Words that have stopped being used or changed meaning

[djrip]

Which lot wear man buns and beards?

I get confused - my son has done both. The man-bun looked a bit dodgy, but he does the beard okay - it's not one of those thick hipster ones, though.

Man buns are to millennials as mullets are to Gen X? Maybe?

 

[ElectricBlue]

Man buns are to millennials as mullets are to Gen X? Maybe?

My God, mullets. For some incomprehensible reason, some men still wear them! Our most famous mulleteer was, of course, Warwick Cappa. Thank goodness he finally retired.

 

[SamScribble]

Yes, I know that I am old, but I really regret the loss of a handful of what were once rather useful words.

Unique used to mean 'unique'. 'One and only.' Now it simply means a bit unusual.

Anticipate used to mean to expect something and take steps to mitigate the consequences. 'Colonel Brown anticipated an attack on the eastern flank and despatched the second squadron to deal with the threat.' Now it just means 'expect'. 'The much anticipated second album.'

And utilise used to mean to make use of something which might otherwise be thrown away. 'For the new roof, the builders utilised most of the original slates.' Now it just means use.

There are others too.

 

[gunhilltrain]

I'll have you know that's, like, Gen X usage, man.

I'd say it was a boomer usage originally. It think it's been around for at least fifty years. At least "groovy" was short-lived.

 

[EmilyMiller]

And utilise used to mean to make use of something which might otherwise be thrown away. 'For the new roof, the builders utilised most of the original slates.' Now it just means use.

I am with you on the others, but never knew the above.

Em

 

[gunhilltrain]

That's the point those with a disability make - everyday language rendering them invisible. Like in the UK, it's a very hot button here in Australia, trying to make people think inclusively. Sure, it gets taken to extremes, where perfectly useful words get filtered.

But then, Americans seem to use "passed" a lot, as a euphemism for "died", so it's very much country cultural.

George Carlin said a lot abut euphemisms. It's almost impossible to avoid using "passed." To say died sounds rude, unless one is talking about earthquake or hurricane victims.

 

[gunhilltrain]

In many ways the country is set up well for the disabled. Very few buildings with no ramped access etc. I’ve noticed in London that this is less common.

I didn’t mean that it was right to use the word, or that it is actually remote from a disability. Just that it feels that way - it’s morphed into a different meaning.

Em

The problem is that changing the language is not the same as actually doing something about it. It's so pervasive that people barely notice it anymore. Politicians and journalists are particularly guilty of that. Most political statements are actually flowery gibberish.

 

[Rustyoznail]

Hack. Everything is a hack. The best way to stack your dishes is a hack. Ironing shirts from the inside is a genius life hack.

It. Makes. No. Sense!

 

[NoTalentHack]

Hack. Everything is a hack. The best way to stack your dishes is a hack. Ironing shirts from the inside is a genius life hack.

It. Makes. No. Sense!

Hack sense... tingling.

 

[Duleigh]

We used to have these to help kids emulate their heros. Oh, such a gay time we had.

https://www.fyna.com.au/application/third_party/ckfinder/userfiles/images/fads-fags.jpg

Here in America we used to call cigarettes "Stogies" mainly because our fathers called Cigars "Stogies"

Stogie - I discovered not too long ago that stogie refers to "Conestoga." The American west was settled by travelers riding west hauling their families in Conestoga Wagons, but cigars weren't named stogies in honor of Conestoga Wagons, but for the city of Conestoga Pennsylvania, a city in south central Pennsylvania where all the wagons and most of the cigars were made in the United States.

Spinster - once a legal occupation, a person who spun wool to thread, now an unmarried woman

Bachelor - once a young knight, then someone who achieved the lowest rank at a university, now an unmarried man

Hussy - it once meant housewife, the mistress of a household, now it means a disreputable woman

Quell - it used to mean to kill, now it means to subdue something.

Egregious - it used to mean conspicuously good, now it means conspicuously bad

 

[EmilyMiller]

Egregious - it used to mean conspicuously good, now it means conspicuously bad

Really?

Em

 

[NoTalentHack]

Gunsel: used to mean something like "catamite." But then Dashiel Hammett wanted to use "catamite" in a story to describe a character; his editor said, "no." So he switched it to "gunsel," which the editor assumed meant something like "hitman" or "gunslinger." And now it does. Mostly.

 

[Rustyoznail]

Gunsel: used to mean something like "catamite." But then Dashiel Hammett wanted to use "catamite" in a story to describe a character; his editor said, "no." So he switched it to "gunsel," which the editor assumed meant something like "hitman" or "gunslinger." And now it does. Mostly.

Vs. gunzel in Oz, which means someone who has an unhealthy obsession with real life trains. @Duleigh, @gunhilltrain...

Apparently gunzel is a mis-spelling of another gunsel meaning - "a stupid or contemptible fellow". https://www.macquariedictionary.com...=noun - a person who has,/foamer or UK anorak).

 

[Duleigh]

Really?

Em

Oh yeah, it goes on -

Fun was first a verb meaning "to cheat or hoax." It came from fon, an old word for "fool." It still retains some of that sense in “make fun of,” but now also means "a merry good time."

