Words we've ruined.

[@RobWords]

🦨Leave your skunked and bleached words below! And get a 7-day free trial and 40% off Blinkist Annual Premium by clicking here➡bit.ly/RobWordsFeb24

[@Aerialyn]

The words Mommy and daddy

[@j_vasey]

What amuses me is that literally no-one understands irony.

[@CHAS1422]

"Skunking" is how words transform as languages used to diverge prior to mass communication. A word like "embarrassed" in English means exposed to shame or awkwardness. In Spanish "Embarassada" means pregnant. Or the English word Arena means the floor of a stadium, in Spanish it means sand. Same latin roots.

[@AisuruMirai]

@@j_vasey I'd like to see a *RobWords* video whose sole topic is the word "ironic."

[@williamlucas4656]

Impacted as affected, simplistic as simple, cheers as thanks, brilliant as good or excellent, awesome as impressive or good, hella as very, fantastic as anything better than good, unbelievable as something that impressively believable, like as an interrupter in place of any unintelligible interrupter. “Revert back” (what other direction can one go?). “Free gratis”, “free gift”, and “gifted”. Don’t even get me started on the word “organic“. I’m sure there are others but that’s just off the top of my head or they’re not common in my social vocabulary. Some words are so grossly misused that I would not even characterize them as such, since it seems so obvious.

[@stevecarter8810]

I love the story about St Paul's Cathedral being judged "Awful and Artificial" by some royal at the time it was constructed. Awful = Awe-full = Awesome Artifical = Relating to Artifice = Showing high skill

[@VaryaEQ]

Oh my gosh, I love this. 😅

[@dandeehart9553]

Holy cow I didn’t know that! Thank you for sharing your awful artificial historical knowledge. 😉

[@andrewmole745]

And “natural” was an insult because it hadn’t had any improvement made to it…

[@BlackJar72]

...and there there is the Bible verse, which in the King James translation reads "Good is awful" (or "Good is awesome" in new translations).

[@richardmorgan9273]

Yes, "awful" used to mean inspiring awe. Likewise "terrible" used to mean inspiring terror; there was a Royal Navy ship called HMS Terrible!

[@pgmorrow]

"My truth" and "your truth" troubles me far more deeply than mere linguistic sloppiness. I see it as a tool of manipulation and deceit.

[@projectartichoke]

Yes, that one is particularly loathsome to me.

[@purpletoad352]

Every time I've ever heard the phrases "my truth" or "your truth" I interpret it as opinion. So what may have initially been the actual truth has now been reduced to that person's opinion by use of the modifier.

[@goldend791]

Well if there even is such a thing as truth, the only things that fall under it are general facts like "it's raining" or "a thing x exists", if we increase the complexity of thoughts to choose from we would find that there won't be much, if any that every mentally capable person would agree on. So truth, much like simultaneity in relativity depends on frame of reference.

[@Fledhyris]

Goes along with this new political trend of "alternative facts"...

[@thomaswilliams2273]

I think the problem may be that while truth is truth, any statement of a truth is still based on assumptions, including the meaning of terms. One example is the question what is ll + ll? depending on how you interpret it the answer could be 22, IV, or IIII.

[@LostsTVandRadio]

I was amazed (though not amused) to learn of bemused being abused by those who are confused.

[@CailenCambeul]

Never be disabused by the stupidity of people.

[@gfghjfgfghfj]

Are you Stevie Wonder?

[@andreanewell628]

Cleverly said!

[@azlanadil3646]

I found this comment most bemusing.

[@alexanderkupke920]

@@azlanadil3646 read more slowly, then it becomes amusing ;)

[@on_the_off_beat]

"inappropriate" has been skunked in the same way as "problematic". Instead of meaning simply "not fitting the situation" it has taken on a tinge of "bad" or "offensive". This is probably an example of the general tendency of euphemisms over time getting tainted by the meaning they stand in for, and so requiring periodic replacement with fresh new euphemisms.

[@karenknapp8891]

I blame broadcast news for this. They refuse to say, for example, that someone sent “nekkid”or indecent photos to another person. “Inappropriate” is sort of the “lesser included offense”, if you will.

[@Beleidigen-ist-Pflicht]

Euphemism treadmill

[@MaxIronsThird]

@@karenknapp8891 the use of inappropriate makes no sense now, something is usually inappropriate for an occasion but not another.

[@Taladar2003]

@@karenknapp8891 Indecent is just an earlier euphemism for the same thing.

[@GoodmansGhost]

My fav bleached word is Theory, which somewhere along the way got to mean both theory and hypothesis, it's much weaker cousin word. Which leads us to the dilemma of people saying something is ONLY a theory.

[@chinmustache6420]

It’s just a theory, A GAME THEORY 😭

[@plateoshrimp9685]

@@chinmustache6420 Someone had to say it.

[@TheChipmunk2008]

oh that is correct... 'gravity is just a theory'...

[@PJM257]

Yep, I see it with creationists all the time

[@artugert]

This is not an example of a bleached word. The use of the term use in modern science is not the original sense of the word. The word certainly has never been restricted to theories believed in by professional scientists. "It's only a theory" is said of many things other than scientific theories. But it can even be said of those scientific theories that "it is only a theory". It is completely possible that any given modern scientific theory may not be absolutely true. But again, the sense of the word that is used in scientific studies is a modern sense of the word, anyway.

[@rudyness2338]

I saw a line of medieval church choral music say "show us your will, prevent us Lord". Etymologically, to prevent (a "pre-event") is to "act in anticipation of an event". Thus to prevent a marriage you would send wedding invites, at least as per how the term was originally used. Fun things you learn at university.

[@ayy232]

It occurs in the famous BCP prayer “Prevent us O Lord in all our doings with thy most gracious favour”, and in that sense means “Go before us” or “Precede us”

[@AbqDez]

So preventing, is like tailgating??

[@2adamast]

Sending invitations and warning against are both warnings

[@rosechoix]

Nauseous and nauseated!

[@rosechoix]

Why do I find myself trying to like your video several times over the course of the video 😅 several times over 😅

[@XeiWinToh]

Decimate - I've always thought that people confuse "reduce by a tenth" with "reduce TO a tenth"; that is, rather than "one man in ten is killed", it's "one man in ten survives"; the latter being significantly more devastating!

[@djmcbratney]

That's what I thought too - like, I remember thinking that it *did* mean that before college, that "deci-" was just standing in for any small fraction that something could be reduced to, rather than to this specific historical punishment (and one about reducing *by* a fraction) that was later used metaphorically.

[@bartmannn6717]

That's exactly what I thought it meant until right now.

[@eyeofthasky]

but thats a global trend, most people will only know the "obliterate" sense and derive that from "reducing TO only a tenth", and dont even think it could mean to just reduce BY a tenth ... well , also cuz the whole concept is gone, our taxes are no longer only 10% (oh what a wonderful world that would be xD), so be dont think about "tithes" (which also comes from the word "ten/tenth") or the whole concept anymore

[@williambowling8211]

Worse yet, the tenth man was killed by his other nine comrades.

[@RCake]

I think "decimate" still is used to mean what it meant to affected roman soldiers: "be subjected to an unescapablable, very painful, devastating and lasting change". Even if "only" every 10th soldier was killed, that's still quite horrible.

[@blubbblubber7442]

This video pointed out an important effect I never consicously considered before: We might serverly misinterpret historic documents if we are not aware of these shifts in meaning. This may seem trivial but if words continuously change, you really need a degree in linguistics to be sure you understand each text as it was originally intendend. That's crazy.

[@shapeshifter1211]

Nice example: "The hobbits were a gay people" didn't mean that they were homosexual.

[@boxsterman77]

This is but one of the reasons “originalism” is a flawed doctrine. But I’m one of those who think the proponents know that.

[@iamspencerx]

I really hate it when someone translates an old work, and does not adjust it to modern day. Yes I know they want to be as close as possible to the original, but the original makes no sense nowadays

[@viper_exe_]

​@shapeshifter1211 "Nice" as in foolish, or nice as in good?

[@toddverbeek5113]

One of my favorite examples of this kind of semantic transformation is "terrific". Etymologically it's analogous to "horrific": inspiring terror rather than horror. But first it lost its negative connotation - to indicate only that something was exceptionally grand - and now it is used to mean exceptionally *good*. Which is literally ironic. ;)

[@Xerxes2005]

"Wonderful" and "marvelous" had a similar shift of meaning.

[@milascave2]

Well, that happened a long time ago. They were using it that way when I was a kid in the early 1970s. I think that we can consider that word definition to have official changed.

[@brucebush5744]

Yes - like “frightfully good” - although that one seems to have mostly fallen out of usage.

[@michaeljohnangel6359]

"Tremendous" is the same. Tremendo", in Italian, means "the most horrible." "Gorgeous" could be another example. The Romantics were responsible for beginning this: they lionised Death, Suffering and dangerous gorges and mountaintops!

[@nataliebutler]

Same for awe. It's original meaning encompassed fear rather than just wonder and amazement.

[@temujenbarca1284]

As Inigo Montoya once said; "You keep saying that word. I do not think it means what you think it means". Touché!

[@ionacountry8248]

@temujenbarca - Any reason to quote Inigo Montoya is good enough for me! 😊

[@KenFullman]

@@ionacountry8248 It would be better to give the context. In issolation that quote is meaningless.

[@ionacountry8248]

@temujenbarca1284 - It seems that @KenFullman's comment should be addressed to you, but he accidentally addressed me.

[@temujenbarca1284]

@@KenFullman I'm sorry that you feel that way. I for one, find that it resonates quite harmoniously with the subject of this video, be it on it's own or not. 🙂

[@dunkawunka2278]

​@@KenFullman the whole point of a quote is for external application. The context in which the phrase was coined is irrelevant to how the meaning applies to external context.

[@evilbob840]

"Gaslighting" is a very new addition to the English language, but has already been bleached. Apart from the literal meaning of lighting gas street lamps, it means the deliberate and malicious attempt to convince someone that they are going crazy (from the movie "Gaslight" where one character did that to another). It has recently often been used to just mean lying, which I think robs it of its impact.

[@generallyuninterested4956]

Yes!

[@zandervolker3439]

It also makes real gaslighting often go ignored, trivialising these sorts of terms can be really dangerous socially

[@SP-ki5gn]

Interesting, the movie was made in 1944, doesn't take long for change to take place.

[@nathalieslachmuylders]

Thanks for clarifying. I could never get my head around the actual meaning of this word, but your explanation makes it clear to me why I was so often confused.

