English Vocabulary

[Fazza]

What about imflammable morphing over recent years into flammable?

 

[cornflakegirl]

I don't think it's recent - I believe the word flammable is about 200 years old (and inflammable about 400 years old). Flammable coming from the same Latin root as flame, and inflammable from the same root as inflame.

It is quite annoying though; like with infer, you sometimes don't know what people actually mean!

 

[Patience]

The whole 'infer' thing.

Lisa Simpson does it best.

Homer: Are you infering that-
Lisa: No. I imply. You infer.


While I haven't thought of any antonyms, or contranyms, I am always pleased by Michael Stipes uses of 'raze' and 'raise' when talking about building a wall and then knocking it down in 'Wrold Leader Pretend.'

World Leader Pretend Lyrics

 

[hatman]

Much like the line "take care of her" in the movie 'Pulp Fiction':
Jules : "You going to take care of her?" (makes a pistol with his fingers)
Vincent Vega : "No no, take her out on a date."

Hah, hah, I forgot about that one. Reminds me of a an encounter we had once in a D&D session. One of our members got creamed in a melee. Being a world of magic, we brought his corpse along in the hopes of finding a sufficiently high-level magic user in the next town to bring him back to life. I forget exactly who ended up "helping" us, but when we asked the individual to "Raise our dead friend" he instead "Razed" our dead friend.

What you are listing are called Contronyms here is a website with a whole list...

http://www.rinkworks.com/words/contronyms.shtml

Cool. I didn't know they had a name, much less a website.

 

[Fazza]

Thanks, Emma. So I'd have failed the primary/junior school spelling test! I must have learnt the wrong word 'cause it has always been imflammable [sic] to me. Whoops. Cheers, Fazza

 

[cornflakegirl]

Hehe - I thought that was just a typo!

Maybe we should introduce it as a new word, to help clear up the confusion...?

 

[xlHammer]

How about,

Overlook

1. to fail to notice, perceive, or consider

2. to look over in inspection, examination, or perusal

from dictionary.com

 

[SydneyGeek]

Just for the heck of it, try putting together a sentence with the greatest number of different "ough" pronunications. As a starter:

I thought through the issue of the drought -- it's emptied the trough, so maybe we ought to buy in some water, though it is forecast to rain soon.

Denis

 

[absquatulation]

Well Denis (Sydneygeek),

that sounds like a challenge.....


That rough bough we saw as we passed through Lough Neagh - do you remember, you had hiccoughs - ought to be made into a trough for kneading dough thoroughly.

Farming with the Goughs

In long lazy sweeps, the crow-like chough
Returns to nest across the lough.
The farmer, with asthmatic cough
Walks down the pathway,
Sometimes through a valley,
Where the wind may sough its music,
Over many a bough.
His wife prepares the Sunday dough
While Bert, their son, whose hands are rough
Gets ready to hitch up the plough.


edited, 'cos I cant spel rite......

 

[Long Nose]

I'm surprised Riaz hasn't posted something yet. Perhaps he's working on a doosie.