tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1055932257464975902.post932484075565925497..comments2024-03-10T23:01:51.493-05:00Comments on Stupid Motivational Tricks / Bemsha Swing: 5 Words you are using wrong in the English languageJonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09371893596402673898noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1055932257464975902.post-12139541977209179842014-08-18T15:56:19.715-05:002014-08-18T15:56:19.715-05:00Vance, any word with more than one meaning.Vance, any word with more than one meaning.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1055932257464975902.post-46598923385955450802014-08-08T15:06:15.516-05:002014-08-08T15:06:15.516-05:00Words/Signs only get to have one to have one refer...Words/Signs only get to have one to have one referent for all times. It seems like a recipe for language stagnation. Here's looking askance at you, kid.JforJameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17178504373218996278noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1055932257464975902.post-7412185106953798872014-07-30T09:17:34.145-05:002014-07-30T09:17:34.145-05:00I think that the "everyday" usage of wor...I think that the "everyday" usage of words like "enormity" nuke the perfectly good lexical definitions of the words. Into this category I would put "fulsome" and "disinterested." In these cases (as with"decimate" but not "kid") the issue is not polysemy but replacement.Phaedrushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02148859605829540331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1055932257464975902.post-62173561625404152782014-07-30T01:37:33.921-05:002014-07-30T01:37:33.921-05:00My Mom quite objected to the wrong meaning of &quo...My Mom quite objected to the wrong meaning of "kid."Phaedrushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02148859605829540331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1055932257464975902.post-20724646443055820742014-07-29T04:44:48.257-05:002014-07-29T04:44:48.257-05:00thanks very goooooooooooooooooood
http://www.tota...thanks very goooooooooooooooooood<br /><br />http://www.totalfree2014.comAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13590638542844867994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1055932257464975902.post-65288041093964139412014-07-27T18:20:07.559-05:002014-07-27T18:20:07.559-05:00Can you give examples of devilish polysemy, withou...Can you give examples of devilish polysemy, without betraying individuals? (The 72 virgins, perhaps, which a few years ago we heard might actually have been raisins? Calling Simon "Peter" because he's the rock on which the church is built?)Vance Maverickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07477306994564623348noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1055932257464975902.post-78311819768078745662014-07-26T17:31:28.086-05:002014-07-26T17:31:28.086-05:00The Christian right is upset with polysemy because...The Christian right is upset with polysemy because it is devilish, I learned via complaints from parents (yes we get these at the university).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1055932257464975902.post-69424596472098820552014-07-25T12:10:42.154-05:002014-07-25T12:10:42.154-05:00Exactly. I was thinking of people who can't s...Exactly. I was thinking of people who can't stand the fact that decimate is not "kill one tenth of" in everyday usage or that enormity can also means enormousness. Jonathanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09371893596402673898noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1055932257464975902.post-29652645600871088452014-07-24T22:08:38.445-05:002014-07-24T22:08:38.445-05:00My daughter, at ten, is only just learning to tole...My daughter, at ten, is only just learning to tolerate polysemy. I can dimly recall what that felt like -- I remember, as a kindergartener, telling a girl on the playground that the word "makeup", which she had just used, wasn't real. Language peevers (who I suspect were your inspiration here) seem never to have gotten past this stage.Vance Maverickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07477306994564623348noreply@blogger.com