[@JayTemple]

I haven't heard it misused, but I won't question you if you have. Wait, I take that back. You didn't see it misused. It was all your imagination. (hope the joke tone came through there)

[@MrJoeVicent]

Ctrl+Shift+V was the best takeaway I got from this video, lol. Such a legendary tip, you're literally a hero.

[@JohnRunyon]

Oh, wow - the bit about "apology" also makes "apologist" make a lot more sense!

[@thecraigster8888]

I have to admit that I always wondered why “apologist” was used to describe a person who defended an article of faith.

[@gusloader123]

@John Runyon ---> Yep. See: 1st Peter chapter 3 verse 15 in the New Testament of the Holy Bible. reason / evidence / answer / defense.

[@stevecarter8810]

yeah, and that's why we would rather have repentance than apologies.

[@marinas8653]

In Spanish, this origin of apology is much more clear. Our only use of "apología" (hacer apología de algo) refers to vehemently defend some idea (now it is usually used with negative things to be apologetic about like "apología del terrorismo" -publicly defending terrorism- , which is illegal, by the way)

[@toddverbeek5113]

I've stopped using "apologist" because it's so easily misunderstood.

[@daveshep]

Etymology matters, and it helps. I am a retired German teacher. One day a few years ago, I was trying to help a student read the word “bezweifeln” (to doubt). I told this student that it had “zwei” (two) in the middle. Then I decided to look up the etymology of “doubt,” with its silent “b.” I was delighted to learn that “doubt” is built on the same root as “double.” Go, etymology!

[@tomasviane3844]

In Dutch we say "twijfelen" and the 'twij' also comes from 'twee', which means 'two' in English. I had no idea! Thanks for pointing that out!

[@captainzork6109]

Ah, the rare kind of person who looks up words in the dictionary to ponder their meaning. Apparently "character" comes from the word "chisel", which is a sharp tool which you can use to carve something out of stone. This would make one think, doesn't it? As opposed to personality, character is thus something actively developed. That is why we say someone truly has character, as if it's a good thing. And indeed, it is Language holds many wisdoms like those, as long as you check

[@kaasmeester5903]

@@captainzork6109 WTH is a "dictionary"? Just kidding... though I haven't seen a paper one in decades. I love etymology though, and I love the fact that my e-reader lets me call up the definition (including etymology) of any word by a simple tap on the screen.

[@postmodpen1169]

​@@tomasviane3844No way, now I realize in romanian is the same. The romanian word for doubt is "îndoi" and that "doi" there means two :o I guess it comes from "to part in two" in many languages

[@Betryin]

Thank you! Immer schön, etwas Neues dazuzulernen.

[@bru4773]

I think there's a valuable difference in distinguishing between words misused because people don't know the actual meaning, things like nonplussed, bemused, enormity, or ambivalent; and between words being used as hyperbole like literally, wild, hero, or unique. I feel like people know what the actual meaning of those words are, they're just using them for emphasis. They're metaphors that spread through common usage, in part because they are so evocative.

[@Adski975]

Yes! I didn't think about it but I agree. "Iconic" is one word that's being diluted by people who understand its original meaning.

[@nkm6789]

But doesn't the latter become the former over time? I assume "awesome" shifted to mean "very good" by people who knew the meaning "inspiring awe" and used it hyperbolically. These days many people don't know that etymology at all, and those who do know don't generally think about it when they hear the word in typical usage.

[@davidinkster1296]

Using words as hyperbole is at least one step up the linguistic ladder compared to the verbally challenged who use 'f***ing' and 'bloody' as adjectives for every second word. That category, the verbally challenged, seems to be quite numerous here in Australia.

[@bru4773]

@@nkm6789 Sure, that happens eventually. But its still a different path to get there than words like bemused or enormity. People arent using them metaphorically for emphasis - they just dont know what they mean. I think thats a valuable and interesting difference.

[@Horifice]

Bullshit emphasis. I cringe (inwardly, if not literally) every time I hear “Amazing!” as a reaction to something as excrementally mundane as giving an order in a restaurant.

[@DougMacLeod-sp5px]

I have been noticing an explosion of the word "iconic" lately. The overuse of 'iconic' carries consequences beyond semantics. It erodes the authenticity of the word, rendering it less meaningful when used in its true context. When everything is 'iconic' nothing truly stands out.

[@ManateeTail123]

“And when everyone’s special, no one will be.”

[@MrTonyHeath]

Yes!

[@johnblakeH]

This is one of my pet peeves, as well. "Stunning" would be number two on my list.

[@boxsterman77]

Yep. It was once a rare gem. Now it’s said about things that are common and replicated.

[@MaxIronsThird]

@@ManateeTail123 super, not special

[@mandyliz84]

As a psychologist, this issue with words about lack of interest makes a lot of sense because people often react to ambivalence (in it’s original psychological meaning) by telling themselves they don’t care because it’s easier to convince oneself you don’t care than to sit with the dissonance of opposing views.

[@catherinehoy5548]

hence loving animals and being against cruelty and also consuming animals.

[@lewisgiles8855]

I love my animals and eating them too... wait a minute maybe that's cake!

[@TheBereangirl]

Truth! I know I'm regrettably guilty of doing this very thing.🤦🏻‍♀️ Instead of saying, "I don't care", I should say something like "I don't care to think about that right now, it's too much for me to process, please give me some time to consider your position." That's what I really mean, but it's just laziness on my part to shorten it to "I don't care."😐

[@georgepayne9381]

I hope I'm not using "cognitive dissonance" incorrectly. I've never used ambivalence in its technical sense, but it would be more convenient than saying "it gives me a sense of cognitive dissonance." Loving someone who has done terrible things because they're family, for example. I just wasn't aware there was a word for it, and I don't think anyone I know is aware either.

[@AisuruMirai]

What do you think about the spelling "extrovert"? In anything written by psychologists, it's spelled "extravert,"-and therefore I consider this the correct spelling-but everyone else spells it with an "o." Even spellcheck marks "extravert" as a misspelling as I type this.

[@StephenLawton]

One of my forbidden words for my writers when I was a technology magazine editor was "solution." It is now a marketing term to mean product or service -- it's one company's "solution" to a given need. I told my writers to only use it if the word "problem" was in close proximity or if they were talking about chemistry. Otherwise, the word would be edited out and replaced. It might not be a skunked word, but it certainly is annoying.

[@jerelull9629]

🥰🥰🥰

[@TobyCatVA]

I tell my sons, "If it is not in a beaker, it is not a solution."

[@pokerformuppets]

I swear that 60% of all companies (and 80% of tech companies!) founded since 2000 have "solutions" in their name.

[@amgdotlondon]

@@pokerformuppets "close proximity"

[@CasabaHowitzer]

@@TobyCatVA The non-chemical usage is actually about as old, if not older, than the chemical one. "A particular instance or method of solving or settling; an explanation, answer, or decision" is the first meaning from ca. 1384; the "solution" you are talking about didn't come about until 1390.

[@Raiaka]

One that stands out in my mind is "adorable". It used to be used to communicate that something or someone is worthy or deserving of adoration. These days, it is more commonly used to refer to something or someone that the speaker finds to be simply cute, charming, or endearing.

[@jovetj]

I don't think that's much of a changing of meaning. People have long had a tendency to especially honor or worship "cute" things.

[@awAtercoLorstaIn.]

@@jovetjI’ve read that cute characteristics - large eyes, small heads, soft fur/hair - have evolved to ensure survival, even if with help from another species. We, as humans and other animals, recognize this as vulnerability, as youth and helplessness. It’s interesting, in that sense, that we *would” adulate and respect the young and weak to ensure our own species’ survival.

[@derekmills5394]

Even worse is the tendancy to use 'Adorable' to describe ugly babies. i.e. It's capable of being adored, just not by me! Would likely grow up to 'Have a face for Radio'

[@angeladawn805]

My dog is adorable (to me) :)

[@jovetj]

@@derekmills5394 "Cute" and "adorable" are still just opinions. Same for "pretty" "beautiful" "voluptuous" "ugly" "uncomely" "fat" "skinny" "hairy" "loud" "quiet" "tall" "short" "sexy" and so on....

[@davidjunto1008]

Around here (New England) , "bemused" is not the same as "amused". "Amused" is when something holds one's attention. "Bemused" is when something holds your attention in a patronizing or mild way. Examples: we were amused by the circus; we were bemused by the kindergarten play.

[@compulsiverambler1352]

I use it the same way, in southeast England.

[@gudjonolafsson]

the phrase "quantum leap" has been skunked from quantum physics, where it is the absolutely smallest change possible into the every-day meaning of enormous changes.

[@DeaconTaylor]

no its not. its what sam beckett does when his mind is transferred into another body at the end of each episode.

[@Channel-zb1fi]

True. But when quantum is used in this context it is shorthand for quantum physics. So it refers to the massive progressions made in our understanding of physics when studing that which is quantum.

[@eliavrad2845]

I think quantum leap is more like an abrupt change, a move from one state to another without going through the states (we would normally consider to be) in-between.

[@MrPDTaylor]

Correct ​@@eliavrad2845

[@djmcbratney]

I'm not sure if it would be "skunking" for a technical term to take on a metaphorical usage in other contexts. At the very least it wouldn't have the issue of ambiguity that the video is talking about. But yeah @eliavrad2845 is right, it's a step change as opposed to a continuous one, like an electron popping from one orbital to another. The fact that it's a "small" thing that we commonly use to mean something "big" is nonetheless very um ... *ironic*

[@tuxedojunction9422]

I'm trying to figure out if I've never heard "bemused" to mean amused, or if I've just misunderstood the intended meaning sometimes. The video brought to mind the Princess Bride quote: "I do not think that word means what you think it means." Inconceivable!

[@meadow-maker]

me too on that one.

[@davespagnol8847]

@@meadow-maker Yes I agree. I've never heard bemused used to mean amused. As for "literally", I've always felt that people (in a lot of cases sports commentators) who used the word literally to add hyperbole to a figurative statement, are just demonstrating that they are stupid. Private Eye's Colemanballs column took the piss out of this quite a lot. One word you could have cited is "presently", which originally meant "now".

[@alankinkle5207]

I’m also with you, both on bemused and the Princess Bride quote (one of my all-time favorite movies).

[@leslieaustin151]

@@davespagnol8847 we “literally” have a lot of linguistic corruption to thank commentators and other similar journalists for. They seem, generally, to be ignorant in the extreme!

