Words which have lost their original meaning and/or significance

Middle-agedClaret · Post by **Middle-agedClaret** » Fri Sep 15, 2017 8:11 pm

I know that language evolves and develops - it has to. I still think that we manage to cheapen the value of our language by over-using and misusing some words. The three best (worst?) examples, IMHO, are:
1. Iconic
2. Hero
3. Celebrity.

These days, their respective definitions appear to be:

1. Has featured in a magazine style supplement
2. Does the job she/he is paid to do diligently and honestly.
3, Has been mentioned in an article in "The Sun"

Just another example of the many things that seem to irritate me. Part of slipping further into grumpy middle age, I guess. Rather like that iconic celebrity, Victor Meldrew - my hero!

Saxoman · Post by **Saxoman** » Fri Sep 15, 2017 8:14 pm

Rock star.

bfccrazy · Post by **bfccrazy** » Fri Sep 15, 2017 8:20 pm

The ones that confuse me are the youth of today using terms such as "sick", "bad", "heavy" and "peng" which all mean something is good apparently.

"Them treads are on fleek" - "those trainers are very fashionable"

The slang of today confuses me no end.

Lancasterclaret · Post by **Lancasterclaret** » Fri Sep 15, 2017 8:20 pm

Facts

Bfcboyo · Post by **Bfcboyo** » Fri Sep 15, 2017 8:21 pm

Oining

Bfcboyo · Post by **Bfcboyo** » Fri Sep 15, 2017 8:22 pm

Dictionary or slang?

ClaretTony · Post by **ClaretTony** » Fri Sep 15, 2017 8:24 pm

Bfcboyo wrote:Oining

Does anyone ever use the verb to oin any more. It oins me to death that I never hear it these days.

summitclaret · Post by **summitclaret** » Fri Sep 15, 2017 8:25 pm

Lakin

Bfcboyo · Post by **Bfcboyo** » Fri Sep 15, 2017 8:26 pm

Agate

Wilsdenclaret · Post by **Wilsdenclaret** » Fri Sep 15, 2017 8:28 pm

Great Britain

Bfcboyo · Post by **Bfcboyo** » Fri Sep 15, 2017 8:32 pm

IT oins me to death tother day he were agate " blank "

wilks_bfc · Post by **wilks_bfc** » Fri Sep 15, 2017 8:32 pm

Gay

I know somebody that told his gran that he was gay and her reply was "ohhh. What you happy about?"

No Ney Never · Post by **No Ney Never** » Fri Sep 15, 2017 8:37 pm

When one of the judges in the voice claims that someone who's sang a song well has 'killed it'.
Once upon a time, when you killed something meant you'd made a right mess of it.

Bfcboyo · Post by **Bfcboyo** » Fri Sep 15, 2017 8:40 pm

Ejaculate
1800's was a term used in literature to express exaggerated speech.

He couldnt help ejaculate 'yes' he cried as she accepted his proposal.

elwaclaret · Post by **elwaclaret** » Fri Sep 15, 2017 8:46 pm

Literally - so often misused its more or less lost all meaning
Sick - is apparently a good thing now
Apparently- itself - used as a filler in every other sentence.

... off the top of my head, these are the 3 that irk me most often

elwaclaret · Post by **elwaclaret** » Fri Sep 15, 2017 8:48 pm

ClaretTony wrote:Does anyone ever use the verb to oin any more. It oins me to death that I never hear it these days.

Still a regular for me. I would say it pops up at least once a day, hardly surprising with two pre-teenage lads in the house, each other, pets their mother...it has so many uses here

elwaclaret · Post by **elwaclaret** » Fri Sep 15, 2017 8:55 pm

having Intercourse - as in talking
Swinger - as in a good dancer

starting_11 · Post by **starting_11** » Fri Sep 15, 2017 9:02 pm

Wilsdenclaret wrote:Great Britain

Why what does it mean now?

Imploding Turtle · Post by **Imploding Turtle** » Fri Sep 15, 2017 9:03 pm

Marriage. Back in the good old days it used to mean a woman you owned.

tybfc · Post by **tybfc** » Fri Sep 15, 2017 9:06 pm

Blackburn Rovers Football Club

starting_11 · Post by **starting_11** » Fri Sep 15, 2017 9:09 pm

Speaking of gay.

My missus mom and dad were out (presumably in the 60s) when they happened across a pub.

They went to go in and the doorman advised them that "it's gay in there"

Her mom said "oh that's alright, we don't mind having a good time!"

Bfcboyo · Post by **Bfcboyo** » Fri Sep 15, 2017 9:20 pm

Pillock . Never really hear it these days yet so many up and coming pillocks.

groove · Post by **groove** » Fri Sep 15, 2017 9:42 pm

Legend. The term given to anyone who is quite well known, usually when they die.

boatshed bill · Post by **boatshed bill** » Fri Sep 15, 2017 9:44 pm

Honestly.

Rowls · Post by **Rowls** » Fri Sep 15, 2017 9:46 pm

elwaclaret wrote:having Intercourse - as in talking

Hmmmmm.

Interesting but I'm not convinced. I always believed that was the difference between having an intercourse and having intercourse.

Would be fascinating to delve further into this.

