be almost completely lost to all but the likes of "us". One example is decimate. This word means, to nearly everyone speaking English, devastate or destroy. It's original meaning is the loss of every tenth, resulting in a 10% loss overall, a far cry from destruction. I agree that the concept can still be expressed, but probably not by using the original word, in many situations. Awesome has not tumbled nearly as far as decimate, however, mostly because the root word, awe is still widely recognized and used ("in awe") and retains the same general idea of its original meaning.
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the language is so woefully deficient
How awesomely awful! Just look at what the words mole, set, and drive have done to to the glove maker's son's vocabulary. ...elucidate for the uninitiated please... 
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Awesome has not tumbled nearly as far as decimate, however, mostly because the root word, awe is still widely recognized and used ("in awe") and retains the same general idea of its original meaning. shocking.
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elucidate for the uninitiated please
By glove maker's son I meant Shaksper. But not the Shakespeare of the Stratfordians, but the one of the Oxfordians. But I think my memory has been playing tricks on me, and the Oxfordians call him the malt merchant or the actor. Be that as it may. Anywho. I picked the words mole and set pretty much at random. They are words that have a whole bunch of meanings. Drive, I picked because a member of this board has it as his hobby horse of persiflage. On the whole, a weak but ambiguous post on my part. I'd delete it, but it's already drawn attention, and I am too weary to push the buttons to make it so ...
Ceci n'est pas un seing.
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When sales clerks or supermarket checkers ask me how I am, I generally say "vibrant," and sometimes also "radiant." They typically pay no notice, of course, even though these descriptors might seem out of character for a 70-year-old man. I've tried using "ebullient" too, which just brings blank stares. I have yet to try the military version, "e-f***in'-bullient," but I have my doubts if that would do any better. LOL! I do enjoy a well-placed infix. Welcome, CRBW.
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I have yet to try the military version, "e-f***in'-bullient," but I have my doubts if that would do any better. LOL! I do enjoy a well-placed infix. Welcome, CRBW. There's a name for inserting an expletive between syllables of a word, but I forget what it is. No doubt zthingy will come up with it. The practice is very common in Aussie slang.
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one (rhetorical) term is tmesis.
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tmesisTmesis as a grammatical term refers to what are called separable prefixes in German grammar ( link). It means literally 'cutting' and is cognate with entomos 'insect' (as in entomology, and which is a calque in Latin) and atom.
Ceci n'est pas un seing.
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yes, and from the same link
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yes
Yes, I meant in addition to its use as a rhetorical term and a modern one.
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A relative of mine, long deceased, would often answer the how-are-you question with “medinary.” Family members have guessed that he combined part of medium and part of ordinary on his own to form the word. I did a quick Google search for it. Among the results I found one and only one non-medical instance of medinary used in the same way, in a 1955 Earl Tucker editorial in the Thomasville (AL) Times. Here's part of the passage containing it: During the day lots of people asked me how I was feeling and I said fine how are you feeling and they were feeling fine too. Now I’m pretty sure not one of the thirty or more who asked me really cared whether I was fine, poorly, medinary or had a splitting headache. The theory that our relative coined the word I now doubt.
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Today's word has this as part of its etymology: [From Latin ... diminutive of pullus
(young of an animal) ...]
Is this why small chickens are called pullets?
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Young bulls bullets?
Pusillanimous, think you are going to use it, Jackie?
I think I'll just go on calling myself a coward.
Hey, wasn't there someone called Titus Pullus?
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pulletsYes. Latin pullus is also cognate with foal, filly, few, and pauper from PIE * pau- 'few, little' ( link).
Ceci n'est pas un seing.
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Hey, wasn't there someone called Titus Pullus? I think that was Biggus Dickus.
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Titus PullusThere was a pantomime character at the gladiator shows called Pullus Cornicen 'horn-blowing chicken little' (approximately). Not to be confused with Ursus Tibicen 'flautist bear' ( link). (I believe there was a character named Titus Pullus in the HBO min-series Rome.
Ceci n'est pas un seing.
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Yes, that's it. The HBO mini-series 'Rome'. Not quite a 'pullus'man though.
Your link, maybe it's my eight year old computer,shows fragments of gladiators , but I see not bear whatsoever.
Last edited by BranShea; 04/09/08 04:38 PM. Reason: addition
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Pullus Cornicen Good heavens: a small Cornish hen! (Ack--forget the "small": that's what Cornish hens are!)
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a small Cornish hen!
Not to be mistaken for small cornichons.
Ceci n'est pas un seing.
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I believe there was a character named Titus Pullus in the HBO min-series Rome. Titus Pullo. This character and his friend Lucius Vorenus are actually mentioned in Caesar's "Commentarii de Bello Gallico" (the bane of Latin students everywhere - All Gaul is divided into three parts... AAAAGH!) though some liberties are taken as they are more rivals than friends. According to Wikipedia, his nomen is varies from manuscript to manuscript -"Pulfio, Puleio, Pullio, Pulcio or Pulcia".
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a small Cornish hen!
Not to be mistaken for small cornichons. A confusion like that could create quite a pickle.
tempus edax rerum
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Titus Pullo.
Ah, thanks for that. I've only caught about a 30 minute chunk of Rome, but will probably watch it all some time in the future.
Ceci n'est pas un seing.
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Aha, something just hit me! When tempted to call someone chicken rather than pusillanimous, I can remind myself that doing so might appear unbecomingly cocksure.
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There's an idea to be bantied around, certainly. You wouldn't want anyone cackling at your word choice.
tempus edax rerum
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There's an idea to be bantied around, certainly. You wouldn't want anyone cackling at your word choice. Oh puhlease, we're not going to get into a cheep discussion of chicken puns now are we? 
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Ceci n'est pas un seing.
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...was that a double hen-tendre? Sorry, I really shouldn't egg you on to crack any more yolks of that sort...
Last edited by The Pook; 04/10/08 02:44 AM.
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I quail at the prospect, however pheasant, of chicken in with my two cents, not being sure wattle you think of my free-ranging ideas, and hopefully not spurring on others to chook in theirs, if it will upset the pecking order... don't want to cock it up!
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I quail at the prospect, however pheasant, of chicken in with my two cents, not being sure wattle you think of my free-ranging ideas, and hopefully not spurring on others to chook in theirs, if it will upset the pecking order... don't want to cock it up! Pure poultry in motion.
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Somebody please let me know when this pun storm is ended.
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Somebody please let me know when this pun storm is ended. You mean when all the atrocious avian aphorisms have come home to roost? Sure.
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Well, maybe gone home to roost. I don't want them in my hen house.
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I quail at the prospect, however pheasant, of chicken in with my two cents, not being sure wattle you think of my free-ranging ideas, and hopefully not spurring on others to chook in theirs, if it will upset the pecking order... don't want to cock it up! Ha! That was great!
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