[@RecklawTheAmazing]

I could be wrong, but I think it's a British thing

[@TrekBeatTK]

Oh, “fine” is another good one. We often used it to mean just passable now.

[@DantevanGemert]

It's interesting that the Dutch version of the word ("prima") seems to be on the same path as "fine."

[@jimmiemurvin1871]

Or to mean "not at all fine" in some situations!

[@jester333]

eh, i think it's new meaning is fine.

[@TheRavenir]

@@DantevanGemert That's quite interesting because German also uses "prima" quite often, but it still very much means "excellent".

[@ronald3836]

@@DantevanGemert the Dutch version of "fine" is "fijn". I'm feeling fine - ik voel me fijn. Fine dust - fijne stof. Fine wine - fijne wijn. A fine woman - een fijne vrouw.

[@cwavt8849]

I grew up poor. My father was born in 1929 at the very beginning of the Great depression and lived in abject poverty. To my parents, getting an education, not necessarily the one dealt out at the local school, was vitally important. I learned to read by reading the newspaper every night to my father. My parents did not allow me to mispronounce are misuse a word did they knew was incorrect. This of course left certain gaps but they were gaps of ignorance not of laziness. Never wanting to appear ignorant I have always appreciated it when people politely corrected either my usage or my pronunciation. I know that that makes me the odd duck out, but if it is handled correctly it is a favor to me to help me increase my vocabulary and my usage of such.

[@BThings]

"Infamous" seems to be in the process of being skunked. I read an article once that described Tom Hanks as "infamous," and I was like, "What did Tom Hanks ever do that was so terrible?" Then I realized the author was just trying to say Hanks is super famous and using "in-" as an intensifier, rather than an indication of being famous for something horrible.

[@daddymuggle]

Much like the people who believe that 'penultimate' is an intensification of 'ultimate'.

[@nicolaplays1134]

@@daddymuggle Personally, I aspire to being antepenultimate, lol

[@daddymuggle]

@@nicolaplays1134 it's always good to meet such an ambitious person as yourself. Antepenultimate is obviously better, as it has more letters.

[@Insightfill]

LOL. Or "flammable and inflammable."

[@Mythraen]

It should be noted that some authors might use words in a creative way for irony's sake. Like, calling Tom Hanks "infamous" could be tongue-in-cheek... But then someone else is going to come along, not know that, and think "infamous" means super famous, and then that spreads and suddenly it is skunked... all because of some jerk being clever. (Note: I definitely do this sort of thing.) (Note2: I'm not saying that's what happened here, just that it's something that could happen.)

[@cbot9302]

So glad you mentioned "awesome". The other day I was looking for a word to mean "terrifyingly beautiful" (in this case as it would relate to the scale, or size, of something), and came to the startiling conclusion that awesome *would* have fit probably the best... but it's new usage caused me to be unable to use it. Interesting video!

[@MattakiUtsuro]

Mayhap “awe-inspiring” would do the trick?

[@viviennehayes2856]

I totally agree. The word awesome has been ruined!

[@dilbert719]

And along the same lines, "awful", having degraded to simply meaning "bad", rather than "worthy of fear, respect, or reverence."

[@GuanoLad]

@@MattakiUtsuro How about "Aw Yeah!"

[@jeandixon586]

The difference between it's and its. Grammar freak here 😛

[@davidbarrass]

One that grinds my gears is "average". To describe an effort as averge is neutral, but increasingly it's being used negatively

[@CliffSedge-nu5fv]

Average and its synonyms have been used as insults for centuries: mean, common, villain, etc. all are used by people who feel they are above-average to look down on the majority.

[@allenjenkins7947]

The line that amuses/bemuses/gobsmacks me is when you hear some politician saying "By the end of my term in office, every American (Australian in my case) will have an above average income." and no member of the press challenges the absurdity of that boast.

[@gabor6259]

@@allenjenkins7947 Maybe they're talking about present average, not future average.

[@drenz1523]

​@@allenjenkins7947 cause we all hate unbased (that word might've been skunked), over-optimistic statements, do we? (no, that wasn't sarcastic)

[@fritzp9916]

That has already happened to the word "mean". Today, when saying that somebody is being "mean", you don't mean they're acting in a normal/average way, but worse than that.

[@vastrainbowfield]

I literally punched the air in excitement when he mentioned “Very” used to mean “in truth”. this is something I’ve BEEN SAYING since the debate over “literally” started: The word has followed the exact pipeline from qualifier to hyperbole that “Very”went through centuries ago. why would we not use two words that are very close in meaning in the same ways?

[@jacksonburger2081]

Rob, I was wildly and amazingly bemused by this video. You don't peruse subjects like an enormity of other KZbinrs, problematically leaving the viewer nonplussed, ambivalent, or disinterested. Like literally, you are a fantastic, unique genius at literary KZbin. Absolutely decimated my very truth of words, leaving me fabulously and awesomely stunned. You are a hero, and a legend. (Satire, not satire)

[@urbanegorilla6005]

Awesome!!!!!!!!!

[@godstonebenefice]

The biggest problem is not when a word has a new meaning which is different from the old meaning, but the transition phase when it can either meaning leaves it with no agreed meaning. Words only communicate something when they have an agreed meaning.

[@antondalemma5484]

Nailed it.

[@leosmith848]

Look at the children all at their play oh how to see them so happy and gay.!

[@thesisypheanjournal1271]

The problem with using unique to mean unusual is that there are already words that mean unusual, but by making unique mean unusual, it leaves you with no word that actually means unique. Ditto for literally.

[@Kosmokraton]

Whenever it's in doubt, I either say "truly unique" (or in technical contexts, "globally unique"), or for the other meaning "relatively/fairly unique", or even "highly unique".

[@Kosmokraton]

I have not found an easy solution for literally. I basically don't use it in the figurative sense, and in the non-figurative sense, I usually just explain myself "He was 8 feet tall. That's not an exaggeration."

[@rdizzy1]

Such a strict definition for the word unique would make it practically unusable though. There aren't many things that you can definitively say are one of a kind in such a large universe. None, I would say. And so if you open it up to be subjectively one of a kind, then it is open for many other uses as well. (IE- If a child makes a random sculpture in an art class, even though they made it, you can't be sure someone else, somewhere else didn't also make that exact same thing, therefore it would not actually be unique, even if you think it is)

[@Kosmokraton]

@rdizzy1 Aside from the fact that I don't think you need absolute certainty to say something, I think you're imagining the wrong kind of use case. For example, if I receive furniture from IKEA, the instruction manual might tell me that each part has a sticker with a unique label (e.g. A1, A2, B1, etc.). This unique still means "one of a kind" within the system. One of a kind doesn't always mean one of a kind in the whole universe. The meaning that it's being confused by is more akin to "unusual". Something like "Kansas City is unique because it crosses a state border." While that's fairlly unusual, it's not actually the only city to do this, and no context suggesting we're only looking at a particular group of cities. For what it's worth, there are actually still universal unique things we can say with some confidence. "Southeast Idaho is unique, because it is the only place that the U.S. Constitution makes it impossible to convict someone of a crime." I can be quite confident I haven't missed anywhere (assuming I take the time to research). Similarly, "The number zero is unique, because it is the only real number which is neither positive nor negative."

[@markjleonard]

@@rdizzy1 if someone else made a thing that was physically identical then both items would be unique, because they were made by different people (and probably at different times and in different locations) and certainly from different materials

[@kildevang98]

In Danish the most famous skunked word is "bjørnetjeneste", literally "bear favour". Originally it meant to do someone a well meant favour that does more harm than good, but some people have begun to use it to mean doing someone a very great favour. So it have almost taken on its opposite meaning.

[@RaptorFromWeegee]

I thought you were going to somehow blame Bjørk, that crazy Icelandic girl singer.

[@ahG7na4]

it still means that in German

[@veraruda4174]

This is very curious! In Russian, we also use bear favor in the negative way you've described, as bears are perceived as clumsy (which, by the way they are not). But I can see how a big, strong bear may be expected to do a grand favor 😅

[@Maegnys]

Luckily in Sweden every year on Christmas Eve we hear the phrase "en björntjänst gör ju ingen glad", so hopefully we won't have that problem. It's from the Jungle Book, when Baloo and Mowgli first meet. The Disney program God Jul från Kalle och hans vänner, eller Kalle önskar God Jul eller vad fan det nu heter, så trött på det efter alla dessa år. Anyway... var nöjd med livet som vi lever här.

[@D4BASCHT]

​@@veraruda4174 it seems to be used in a bunch of European language and have it’s root in La Fontaine's L'Ours et l'amateur des jardins, which is based on an ancient Indian fable

[@jonathanfinan722]

I’ve never heard anyone misuse bemused, but the abuse that random labours under is soul destroying.

[@pratn]

Super random! Awesome!

[@I.____.....__...__]

I've seen/heard a lot of people (especially young ones) misuse bemused, as well as a lot of words. For some reason, they seem to think that a word that sounds like another word is the same thing as that other word. Um, cognates are usually inter-lingual, not intra-lingual. 😒 Yes, it's possible for a language to have multiple words that sound and mean the same, but it's not very common because it's pointless, and most of the ones that exist are from exactly THIS misunderstanding.

[@litigioussociety4249]

"Labours under" must be some weird British phrase, because it's an illogical assertion for me as an American.

[@pyrogeeknews]

A lot of very uneducated people find new and unusual ways to use vocabulary.

[@pyrogeeknews]

No one can have their own truth. Truth is the sum of facts that are, whether you want to believe in them or not. Anyone who says otherwise is a nutcase.

[@MrOtistetrax]

I think the reason people get so upset about the bleaching or skunking of “literally”, is that through that process, it’s slowly coming to mean the exact opposite of what it’s supposed to (and yes, I’m using “supposed” literally here). By using it as a modifier in a sentence like “I literally died”, it’s coming to stand in place for “figuratively”. I would theorise that the reason this is happening is that English speakers just love using modifiers for emphasis so much, we burn through them very quickly as time passes and the vernacular evolves. We all want to sound different from our parents and grandparents. I’d argue that even words as ubiquitous as “totally” or “completely” have had their meaning diluted through their use as modifiers, it just happened a few generations ago, so nobody even thinks about it. Fascinating and informative video, as always.

[@publicminx]

its not just in English, also in German and other languages. My impression is that 'negative' meanings tend to be more used (as modifier and/or to intensify/superlative something) than 'positive' ones. Like 'terrific beautiful' is more likely than 'beautiful terror(ized)'.