Fond also goes back to fon, and it once meant "foolish and weak-minded." It came to then mean over-affectionate in a negative, cloying way. Now it’s positive,

Terrific has its roots in terror, and it first meant terror-inducing. It then became an exaggerated intensifier (“terrifically good!” = so good it’s terrifying) and then a positive term all on its own.

Tremendous has its roots in fear. Something tremendous was so terrible it caused trembling or shaking. It also became an intensifier (“tremendously good!”) before it went all the way positive.

Grin was to bare the teeth in a threatening display of anger or pain. It then became the term for a forced, fake smile, before settling into an expression of happiness.

Smart was first used in Old English to describe things that cause pain. Weapons, nails, and darts were smart. It took on connotations of sharpness, quickness, intensity, and, through smart, pain-causing words or wit came to stand for quick intelligence and fashionableness.

Sad started with the meaning of "satisfied or sated," also sometimes "steadfast" or "firm." It then went from meaning "serious," to "grave," to "sorrowful."

Smug first meant "crisp, tidy, and presentable." A well-dressed person was smug in this way, and it later came to mean "self-satisfied and conceited."

Bully used to be a term of endearment for men or women. A bully could be a good friend or a sweetheart. It then came to stand for a swaggering braggart and than a coward who picks on others.

 

[Rustyoznail]

Smart was first used in Old English to describe things that cause pain. Weapons, nails, and darts were smart. It took on connotations of sharpness, quickness, intensity, and, through smart, pain-causing words or wit came to stand for quick intelligence and fashionableness.
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Bully used to be a term of endearment for men or women. A bully could be a good friend or a sweetheart. It then came to stand for a swaggering braggart and than a coward who picks on others.

People still occasionally use them in their original way. "Ouch, that smarts..." and "Well done, Sir. Bully for you."

Probably more in England than anywhere else.

 

[Duleigh]

"Bully!" was a popular exclamation used by US President Theodore Roosevelt (served from 1901 to 1909). He's a prime example of a guy who has "Been There, Done That"

 

[Bdm20]

Podium, anyone? It is now acceptable to refer to the lectern, behind which one stands, as a podium. Thd podium was/is the platform upon which one stands, behind the lectern (also on the platform) when giving a speech.

 

[ElectricBlue]

It's almost impossible to avoid using "passed." To say died sounds rude, unless one is talking about earthquake or hurricane victims.

That's so weird to me. "Passed" reads to me like some kind of denial, or a television evangelist huxter. A person died, a person is dead. Why throw a veil over it? It's very American, I think.

 

[Emilymcplugger]

Ah, I have another one: "literally." While the figurative literal, the usage of the word as an intensifier rather than to say "this is a thing that really happened," has been kicking around forever, the sudden shift towards its usage as intensifier over the last 10-15 years is new. It pissed me off for a long time, if I'm honest; there's no word in the English language that can be used in exactly the same way, and the dilution of the word makes for poorer, and less clear communication. But I've long argued against linguistic prescriptivism, so I try to hold my tongue these days.

I did use it as a point of bonding between the FMC and MMC in Meat Market, though. Fuck the figurative literal. Figuratively.

I am exploding with rage…literally.

To be fair I feel that using literally as an intensifier is just shit use of language.

Another good example of words changing meaning is extortionate. Extortionate (literally) used to mean the criminal act of extorting money from someone, usually under the threat of violence. These days people use it to mean “it was ridiculously high-priced” or “a rip-off”.

 

[Emilymcplugger]

That’s really odd. I don’t use spaz, but I say lame all the time. Never made the connection, how dumb am I?

It feels totally disconnected from a disability.

Em

This is a shortened version of spastic which used to mean suffering from cerebral palsy, and was used as a playground slur.

 

[ElectricBlue]

I'd say it was a boomer usage originally. It think it's been around for at least fifty years. At least "groovy" was short-lived.

I'm a boomer, and never once used "like" the way it became overused in about 1998, as a substitute for the word "said".

"Like, far out, man" is a totally different usage entirely, only used when off one's face, listening to Pink Floyd on headphones.

 

[Duleigh]

That’s really odd. I don’t use spaz, but I say lame all the time. Never made the connection, how dumb am I?

It feels totally disconnected from a disability.

Em

Not dumb, young and (here's another one) ignorant.

Ignorant DOES NOT MEAN STUPID, it means that someone doesn't know something.

 

[TheRedChamber]

That’s really odd. I don’t use spaz, but I say lame all the time. Never made the connection, how dumb am I?

It feels totally disconnected from a disability.

Em

Personally, I feel that 'lame' is a word I'd only ever use to describe horses and never people and on that basis feel like it should still be okay. As always with offense thought, its more about how the person you're talking to feels.

 

[Steely_n_SweetMagnolia]

Dalliance

 

[MrPixel]

Vs. gunzel in Oz, which means someone who has an unhealthy obsession with real life trains. @Duleigh, @gunhilltrain...

"Foamer" in the US, "gricer" in the UK.