It's ironic that I'm bemused and literally nonplussed by the enormity of the plethora of the words on this list. Wait - was that redundant or just noisome?
10 Commonly Misunderstood English Words.
(via BuzzFeed, CafeTerra)
Monday, 13 June 2011
10 Commonly Misunderstood English Words
It's ironic that I'm bemused and literally nonplussed by the enormity of the plethora of the words on this list. Wait - was that redundant or just noisome?
10 Commonly Misunderstood English Words.
(via BuzzFeed, CafeTerra)
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5 comment(s):
The ironic term is funny. I remember a blogger criticizing Alanis Morisette's song "Ironic" because she supposedly didn't understand what ironic meant. I posted the actual dictionary definition of irony, which was pretty much what she described in her song, getting something when one expected--or even planned for--the opposite. Most people define it in terms of literary or dramatic irony, when what happens is unexpected, but makes some sort of poetic sense, given a character's choices.
I get mildly annoyed when people misuse the words "jealous" (when they really mean to say "envious") and "peruse" (which means the opposite of what they think it means!).
Now maybe it's just a matter of national charecteristics or maybe it's the circles in which I move. Either way I don't know anybody who thinks those words mean what the list says we think. IOW that one's a F minus!
@Shakespeare - so you're saying that rain on your wedding day would be ironic? Bear in mind that the OED (the only source that counts) defines the adjective ironic as "happening in a way contrary to what is expected, and typically causing wry amusement because of this". There's nothing amusing about rain on your wedding day - wry or otherwise.
@Ima - the OED (again, it's the only source that matters) defines jealous as "feeling or showing an envious resentment of someone or their achievements, possessions, or perceived advantages". It is perfectly reasonable to use the words envious and jealous interchangably. So what was your point?
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