[@cremsen1]

Yeah, I'm not the person who usually gets upset about drift of meanings, but "literally" is my strongly felt exception, because there's not a good word to replace it.

[@auntiegravity7713]

There needs to be a word that isn't as strong as f%#ing, (which I still love, btw, but a little goes a long way) but still gets the job done. Same goes for a smile or laugh emoji.

[@MrOtistetrax]

@@cremsen1 maybe we should all start using “figuratively” to mean “literally”…

[@MrOtistetrax]

@@auntiegravity7713 I’m a fan of “effin’”

[@lugubriousenclave91]

I literally found this video terrifically triggering, now I'm literally disillusioned. I'm resilient, and my recovery from deformation makes me a hero

[@cheriastrahan8453]

😂

[@shhhhhhh9328]

@@cheriastrahan8453 What a legend! ;)

[@katiesethna]

I am mildly AMUSED.

[@meadow-maker]

that is really my most beloved statement.

[@rogink]

I think the reason 'literally' has altered so much is that it's, well, literally such a great word for emphasis :) Hopefully no one was triggered by my use of 'great' to not mean something large :)

[@MrStevetmq]

Having a form of dyslexia that is effected by the meaning of words and connections between words. Meaning is SO!!! important to me. So I hate when people just change words meaning quickly.

[@George4943]

I had burr holes drilled in my skull to wash away a clot (causing aphasia) in my brain. So I have "holes in my head" and been "brainwashed" - literally (as opposed to figuratively).

[@mnm1273]

I hope the surgery went well. That's quite an amusing anecdote.

[@nathalieslachmuylders]

Almost uniquely literal? I hope you made a full recovery.

[@Siansonea]

At least you weren't gaslighted. Gaslit? Congrats on getting your brain back! 😁

[@jayadinash9102]

The word "brainwashing" is often meant to be the same as "indoctrination", but if you give it a bit of thought, it means just the opposite.

[@justb4116]

I've heard somewhere that 'brainwashing' is an attempt to translate from Chinese (?) and the original is more like 'heart washing' but us, westerners did them dirty If someone knows the exact language please correct me, my memory is fuzy and I heard it in one of livestreams on other channel so no way to back up anything 😅

[@FrancesElizabethLawrence]

The one that gets me the most is "mortified." More often than not, people use it to mean something more akin to "horrified," instead of embarrassed or humiliated. I frequently see things like "I was absolutely mortified when I saw the grisly accident scene" or "the mother must have been mortified when she realized her son was missing." Really? What is embarrassing about either of those things? I literally (hee hee) don't use that word anymore because of this.

[@gabor6259]

Well, the kitty on your picture looks pretty mortified. 😄

[@FrancesElizabethLawrence]

@@gabor6259 Ha ha! She probably is mortified that I am sharing her awkward family photos in public. However, she did warf up a hairball this morning, which made me pretty horrified!!! 😆

[@ConvincingPeople]

Well, it's a little more nuanced than that. "Mortification" is also used to refer to ascetic self-denial and the deadening of bodily tissues, and comes from a fairly predictable root given the prefix; to be mortified is, figuratively speaking, to die inside, or at least feel like it. There is a distinct element of horror and physicality to mortification which isn't implied in mere embarrassment or even shame.

[@parkershaw3753]

Ah, it's somewhat a relief that this isn't only happening in my social circles! One of my close friends uses this a lot but it makes me internally cringe every time.

[@FrancesElizabethLawrence]

@@ConvincingPeople Sure, but I feel pretty sure that that most people don't know that. I think that "mortified" has lost that nuance in common parlance over the years, and many people now seem to think that the main emotion implied is terror or fear, rather than embarrassment or humiliation. I think you're right that the "mort" prefix is what may have started the confusion!

[@TAFMSV]

“Of course… but we can all reserve the right to be irritated by it.” Perfect. These changes are natural and as old as language itself, presumably, but it still stings as I age hearing favorite words debased while having new and unfamiliar words and meanings appear. I can’t fight it, and I shouldn’t want to. After all, it’s how my affectations and archaisms were generated, but it burns, and I have to keep faith that potential for meaning and clear communication is only growing and improving beyond my understanding.

[@wesdemers9609]

something I recently noticed that has been skunked is the word "mortifying" it actually means embarrassing, but a lot of people have been using it to mean terrifying recently and it's really been getting on my nerves

[@tabbi888]

The first records of the word mortify come from the second half of the 1300s. It ultimately comes from the Late Latin verb mortificāre, meaning “to put to death,” from Latin mors, “death,” and the verb facere, “to do.” Mors is the root of many other death-related words, like mortal. Mortified would be to die. Don't know where specifically embarrassed came from unless it's to suggest that you're so embarrassed you wish you were dead, I guess. The usage to mean embarrassed could also be considered a form of bleaching. I agree, however, that using the word to suggest horrifying is definitely becoming more common and isn't reflective of its original meaning.

[@NickMak-m2c]

I didn't know how it was used, so I just never used it, didn't attract me. That's odd coming from me considering I look up words I don't use, still, to this day. For a guy involved in the dictionary this guy in the video is not a very staunch defender of unique words. And I mean that literally, I'm not trying to make a relevance joke, which I find annoying (using inception for a joke, unless it's very, very good.)

[@lorscarbonferrite6964]

​@@NickMak-m2c It's exactly because he's involved in the dictionary that you should expect him not to defend any usage of a word. For the past 40 years at least, the entire field of Linguistics (and dictionaries by extension) has firmly aligned with descriptivism rather than prescriptivism. The function of a dictionary isn't to *decide* how words *should* be used, it's to *describe* how words *are* used.

[@NickMak-m2c]

@@lorscarbonferrite6964 I don't necessarily agree with this. It's bad data if you aren't balancing the two, the tradition and the progression. Bad data? Well, like so. I say moomooshaboo, and that means one thing to one person, and another thing to another person. Let's assume there's no context to differentiate the two meanings, or its at least murky. We'd no be transmitting bad data, and I've seen it happen often. Language is awkward enough when people are slackers with meaning and don't clarify themselves with a look up if they're iffy on something, it leads to people being offended, misinterpreting this or that. Like most things in life the greatest value comes with some balance of two forces. If there was no prescriptivism, we'd have no dictionaries at all.

[@dawnelliott755]

The word that drives me nuts is "discriminate". When I was a kid that was actually a positive word with a meaning more similar to "discernment". Think the phrase "discriminating taste" which refers to a high level ability to recognize good qualities, particularly in food or drink. Now I only ever hear that word used in the negative with regards to racial inequities...

[@alextomlinson2830]

I have a very niche one. I work in microbiology and we get a lot of clients that ask for "speciation" work when they need species identification work done

[@thenear1send]

That's pretty funny. That said, it would be a lot more impressive if you could rapidly evolve specimens into new species for your clients!

[@something-from-elsewhere]

I think this one prolly happens cuz speciation is _painfully_ similar to a portmanteau of the words, so it's easy to misinterpret -w-'

[@alextomlinson2830]

@@something-from-elsewhere aha yeah, I can understand *why* they're doing it, but it's still painful to see. I read an email this morning from a member of staff within the company I work for and they used speciation, so I gave them a right ear full 😂 in a nice way of course

[@something-from-elsewhere]

@@alextomlinson2830 Lmao ye, I was more just speculating on why it happens >w

[@southvillechris]

Yes, when I first started working in IT in the NHS and came across the word "specialty" I assumed it was a typo for "speciality".

[@MarkDDG]

This amazing video literally left me genuinely most bemused, nonplussed and stunned to learn about all these wild and unique words and genius ways that they might be fabulously and truthfully interpreted.

[@paerrin]

That's problematic.

[@quincyscrivner89]

@@paerrin I'd say it's awfully terrific.

[@angeladawn805]

@@quincyscrivner89 I read your comment with Hugh Laurie's voice in my head 🤣

[@gerardcharleswilson9954]

I refuse to give up using 'bemused' in its correct sense - bewildered or confused. One has a duty to correct its misuse.

[@counterflow5719]

I agree with your sentiment, but it is impossible to fight the tides of ignorance with regard to language.

[@chilversc]

Whenever I see/hear the word bemused I always had the feeling of a combination of confusion and amusement. Such as if you hear something that could have two meanings, often contradictory or one of them rude I might feel bemused. Confused as to which was intended, but also amused by the confusion.

[@pokerformuppets]

I didn't even know it could be used in any other way until I watched this video!

[@yechielyosef]

I had literally never heard 'bemused' used to mean amused until I watched this video. Yes, literally 'never'. Oh, wait, adding 'literally' literally added nothing to the concept of 'never'. Oh well.

[@njf11-]

@@chilversc Yeah, I don't see why everyone gets all up in arms about a word's change of meaning. Why have two words meaning confused when you can get more specific with your words and have one of them mean "amused bewilderment"?

[@weightlossmed]

In the medical field, this bleaching has happened with the word "syndrome." Previously, "syndrome" meant a collection of disparate symptoms/signs from differing body systems, yet each of those symptoms/signs somehow happened in a pattern together simultaneously. (Syn=together; Drome=run.) Now -- perhaps because the word "syndrome" sounds so authoritative -- medical diseases with only one symptom are being described as a "syndrome."

[@bernardus4646]

And "anaemia" should really be called "oligoaemia".

[@payam-bagheri]

I'm a Persian speaker and have seen this process in our language. As an example, some years ago I realized people use the word that means "path" to mean "destination" in the context of telling their destination to a cab driver. Rob, I share your sense of being irritated at these reckless usages of words. There was a time when I thought languages evolve because of people's creativity and coinage of new words etc., but I've come to realize that a major (if not the biggest) driving force is people's not knowing or not caring about the correct meaning or pronunciation of words.

[@forrcaho]

I know nothing of the Persian language, but it sounds like what you're describing may be a distinction that used to exist in English but has disappeared. It used to be considered incorrect to say "come here" because "here" refers specifically to a location (where the speaker is). Saying "come here" would be like saying "come New York" -- wrong. The proper thing to say was "come hither". Now "hither" only exists in the fossilized expression "hither and thither", and everyone says "come here".

[@quartzking3997]

To add to your point about languages changing because people don’t care enough to preserve the correct spellings and meanings: what a lot of the “languages have always changed throughout history so you should just accept it” people don’t realise that one of the main reasons languages changed so much in the past is because such a large portion of the population was illiterate, which compounded the issue of people not even being aware that they were altering their language. To suggest that we are the no better than these illiterate people from the past is a tad patronising and is one of the reasons we should now refrain from altering words as they exist in the present day.