LeadBelly · Post by **LeadBelly** » Fri Sep 15, 2017 10:14 pm

A quick look at today's tabloids......
Amazing = fairly decent
Incredible = run of the mill
Glamour model= tart with pumped up lips/chest
Hilarious = slightly amusing
Terrifying = slightly worrying
(Temperatures) plummeting = getting a bit colder
Astonishing = slightly surprising
Ample assets= average or slightly bigger chest
Nazi = somebody non-PC
Slams = a bit critical of
etc etc etc

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Fri Sep 15, 2017 10:20 pm

Progressive is the one that get's me every time I hear it - even Dyche has fallen into the trap - especially in the first promotion season - grown up a lot since then though

Dressinggown · Post by **Dressinggown** » Fri Sep 15, 2017 10:56 pm

'Decimated' used to mean to reduce by one tenth.

Nowadays (word ?) it's applied to destroy a great number or proportion of.

My mind has been decimated

Claretforever · Post by **Claretforever** » Fri Sep 15, 2017 10:57 pm

Sick - someone mentioned above, but this is supposed to mean great now, apparently? What? How?

Rowls · Post by **Rowls** » Fri Sep 15, 2017 10:59 pm

Dressinggown wrote:'Decimated' used to mean to reduce by one tenth.

Nowadays (word ?) it's applied to destroy a great number or proportion of.

My mind has been decimated

I was of the belief it originally it meant literally to kill one tenth of a population.

Vino blanco · Post by **Vino blanco** » Fri Sep 15, 2017 11:08 pm

Decimate was originally used to mean the killing, possibly by lot, of every tenth man in an army unit, as a form of punishment.

Bop · Post by **Bop** » Fri Sep 15, 2017 11:24 pm

Smack, dope, whizz, coke

kicker_conspiracy · Post by **kicker_conspiracy** » Sat Sep 16, 2017 5:17 am

'Sick' is a word that cab driver's ears are trained to pick out from a load of nonsense that they are otherwise trying to ignore. Along with 'ill', 'not feeling well' etc.

Passengers would be well advised to use other terminology to avoid being stranded a long walk from home.

thatdberight · Post by **thatdberight** » Sat Sep 16, 2017 5:49 am

Rowls wrote:Hmmmmm.

Interesting but I'm not convinced. I always believed that was the difference between having an intercourse and having intercourse.

Would be fascinating to delve further into this.

Context will make the meaning very clear but "having intercourse" could have multiple meanings. I think "an intercourse" would be wrong as it's a mass noun but I'm not much of an entomologist...

spadesclaret · Post by **spadesclaret** » Sat Sep 16, 2017 7:04 am

thatdberight wrote: but I'm not much of an entomologist...

Brilliant!

OffTheBar · Post by **OffTheBar** » Sat Sep 16, 2017 8:46 am

Disinterested now seems to be the same as uninterested.

And that annoys me.

COYC73 · Post by **COYC73** » Sat Sep 16, 2017 9:05 am

Humanity....Not a lot of it about any more!

Siddo · Post by **Siddo** » Sat Sep 16, 2017 9:17 am

So has now become the opening word in most statements.

ExistentialWanderer · Post by **ExistentialWanderer** » Sat Sep 16, 2017 9:35 am

LeadBelly wrote: Hilarious = slightly amusing

This! I can't remember the last time I watched a comedy or movie that was dubbed 'Hilarious' and found myself actually raising much more than an occasional chuckle at best.

COYC73 · Post by **COYC73** » Sat Sep 16, 2017 9:53 am

ExistentialWanderer wrote:This! I can't remember the last time I watched a comedy or movie that was dubbed 'Hilarious' and found myself actually raising much more than an occasional chuckle at best.

Dumb & Dumber (The 1st one).......That was the last film I watched where I properly laughed! Though I don't tend to watch many comedies these days....

strayclaret · Post by **strayclaret** » Sat Sep 16, 2017 10:52 am

Absolutely, why does everyone say it?. It absolutely does my head in

RalphCoatesComb · Post by **RalphCoatesComb** » Sat Sep 16, 2017 12:09 pm

"Loyalty" - especially in the Football context. Who was the last player at t'Turf to play over 300 games for us? Dobo? Stevenson?

Chobulous · Post by **Chobulous** » Sat Sep 16, 2017 6:39 pm

National Treasure, used to describe anyone who has either been promoted beyond their talent by Simon Cowell or has hung around too long and is wheeled out to occasionally fill out the Jonathan Ross Show

Claretto · Post by **Claretto** » Sat Sep 16, 2017 6:40 pm

Andre

paulus the woodgnome · Post by **paulus the woodgnome** » Sat Sep 16, 2017 6:48 pm

claptrappers_union · Post by **claptrappers_union** » Sat Sep 16, 2017 6:50 pm

Literally - people use the word to describe something in a non-literal sense these days

bfcjg · Post by **bfcjg** » Sat Sep 16, 2017 6:52 pm

Hump once of a day it was carrying a load , now it's shooting one.

bfccrazy · Post by **bfccrazy** » Sat Sep 16, 2017 6:52 pm

Liverpool away .....

Nonayforever · Post by **Nonayforever** » Sat Sep 16, 2017 9:28 pm

Politician - used to be someone who helped to run the country, now its someone who lies whilst keeping a straight face.

FactualFrank · Post by **FactualFrank** » Sat Sep 16, 2017 9:30 pm

Bumfuzzle.

You don't really hear much of it these days.