“neologism”: not a neologism

Published
by
Alfina the Vague
on December 14, 2007
in Grammar and Neologisms
.

You know what I hate? Fake neologisms. You know, when someone uses a word they haven’t used before, and they think they have made it up, so to preempt any comments, they say something like “yes, I know that isn’t a word”? Only it really is a word and they are too ignorant to know that and/or to arrogant to look it up in the dictionary? That thing? I hate that.

10 Responses to ““neologism”: not a neologism”

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  1. 1 Timothy
    December 14, 2007 at 10:26 pm

    For example?

  2. 2 Alfina the Vague
    December 15, 2007 at 12:25 am

    Oh, the one in question was “assistive.” Granted it was only first sighted in 1947 but still. She did not make it up. Cavalierly, though, in the preceding sentence, this person was all “cul de sacs,” which, just, NO.

    For the records: CULS de sac. Asses of sack. Not ass of sacks.

    And this is why I posted this post instead of saying anything. I do not come off well when I climb up on this high a horse.

  3. 3 John
    December 15, 2007 at 1:51 am

    “Cul de sacs”. C’est rigolo, quoi.

    In this context, “cul” translates to “bottom”, as in “bottom of a bag” - the shape of the street that takes this name.

    Where it does mean “ass” is in this expression: “trou de cul”.

    As in: “Je suis un vrai trou de cul d’avoir ?t? si p?dant.”

  4. 4 Alfina the Vague
    December 15, 2007 at 1:56 am

    Yes, yes, but the ass of the sack is the same as the bottom of the sack. It is the butt of the sack, the backside of the sack, the bottom of the sack, the booty of the sack. All the same. Except, of course, the sack of booty, which is always preferable!

  5. 5 Alfina the Vague
    December 15, 2007 at 1:58 am

    PS I have a sack of booty myself right now, as have just come home from a surprise birthday party with surprise gifts! The party was held on a cul de sac, even. See how it all comes together? Synchronicity in Sackville!

  6. 6 John
    December 15, 2007 at 4:19 am

    Oh, happy birthday then! What better birthday gift exists than a sack of booty! And a surprise sack of booty, at that!

  7. 7 Alexis
    December 16, 2007 at 3:27 am

    Okay. Call me brave, call me foolish, but I’m going to attempt to neologise right now. This one’s been in the cauldron for a couple of years and herewith its first outing in print: “dactyloglyphology”, the study of signet rings. Tell me I didn’t make that one up, and I will send you my firstborn offsprung as a sacrificial offering. Alternatively, please use liberally. I’m trying to get it incorporated into day-to-day conversation.

  8. 8 Timothy
    December 16, 2007 at 10:09 pm

    Assistive? She thought she’d invented that? How quaint. The pluralization that gets me, though, is “Court Martials”. It’s “Courts Martial” dammit!

  9. 9 Oedipa
    December 17, 2007 at 11:28 pm

    Like Oedipa-o-rific? Or Oediphilia? Or Oedipagraphic? Or the Oedipa Complex? Fuck if I know what those mean. One of two might or might not be real. But they sound cool as fuck yeah?

    Anyway, aside from my above (drunkenly presented while drinking loads of scotch) examples, I think those who whimsically offer fake neologisms should be punished in the most interesting ways possible.

    So that makes me first in line, yeah? ;)

    Did anything I just wrote make sense?

    Ah well…. it’s the holidaze.

  10. 10 clarabella
    December 18, 2007 at 5:08 pm

    my favorite is point of views. or mother-in-laws.

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