[@veloboy]

I like resurrecting words like hither. Thanks for the reminder. Thither might be a bit more of a challenge because I've always heard people say hither and tither. My spellcheck seems to confirm both it at this very moment. (But I've just googled it, and now I see that a tither is a ten-percenter. Different pronunciation.)@@forrcaho

[@veloboy]

Except that now there's a thing called the internet which is open to the masses. All 8 billion of us. Good luck slowing the tsunami. Maybe AI can save us.@@quartzking3997

[@philhawley1219]

@@forrcaho In Wales people say "Come by here" or "Go by there" which may sound odd to an English ear but makes sense literally in the literal sense, y'know like.

[@djmccart]

I have a list of what I call carnival words - most of which originally meant "terror inspiring" or "suspiciously untrue" but turned into "very, very good". Amazing! Terrific! Stupendous! Unbelievable! Incredible!

[@robinchesterfield42]

And then there's the fact that "awesome" and "awful" came from the same root word. Same for "terrifying" and "terrific"--although they have very different meanings now! In both cases, one is positive and the other is negative. But they both mean "awe" or "terror".

[@Kerryjotx]

❤ “carnival words”! I can hear them shouted by a barker.

[@Bazroshan]

I wince everty time a TV programme tells me that someone's evidence is incredible, intending to mean that it is incredibly good. 'Incredible' does not mean 'excellent', it means 'unbelievable'. An incredible witness is one who can not be believed, a useless witness. Incredible evidence should be disregarded.

[@molly1949]

It's kinda the opposite of credible..it's INcredible

[@Skyscraper2015]

Opposite of credible meaning worthwhile and sound. Incredible would naturally mean false evidence or not worthy to be listened to.

[@catherinerogers2]

Hear, hear! This one actually generated this sentence in one of my students' papers: "The evidence doesn't have to be incredible to prove [the point]." I tried to explain that "incredible" means "unbelievable," but that word now means the same thing--incredibly good. Skunked.

[@StorymasterQ]

I like the Credible Hulk, he always cites his sources.

[@mirandahotspring4019]

Ironic that unbelievable is now a synonym of incredible.

[@cullenhutchison6528]

My problem with words whose meanings have changed from their etymology such as "decimate" is that if I want to specify that something was reduced by one-tenth, I cannot use the word with that literal meaning without it being misunderstood.

[@Legority]

There's also the issue of words and phrases related to mental disabilities being used in the wrong ways, such as someone saying they had an "intrusive thought" to suddenly dye their hair--that would be an "impulsive thought". Along with that, there's also the more negatively impactful wrong uses of terms, such as saying "I'm so OCD" when it would be a lot more accurate and respectful to just say you're a perfectionist and/or like things to be clean.

[@jovetj]

Just like _jealous_ often used for _envious._ 😥

[@NickRoman]

At the same time, I would say that just because someone took two common English words like "intrusive" and "thought" and made a specific technical term out of it, that does not mean that everyone else is banned from ever using those words in another way ever again. So, you're example would be a non-sensical use of "intrusive thought". Has anyone ever used it that way? But, if I say that a thought was intruding in an unwelcome way into my mind, then I don't think it is wrong to call it an intrusive thought just because I have not paid a psycho-whateverist to clinically diagnose me with something.

[@treeaboo]

@@NickRoman This sounds more like your own personal qualms with the field of psychology clouding your opinion on word usage.

[@Michael-Archonaeus]

​@@NickRoman Please use the apostrophe correctly, it's confusing when you used it incorrectly, it takes away its meaning.

[@littelcreatchure506]

​@@NickRoman what you're describing would still be an intrusive thought. intrusive thoughts don't need a diagnosis. The issue the original comment is talking about is people using the term intrusive thought to describe thoughts that are just sudden or impulsive, NOT thoughts that are intruding in an unwelcome or distressing way, which is what the term actually means

[@joshgreen2366]

One word that I find has changed from its etymology is "electrocute". It was coined in the 1890s as a portmanteau of electric and execute, literally meaning to deliberately cause death via electricity. However now it's used for any kind of electric shock, whether it's fatal or not. Of course, with the recent decline of the electric chair, it doesn't hold the same confusion as other words might.

[@rhythmandblues_alibi]

Wow that's so interesting!

[@hart-of-gold]

Electrocute was coined for a specific case, with the intent to slander. But there wasn't a common word for the general case. So, electrocute was used to mean injured by electricity straight away.

[@simonbennett9687]

Execute is itself often used wrongly, as it should only refer to killing carried out by the state after due legal process.

[@robertfitzjohn4755]

@@simonbennett9687 The original meaning of "execute" was to put into effect or to carry out a course of action, from Old French executer, from Medieval Latin executare. The word then extended to performing judgment or sentence on someone, and finally to carrying out a death sentence. It's still used for all those purposes.

[@simonbennett9687]

@@robertfitzjohn4755Exactly. It does not mean ‘murder’.

[@DSlyde]

Jealous has been partially skunked for me. Growing up, i was taught that envy and jealousy were different things - one about something someone else had, the other about something you had. But now jealous is used for both meanings and if you want to mean jealous, not envious, there isn't a clear way to express that that couldn't be misinterpreted.

[@agzarah]

that great Simpsons episode immediately comes to mind! the only problem is, i can never remember which way around it is. so i avoid using either word

[@Dowlphin]

Interesting, I wasn't aware there (allegedly) is that meaning. I know the difference as envy being with positive admiration while jealousy is with spiteful hostility.

[@scottcartwright1718]

(With apologies [ha] if I get this wrong) envy is wanting something someone else has; jealousy is wanting no one else to have what you have. Envy is desire; jealousy is possessiveness. Or at least --- it was!@@Dowlphin

[@Dowlphin]

@@scottcartwright1718 OK, if that is the original meaning, it would explain a saying I seem to remember hearing a few times: "guarding it jealously".

[@Antient.Briton]

@@scottcartwright1718 - I look at it this way; if you win the lottery I will be envious - I wish I'd won, but I don't resent your winning it. If the woman I fancy likes you and not me, I'd be jealous, because I don't want you to have her.

[@wilfthebison]

It's not a single word, but many people say "I could care less" to mean " I couldn't care less"

[@Michael-Archonaeus]

My truth and your truth really just means my opinion and your opinion. The problem is that narcissists are not content with having an opinion, they need their opinion to be elevated to the status of truth, and we do have an epidemic of narcissism today.

[@sleekweasel]

This is a bit like Ricky Gervais' pointing to people saying that such a thing *is* (universally) offensive, instead of saying that *they* find it (personally) offensive.

[@lindageorge8209]

Sadly so...

[@athen1928]

I'm a little confused by what everyone is saying about this because I have only heard it online ("speaking my truth" = revealing an embarrassing thing you do) so I interpreted it as just speaking the truth about oneself

[@Michael-Archonaeus]

@@athen1928 Speaking 'your' truth does not mean revealing something embarrassing about yourself.

[@dominaevillae28]

@athen1928 "my truth" = my perception of the world must be accepted by you as equally valid as objective truth.

[@clemdane]

My problem is that once I know the etymology of a word I can't ignore it or forget it. I don't go around pompously telling people the real meaning of words, but it does pop up in my head.

[@TobyCatVA]

Every time someone says "low man on the totem pole" I nod and grit my teeth. The least consequential person depicted on a totem pole would be the one at the top.

[@A_nony_mous]

Seeing / hearing "I literally died laughing" makes me wish it were true. Fitting punishment for the abuse of language.

[@t.a.k.palfrey3882]

As one becomes older, the tendency to become irritated when hearing or reading a word being used "incorrectly" increases. Then, after some reflection, one remembers saying things such as, "that was wickedly good", as a schoolboy, and suddenly one's own verbal sloppiness lessens one's ire at that of one's grandsons. I still hate it when they say titular when they mean eponymous, though. 🤦‍♂️

[@WoolyCow]

congrats on having the only grandkids in the world who say titular enough for it to be an analysable trend

[@polen2077]

eponymous does mean the same thing as titular most of the time though??

[@wyominghome4857]

I know what you mean. I spent the morning writing a rather sharp-tongued letter to our local newspaper, suggesting that they strongly encourage their reporters to write in the inverted pyramid style. And, I said, who knows? They might then go on to spelling, grammar, homonyms, the list is endless! My husband said I was being curmudgeonly. :)

[@katiepetersen4929]

This has happened to the word 'jealous.' So many people say jealous when 'envy' or 'envious' is clearly the correct option

[@hug58h]

The skunked word I’ve noticed is “insane” used as a compliment or to signify amazement or awe.

[@mattermat1925]

"Insane" and "epic" are the two I always consider to have been ruined by social media. They're just used as fancy enhancers of whatever is being talked about.

[@kathleenking47]

Or sick, being great

[@SuperDoNotWant]

You're going to really hate what us Kiwis have done to the word "mean", then @@kathleenking47

[@Aetheraev]

That's not really skunked, just gained a new meaning. You can still use it in the original sense without being misunderstood.

[@OweEyeSea]

This one drives me nuts. There are sooo many videos titled "The Insane Biology of ...", "The Insane Engineering of ...", etc. It bugs me so much, I refuse to watch any of them. :-/

[@sadib100]

Thanks for teaching me how to paste without formatting. Now I don't have to paste something somewhere else and recopy it. You're literally are a legendary genius hero!

[@wfjhDUI]

The word "skunking" is a really nice bit of terminology to add to the vocabulary. This comes very close to something I've long wanted a word or brief phrase to refer to, which is how there can be a crowding out effect in public discourse where an idea becomes difficult to refer to or discuss because there exists a somewhat similar but far more prominent idea in the public discourse that's completely unhinged and associated with crazy people. A good non-controversial example might be how pilots are afraid to report something as ostensibly mundane and neutral as "I saw something in the sky that I couldn't identify" because they know they will instead be taken to be saying "I witnessed proof of the Anunnaki and every night since I've been astral projecting into their mothership where I now have a harem of beautiful alien creatures."

[@fibanocci314]

Yes! (Incidentally, when people bring up UFOs and all whether I believe in them, I like to make a joke about how there are lots of things I can't identify and some of them do fly.)

[@jovetj]

The sound effect in this video is better than the word. Can we just use that as the word?

[@3lloGuvner]

I don't know if there's a neutral term for when this happens organically but this effect is definitely deliberately evoked to poison the well on certain subjects. Such as labelling an inconvenient topic as a "conspiracy theory" so it's associated with crackpot stuff like the Anunnaki in order to discourage it's discussion

[@AllanTidgwell]

I saw a UFO. It was a plane but I couldn't identify what kind of plane

[@stevekirkpatrick1612]

There's already a word I made up for this: gloffiscate. You nailed the definition.

[@Juli414]

I would add "entitle", "entitled" and "entitlement". Originally, they referred to a justifiable right or privilege. If someone acted as though they believed they had a right or privilege, but actually they didn't, the person would be described as having a sense of entitlement. Over time, we dropped the first part of the phrase, so now the words mean sort of the opposite of what they used to.

[@al_the_x]

One thing that stood out from your video for me is the way in which you use propositions differently in British English compared to American English. For example "chat to him" would be "chat WITH him" and "sign up to my newsletter" would be *sign up FOR" in my parlance. That might be worth a video! 😅

[@Lucstar004]

Australian English is different again 😂 I would just say “chat about him” and “sign up to”

[@angreagach]

Good point, but you mean "prepositions."

[@chrishauser5505]

Yet we do say both "talk with him" and "talk to him" in American English; is that the case in British English too?

[@KevD_]

I was taught that you "talk to" or "speak with" someone.

[@brandonmarini1833]

May I also submit that British English tends to use "different to," whereas American English uses "different from," although the former seems to be gaining more traction overall.

[@captainboots]

For me it's how 'anxious' has been abused to be the exact same as 'eager'.

[@mehill00]

I think some of the non-eager aspect of “anxious” has reemerged in recent decades as people have become more open with discussing their anxiety. When I was a kid in the 70s/80s I only took it to mean eager.

[@bopmaster404]

as an l2 speaker I had to think of expressions with these words to decypher a meaning of each so it kind of confirms your statement

[@captainboots]

@@RJGa That's 'ambivalence' where you experience two conflicting or contradictory ideas or emotions.

[@Friend-]

I've only heard the "eager" sense of the word "anxious" in movies from the 90s and earlier. I think it's come and gone at this point.

[@boxsterman77]

Which is why, whether using the word or having it used on me, I always add “do you mean full of anxiety and dread or gleefully looking forward to it”? And I never bother with the pedantic explanations.

[@notwithouttext]

i like how two phrases for circular arguments, "begging the question" and "vicious circle", now have new meanings as "raising the question" and "bad endless loop".

[@CarMedicine]

isn't a bad endless loop a vicious *cycle*, not circle? or is vicious cycle an eggcorn?

[@khaosklub]

as I've always understood it, "vicious circle" meant that it was a loop that intensified something negative. like A and B are bad, A leads to B, which in turn leads to greater A which causes greater B and so on. "begging the question" is just a bad term. it isn't very clear what it means, and when it's used correctly, the listener oft will have no idea that they made an assumption. this term just begs to be misunderstood and fairly unproductive. better to just say "you're just making an assumption" instead.

[@paulomartins1008]

@@CarMedicine Yeah! An eggcorn! Rob we found one! :D

[@WGGplant]

@@khaosklub I think your view of "vicious circle" seems more in line with a "vicious spiral" as the pressure gets more intense as it goes on.

[@AisuruMirai]

I don't understand why people say "begs the question" so often (or why use of the phrase irritates me so tremendously). Why not just say "raises the question"? The first person I know of who used to do this-and he did it frequently-was Keith Olbermann, the former SportsCenter anchor and former MSNBC host. Almost every time someone says "begs the question," I think to myself, "Damn you, Keith Olbermann!" But maybe he picked it up from someone else. As @khaosklub said, "begging the question" is itself a bad phrase, even if it hadn't been skunked. Unless you already know the meaning, it's indecipherable.

[@sortofcastleplace]

I salute you, Rob, for being as you call it „self-righteous“! Meanings do matter of course, otherwise people just say whatever they want and no-one cares anymore about what’s said or indeed written, or how.

[@AntoekneeDE]

I would like to see a similar video addressing phrases. One example that I always find slightly jarring is the North American use of ‘I could care less’ in place of ‘I couldn’t care less’; clearly these have an opposing meaning.

[@Zzyzzyx]

I'm North American and I find it jarring, too.

[@nicolaplays1134]

I also find it jarring, but I've made my peace with it somewhat by imagining an unspoken "but I don't" at the end of the sentence :)

[@jovetj]

It's ignorance. Sheer ignorance. Mr. Rob has already done a great video on such mistakes such as you describe. Naturally, I can't think of any examples off the top of my head this moment...

[@sanniepstein4835]

Sarcasm becoming misuse.

[@RaptorFromWeegee]

I remember during my first year of high school, in 1978, our English teacher, Mrs Mascia, used, "She/he could care less" numerous times! I found it confusing, even then.

[@LarryB-inFL]

Agree: The absolute worst is the misuse of "literally", which now has left us with literally no word for literally.

[@patrickscannell6370]

Neh thats just slang, the same way "cool" is not actually a temperature reference. I think that one has stopped being used anyway, as its going back out of fashion

[@cameronnovy3718]

@@patrickscannell6370 I get your point, but ‘cool’ isn’t a good example. ‘Cool’ has two common and understood meanings, it’s just reliant on context to determine which. If someone said, “is quite cool out today”, you’ll know that it’s a reference to temperature. Another context could be, “You must be cold, your hands are cool to the touch.” However if they say, “I met your friend at the party, he was pretty cool!’, you’d know it was used to describe a person’s attitude/personality.

[@rdizzy1]

It is no longer a necessary word, because NOT using the word literally, now means that it is literal. You just say what happened if you mean it literally.

[@ZlothZloth]

We'll have to make another word for literally. Literally in the Old Sense.... Litos? Yeah, that's not in use! Now just get Taylor Swift to use it a few times, and we'll be good!

[@paulhammer2279]

One of the words that knocked me on my heels when reading "Sister Carrie" by Theodore Dreiser (1900) was the word "Pathetic." It was clear from the context that it was a positive or at worst neutral assertion that something was rich in pathos. I had to read each occurrence at least twice because I kept inserting the modern meaning of pathetic: weak, insufficient, and worthy of disdain. You can see where the shift came from as pathos became less desirable in performance and writing and was seen as somewhat cliche.

[@TheAngelsHaveThePhoneBox]

It's funny that I had the opposite happening to me when learning English because the equivalent word in my mother tongue still has the original meaning from its etymological roots to this day.

[@shonaa9071]

I always wonder why we don't say " pathotic" for " full of pathos"

Beethoven has a Pathetique sonata or piece, and I've been confused for years why would he be so insulting to his own music. Specially because the piece doesn't sound like anything sad, pathetic or unworthy.

[@ivoryas1696]

@@shonaa9071 Actually... lets!

[@MacakPodSIjemom]

In my native language (Serbian) this old meaning is still the official meaning. But, with the ever so pervasive influence of English these days, we now more and more often hear the word used in modern English meaning. So, I understand your confusion, but try to imagine what kind of confusion it makes here where the word changes it's meaning in front of our eyes. I can say for certain that 20 -30 years ago nobody would understand it in modern English meaning here, but now we are just all over the place with the actual meaning.

[@kaasmeester5903]

My favourite skunked word is "dropped". One of its meanings used to be "to be cancelled", as in: "Disney has dropped the latest Spiderman movie". Nowadays it means almost exactly the opposite: "to release". As in: "Disney just dropped the latest Spiderman movie".

[@stoopidapples1596]

Dropped is still used in that way, but I feel it was always more common in the type of sentences where the subject is omitted and it describes something happening to the object. Like "Brad Pitt got dropped from the movie". Altho, saying that sentence makes me think of another new meaning of dropped, meaning to suddenly get beaten up.

[@user-ff4tw8uf4b]

I dislike the new use of drop as release, because to me it always sounds like they oopsie dropped it on the floor. Silly, but more accurate.

[@seanmalloy7249]

@@user-ff4tw8uf4b The meaning is unlikely to change, given the adoption of 'drop' in MMORPGs as a term for the loot that a mob gives upon being defeated -- "You're trying to get X? Those only drop from [insert mob name here]."

[@winstonelston5743]

So, what is the correct word for the phenomenon of a loosely held slippery object falling from one's grasp to the floor?

[@daveking3494]

“Awesome” has definitely lost all of its meaning.

[@lubokbeetle8152]

I guess this is the reason that "awesome" and "awful" now mean opposite things? Or not?

[@jamesbonnell4597]

Cool!

[@mrcryptozoic817]

It's certainly "watered down" into no meaning when everything from a dust mote to a to a statement inspires anoesis.

[@59withqsb12]

But there is hope. We have always had "awe-inspiring" which is much nicer anyway.

[@eyeofthasky]

but thats a cultural shift, not really an "i dont know what a foreign word means so i simply use it wrong" shift. its similar to ...lets say japanese, where adressing someone by a high title was to show respect which over time somehow shifted to being derogatory since seemingly it must have become seen as ironically ... or in german the word "merkwürdig" = strange/creepy which literally is "markworthy"/noteworthy but no native speaker _feels_ this literal meaning, it is solely meaning strange and the notion of noteworthy does not even cross the mind even if it its partially in the expression. but that _was_ the original meaning, just that a cultural shift moved the meaning from noteworthy cuz something is particularily good to noteworthy cuz it is particularily abnormal

[@wiiza4ever]

“Exponential” is my skunking pet peeve. It has a mathematical meaning, and it’s barely ever used that way by the general public.

[@Fetherko]

Yes, especially when they mean logarithmic!

[@mananself]

The most skunked math term is: less than 3.

[@tomkerruish2982]

I once heard someone say that a particular item (I can't remember what) was growing, not just geometrically, but exponentially. *sigh*

[@hermask815]

@@Fetherkoevery mathematical concept that cannot be done with fingers to advanced.

[@firstnamelastname4752]

At least when it is misused it is usually done so via exaggeration. It is then possible they do MEAN exponential, even though the thing is not actually changing exponentially. I use exponential in non-maths contexts, but it only feels right when the thing is actually changing at least somewhat exponentially.

[@yusaki8064]

I genuinely didn’t realise there was another way to say Bemused. I had always used the “correct” term. And equally, I didn’t realise I had been using ambivalent “wrong” all my life.

[@IsaacMyers1]

i always saw ambivalent as the third point on the benevolent malevolent ambivalent triangle. It never occurred to me that it could be a point between.

[@madgrammy697]

I’m particularly sad about the skunking of ‘bemused’. It’s one of my favourite words.

[@thomaspetrucka9173]

This is one of the reasons I'm not generally opposed to correction of language, and also completely accepting of it. I get so frustrated when I'm not understood, but there will always be people who haven't encountered the "correct" usage. Heck, I thought "draught" was pronounced "drawt" until I was Twenty because I picked it up from Harry Potter at 10 years old, and I'm American.

[@MI-gn9lg]

This process applies to words but also to whole phrases. For example “beg the question” is now mostly used as a synonym of “raise the question”. The original technical meaning, an archaic translation of the relatively arcane “petitio principii”, has been swamped (skunked?) by the current usage to denote a far more common meaning.

[@scottcartwright1718]

Agreed --- and now we can raise the question: what is the best way to point out that someone replied, but did not answer, what was posed? "You said a lot of words but avoided truly answering" --- that works, but it would be so handy if there were a pithy phrase for this...

[@MikeWiest]

Yes! Many news anchors do this!

[@MI-gn9lg]

@@MikeWiest I guess the two meanings coexist: the technical meaning in its original domain (ie logic) and the new one in ordinary speech. It's the same with "epic": There's the colloquial usage to mean great, but in its original domain, ie poetry, it still means, well, epic!

[@darranrowe174]

This literally begs the question of is it really begging the question.

[@MikeWiest]

@@topherthe11th23 I think that's a fair point!

[@Thestargazer56]

I love to "collect" archaic words in my vocabulary. Many of the older words were more precise when used in writing.

[@svenlima]

+Thestargaz.... Me too. I have a little (paper-) notebook where I note them. However, when I use those words (mainly in writing) some people call me an oldfashioned snob ... :-)

[@adrianandrews2254]

I like to construct sentences that use the same word twice; once with the new meaning and once with the old. You can learn a lot about people by how they react.

[@leosmith848]

Yes, I love recondite words, too.

[@Yashael341]

"Literally" has such a useful meaning: "by the letter" or "exactly as it sounds or reads". It's really handy to have a word that expresses that concept. It's now being turned into a lazy intensifier, which we already have so many of. That's my resistance to that one. Do we have another single word to replace "literally" with?

[@VaryaEQ]

​@@topherthe11th23If you're pointing something out though, it's useful to have the word there. For example, a saying that's usually figerative, say, "He kicked the bucket," usually means someone died. But if someone actually kicks a bucket with their foot, it's kind of humourous to point out that they literally kicked the bucket, where, trying to explain that that is exactly what happened loses its punch. There's a lot more examples, as you could probably imagine. But literally stays. We have no replacement word.

[@agnidas5816]

completely and exactly and definitely and certainly

[@VaryaEQ]

@@topherthe11th23 Okay, but that doesn't have the same impact, and you have to use a whole lot more words to explain what you mean.

[@VaryaEQ]

@@agnidas5816 None of those are direct matches for "literally".

[@luisostasuc8135]

Yes, I believe the word "verbatim" would partially fit for certain cases, eg "the literal words on the page" would be "the definition verbatim from the dictionary/source." It's not as flexible as literally, of course

[@davereynard]

Utilise is one that grinds my gears! I was taught that it meant to employ a thing (or person, or whatever) in a manner for which it was not originally intended. Otherwise, it is 'use'. So we can use a spoon to eat soup but utilise a spoon to dig a small hole in the garden. I think people often include utilise to make them sound slightly more lofty than they are, and in so doing, confirm the opposite! Great vid as always by the way 🙂

[@RaptorFromWeegee]

Were you my college English professor? Cause he went on and on about that word and how he hated it.

[@davereynard]

@@RaptorFromWeegee Not that smart Raptor! I just love the language of this and many other countries

[@SnydeX9]

It makes sense that 'decimate' would have its meaning transformed over time. Even if you know that 'deci' comes from 10, you might be led to believe (by virtue of its use) that something that is 'decimated' has been reduced TO 10% of its original size rather than BY 10%.

[@okaro6595]

I think you are over-rationalizing it. Decimating was an extremely severe punishment. It is much more severe than if 10% died in a battle. We just view intentional killing differently for a good reason. The new meaning keeps the severity.

[@brinistaco1970]

You quietly mentioned fabulous and it makes so much sense that it pertains to fables but in everyday use in my lifetime it refers to something wonderful and no one really seems to use it the way it was originally intended. Does that make it wrong or evolved? If we all agree on what a word means then communication works. The problem, as you so effectively pointed out, is when we can no longer understand each other. Food for thought. Like bothered me in the 80s and literally bothers me now because they are so overused and inserted for emphasis similar to f**k. Some people's speech becomes so repetitive that it seems more of a nervous tick than communication. It really bothers me when I start to act this way. Thank you for keeping me on my toes.

[@shanepaynter5591]

Fabulous and wonderful is a great example of similar etymology in their original meanings being interchangeable in what they mean in current usage…which is great, I guess

[@gerardomalazdrewicz7514]

Perhaps fabulous was borrowed from Latin/Romance languages with its current meaning, which is the same, in Spanish at least.

[@overcomingobstaclescreates1695]

I agree about "like" and "literally" being bothersome. I grew up in the 80s and, though I try to be conscious of it, I hate that it's so difficult for me to have a conversation without injecting so often. I've also noticed recently that I, and others, have taken to starting sentences with "I mean"

[@summerheart9834]

I see what you mean. I'm a teenager right now and I've been seeing this sort of wave of repetition of words within informal conversations (mostly between my peers). It bothers me and it's actually stopped me from taking risks in my own writing, using different words and trying to create my own writing style. It's very irritating having to read my writing only to see the same thing being repeated over and over again.

[@brinistaco1970]

At least you see the issue. I think it's great that you write and want to develop it as a skill. Gives me hope for the future. Thank you. Anything worth doing or having is difficult. I used to look up synonyms in a thesaurus when I wrote papers in school. now we can just look them up. Good luck to you. @@summerheart9834

[@strykos4011]

I work in local government doing urban development assessment. Recently our state government replaced all state and local development policies with a new legislation and planning code. This included a new table of defined terms with very specific legal meanings. The problem is they used many words which are commonly used to describe and assess development more broadly. It’s been 3 years now and builders, developers, and government are still struggling to figure out how to discuss certain things without using words the new definitions have stolen.

[@nezr0uge]

As a urban planning lawyer and lover of etymology, THIS SOUND AWFUL. I sincerely sympathise.

[@SP30305ATL]

What are the words and their new definitions?

[@RDC113]

I bet you have to use the word 'impact' all the time.

[@decluesviews2740]

I generally understand “bemused” to mean confused, but I tend to mean “I’m confused in a way that intrigues me,” which could be seen as a mix of confused and amused. But I’d never mean it to mean amused pure and simple.

[@Krytom42]

"Unique" is important in the software/database world, for "unique IDs" and the like. I don't foresee that changing.

[@Channel-zb1fi]

Also in mathematics, one may use the term uniqueness to mean that something only produces one unique result. For instance uniqueness in Cauchy limits. I guess words also become more precise in their meaning, when you have to make a rigorous definition for something.

[@Krytom42]

Perhaps once the word has been bleached or skunked from common usage, the technical fields will retain what's left of it for themselves. I bet this has happened already for other words...

[@dusan-renat]

"Exponentially" is also very important in many fields (like economics, but honestly almost anywhere where numbers matter), but it's misused more often than not.

[@djmcbratney]

I think "unique" is an exception in more ways than that, because I don't think it's "misused" in a way that creates any actual confusion. So far as I can tell, people just like to pass on the learned correction that it shouldn't be used with comparatives without necessarily understanding why. There are contexts where you're likely to need to identify (as in a namespace) that something is "unique" in that it possesses at least one distinguishing feature (character), the narrowest sense of the word. But the contexts where someone says that something is "more unique" or "less unique" (e.g. that this jacket, rap album, or discovered potsherd has several or few distinguishing features not seen in others like it) are contexts where it's a given that these things are already unique in the narrowest sense of the word and no one would be trying to specify that. To create the ambiguity required for skunking, I think it'd be unrelated to comparatives, but you'd need to have "unique" being commonly used to exaggerate "rare". I *have* heard that in contexts like "I'm in a unique situation", but I don't think that's common enough to threaten the other senses. (And also, to match the pedants in their hairsplitting about comparatives, most cases of "very unique" quite probably actually intend to emphasize that the unique feature of a thing is particularly notable, I.e. to say that the thing is "notably unique", and the word being misused isn't even the "unique" in the first place.)

[@kasuha]

Unique in databases is exactly the "unique within certain scope" meaning of the word.

[@FrankBrennosTheGreatest]

Great video as always Rob! One thing some people struggle to understand is that languages evolve from the bottom, not the top, meaning from regular people making mistakes rather than from well though-out decisions by linguistic experts. Since most people aren't linguists, once enough of us start making the same mistake, there's no putting it back in the bag no matter how much some people will complain about it.

[@maryloumawson6006]

Great episode. Now do ICONIC! I can hardly read a comment on-line anymore without encountering ICONIC! "His speech was ICONIC!" Her dress was ICONIC! The landscape was ICONIC! His portrayal was ICONIC! It's like all the special people just learned a new word this week.

[@johnwatson2887]

"Iconic" has been my pet peeve for years!

[@maureenmcdonough7018]

I couldn’t agree with you more.

[@dancingpeaches8140]

I immediately thought of GOAT. It’s become its own word whose definition is to be Greatest of All Time, when its usage is actually hyperbolic and just means “really great”.

[@lovewhatisgood]

Absolutely. The media have picked up on this word and truly ground it to death. Granted that it is usually used properly, but many other words could be used to equal effect -- famous, classic, venerable, beloved, well-known.

[@AndrewOudin]

based

[@thomaspetrucka9173]

I got into a fight with my sister recently, I believe largely because we use the words "feel" and "safe" differently. I tend to perceive them more literally, whereas I think she uses them mostly metaphorically--referring to "instinct" and "emotional security" respectively. I'm also the jerk who sometimes corrects other people's grammar, or uses big words I've come across in common speech, so...grain of salt. 😂

[@jjfoerch]

Decimate is an interesting one because a figurative use in which it means devastate may be truer to the original spirit of the word to describe a severe punishment than using it literally to mean "reduction by one tenth", which in many contexts might not seem all that bad.

[@JayTemple]

Agreed. It's not unusual for companies to decimate their work force in the original sense.

[@zzzaphod8507]

Applying it literally in most cases is too in-tenths for me, anyway.

[@morozcowhite5237]

That literally was an awesome episode! So impactful! I was genuinely bemused, and hopefully the enormity of the message will decimate those silly and weird people out there who take English for granted. You are seriously a genius, Rob! Keep up the good work!😉

[@boxsterman77]

Did you not get the meaning of enormity? Was the video evil?

[@KBirkett-l3k]

Thank you for that keyboard shortcut. I didn’t know that one. I always thought “bemused” was some kind of confused amusement. I think the same of befuddled. Like someone being confused but smiling to cover their lack of understanding. Their eyes are just a little out of focus trying to figure things out. 🙂

[@D4BASCHT]

There are some basic shortcuts that work in many programs which follow basically these old standards en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keyboard_shortcut#%22Sacred%22_keybindings en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_Common_User_Access#Description and a more modern but also a lot larger list en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Table_of_keyboard_shortcuts Sometimes they write the shortcut behind actions in the menu, but usually it’s not even in manuals since it’s just to basic and widely known. Sometimes they get a little bit reinterpreted like C-n opening and C-w closing tabs instead of windows. They also usually don’t mention how you can combine shortcuts or that you can combine them at all. Like: Holding shift while moving the cursor with mouse or arrow keys will mark text … and Control with arrow keys lets you move the cursor word for word instead of letter for letter … Shift + Control + arrow keys does both at the same time, which is marking text word-wise. File managers even allow you to select multiple files/folders with wild combinations of shift, control and mouse clicks

[@BetterMonsters]

I think "decimate" has retained more of its original meaning than the video perhaps gives it credit for; my impression is that the meaning has shifted from "reduced by one tenth" to "reduced to one tenth". The "tenth" aspect hasn't been lost from the meaning, just the specific historical reference being made.

[@redshiplanding]

I have always liked this channel. I fully admit that-as a working linguistics prof at a state university-I have stolen (borrowed?) lots of ideas for in-class discussions and activities from it MANY times . . . and will continue to do so (that is meant as a compliment). As for this topic: I used to think of myself as a truly open-minded descriptivist . . . but I have found (after 18+years of teaching) that I may actually fall into the "enlightened prescriptivist" camp. Alas . . . I may never know the truth of it . . . All I wanted to add here was that I know full well that spoken language is SUPPOSED to change . . . even if that causes physical pain to a middle-aged fart such as me. I also know that something happened (around what, 200 years ago or so?) when we started privileging the "words and rules" of grammar (Stephen Pinker’s term, I think) of WRITING over those of SPEAKING which inverted/screwed with/not-really-sure-how-to-say-it-best-here-ed that relationship with what could/should/would be considered grammatically correct in what we say/write and how we say/write it. Yes, I HATE it when someone, indeed, ANYONE says, "My class literally bombed that midterm." or "There's three doughnuts left in the box" However, the actual reason I HATE these kinds of language usages is less about any kind of arbitrary line of grammatically being ignored and MUCH MORE about people-young, old, extra medium, whomever-not thinking about what they are saying. That, I think, is the crux of it all: Should we be all be able to use English ANY way we see fit? Well, yes . . . and no. After all, the more we surrender our thinking to other external entities-ChatGPT, other people's usage patterns, what we heard in a TikTok, etc--instead of relying on our own internal systems of logic and grammar and so on . . . the less control we will be exercising control over our own meaning-making abilities. Here's hoping that we can find some way to keep enjoying our cool apps and tech on one hand while also strengthening our individual language skillset(s) on the other. I confess to composing this comment before I finished the video. Forgive me if I ended up repeating anything. Keep putting out good useful videos so I can keep stealing . . . uh, borrowing ideas for my classes.

[@attilajuhasz2526]

I feel your pain! I, too, rail against (what I will call) unclear communication. This language is my adopted mother tongue (I'm Hungarian), but still, it's annoying seeing these nonsensical changes when more effective words already exist! Sadly, not being a linguistics professor, I'm doomed to screaming into the void.

[@francoiscarrier8745]

I have a refrigerator magnet that says "Misuse of "Literaly" makes me figuratively insane" and I still smile every time I look at it.

[@karenh.]

😂😂

[@chicagotypewriter2094]

This sounds like something out of Word Crimes

[@snithereens]

Rob, some say issue (ish-you) and some say ish-you. Or: inishiate and inishiate. Is it regiolect or sociolect? Do you know more about it?

[@PeterSmith-bj4ml]

You're probably American saying refrigerator whereas most other English speakers say fridge, although I believe it's becoming commoner in the States. It interests me, as Americans always seemed to streamline and abbreviate words first historically. When I watched American films as a kid in the 50s, 'automobile' (technically any sort of vehicle, I realise) was commonly used instead of simply 'car', a much less unwieldy word. Also 'vehicle', pronounced 'vehirickle' in Texas and the South, is still used by some cops. Words are fascinating.

[@MyNameIsNeutron]

Do you smile because of the speling eror?

[@walttholomew]

Apology is a word that I like when talking about the importance of usage versus etymology because I have personal experience with it. I was well into my twenties before I learned what apology used to mean in common speech, and it really wasn't long ago when it meant that, and I had gotten by that entire quarter-of-a-century of communicating with other people in English without ever having a problem because I didn't know what apology used to mean. But I'd always been confused why someone who downplayed or denied someone else's misdeeds was called an apologist. Learning apology's older usage suddenly made it clear, yes, that makes sense entirely now.

[@nickyrowley7681]

I first learned the older meaning to apology when I studied apologetics at uni. I understood that we take the newer ‘apology' from that word, rather than replace the older one. In other words both exist depending on the context. We have however, simplified making an apology (giving an account for our behaviour), to just saying sorry (which isn’t much of an apology). I am about to tangent and I apologise 😜. But a restorative conversation in which the accused gives an account (excuse?), is far more meaningful than a grumbled 'sorreeee’, even in children. In fact, making them think about their actions is far more helpful in causing them to truly think about the impact of a behaviour, than forcing them to say a word they may not even mean (sorry).

[@MitchYouCantScratch]

@@nickyrowley7681 When I heard of Christian apologetics I had a completely incorrect understanding of what that was.

[@nickyrowley7681]

@@MitchYouCantScratch that makes sense. I think I probably did too at first. It’s been quite a few years since I was at uni now tho.

[@dovebair]

I liked this video. I also really appreciate your humble honesty when you ran into words that you use in a “competing definition” way. Your kind approach and humorous takes make your videos very fun to watch!

[@abonynge]

Of all the things in this video, pasting without formatting is the most useful thing I learned. You just saved me hours of my life, I never even thought to check if there would be a shortcut for this.

[@aprillen]

Hard same

[@tahlulabang]

As a person with Asperger's syndrome, thank you I tend to take things very literally.

[@fibanocci314]

I imagine that's very difficult with people using language so imprecisely

[@sharroon7574]

​@edwardfanboy😂😂😂😂

[@adrianandrews2254]

What other way is there ?

[@scottcartwright1718]

Thank you for this --- excellently presented --- I think your observation that "This word's meaning has been muddled so _I shouldn't use it_ " really gets to the heart of it. I am a fan of language evolving, but my concern comes when we lose words: when jealousy and envy meant two distinct things, but now mean the same; when fewer and less gave information about what was being compared, but now they don't. So we lose jealousy and we lose fewer; they're dissolved as distinct concepts and become merely synonyms for envy and less. The way you showed this word loss happening --- "I can't use 'bemused' any more" --- was really helpful and insightful.

[@Jaccayumitty]

I'd agree about jealousy and envy. But although I do know the difference between less and fewer and I use them accordingly, I recognise that the reason the distinction is being lost is that it was never very useful: because the rest of the sentence always tells you which of less or fewer is correct, using one rather than the other adds no meaning - unless you can think of a counter example?

[@ManateeTail123]

I’m thankful for my conservative old-timey English books, because I have been learning the proper usage of these words in school.

[@Ed_McArdle]

I always thought "decimate" suffered from the same ambiguity that the phrase "bi-weekly" does - it could mean to reduce by a tenth, or to reduce TO a tenth.

[@mattermat1925]

Either of those would be OK as they capture the idea of a change in number, related to the number 10. A big difference in magnitude of course, but the same concept. It's when decimate is used simply as a fancier version of devastate that it becomes annoying and illogical.

[@notwithouttext]

@@mattermat1925 well we don't use quintessential in any way associated with the number 5 anymore, or trivial with 3, so why can't we use the word decimate separately from 10?

[@notwithouttext]

@@mattermat1925 and unisex and "of one sex" are antonyms rather than synonyms

[@jonrolfson1686]

@@mattermat1925 Indeed. The use of decimate or decimation to indicate loss that is greater or more profound than mere devastation often backfires. It is so obviously inaccurate that it negates serious argument.

[@cantordavid613]

I would suggest that for a word meaning "to reduce TO a tenth", we coin a slightly different word, "decirate"? Perhaps "decivate"? Bi-weekly *should* mean "every two weeks"; "semi-weekly" should be used for "twice a week".

[@TheNubimusic]

"humbled" is the one that annoys me. I hear it used in positive ego inflating situations all the time instead of the opposite. Being greeted by thousands of fans for your birthday isn't humbling, no one showing up is.

[@toferg.8264]

Such things are humbling if you already humbly don’t think you deserve them. And thus, getting them, rubs the humble person’s nose in the fact that he doesn’t deserve them. Because, “now” in such a situation, he can’t help but think of these things he doesn’t deserve.

[@grizzlygrizzle]

A lot of virtue-signalling these days results in unwitting irony. People pretending to be humble are a case of this.

[@Candlemancer]

​@@grizzlygrizzle certain people literally bragging about how humble they are comes to mind...

[@viviennehayes2856]

@@Candlemancer Uriah Heep !

[@ianbeddowes5362]

If someone gives you an accolade, you are honoured, not 'humbled.'

[@joekappes8648]

Iconic. The most overused. And incorrectly used word on the internet.

[@Serai3]

Change one letter and you've got the other one.

[@generallyuninterested4956]

I JUST left a comment about the word UNIRONIC. Both of those words have to go.

[@alanstrang277]

Yes, I often cringe when I hear ‘iconic’ used to mean the best of something. It even gets used to describe unique (in the proper sense!) events. How can something unusual be an icon? Pretty soon ‘iconography’ will mean stuff I like to draw!!

[@idjles]

i think "loose" being used instead of "lose" is far more prevalent

[@bobg982]

And don't forget diva. Nowadays, almost any pop music female singer is at risk of being so labelled.