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Boy do I feel stupid....

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Originally posted by: KeithTalent
Originally posted by: Farang
Originally posted by: KeithTalent
I taught my gf the words "defecate" and "cadaver" the other day. She's 28 as well and didn't know either of those words.

KT
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I'm interested to know the context of your teaching her this.. kinky
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Two separate instances within a 48 hour period. She taught me the term "front buns" the next day, which I had never heard before.

KT
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Come on now, don't hold out. I haven't heard the term, either.
 
I taught my old roommate a bunch of words. I think the best one was sub-woofer. She wasn't the brightest. In fact I would say she is the most blonde and white brunette Mexican I know.
 
Originally posted by: cKGunslinger
Originally posted by: tefleming
Originally posted by: Madwand1
Originally posted by: SirChadwick
Have any of you gone through most of your life thinking you knew what a word meant only to find out you didn't?
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Almost everyone has several words they think they understand the proper meaning of, but get wrong, sometimes exactly wrong. The problem is that with most of these words, we don't that we got it wrong unless we're alert to some contradiction which gets us to look it up or are told about another meaning.

E.g. "Literally". Many people, including I, once thought that it meant the opposite of what it does, based on conjecture from context.
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My favorite commonly mis-used word is peruse

hint: it doesn't mean skim.
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hint: It can

from your own link:

"to look over or through in a casual or cursory manner"

"to read in a casual or leisurely way"

Synonyms: "glance over, scan, skim;"
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:thumbsup:
 
Originally posted by: cKGunslinger
Originally posted by: tefleming
Originally posted by: Madwand1
Originally posted by: SirChadwick
Have any of you gone through most of your life thinking you knew what a word meant only to find out you didn't?
Click to expand...

Almost everyone has several words they think they understand the proper meaning of, but get wrong, sometimes exactly wrong. The problem is that with most of these words, we don't that we got it wrong unless we're alert to some contradiction which gets us to look it up or are told about another meaning.

E.g. "Literally". Many people, including I, once thought that it meant the opposite of what it does, based on conjecture from context.
Click to expand...

My favorite commonly mis-used word is peruse

hint: it doesn't mean skim.
Click to expand...

hint: It can

from your own link:

"to look over or through in a casual or cursory manner"

"to read in a casual or leisurely way"

Synonyms: "glance over, scan, skim;"
Click to expand...

It can. I guess my teachers were the commentators:

"Peruse" has long been a literary word, used by such famous authors as Shakespeare, Tennyson, and Thomas Hardy, and it tends to have a literary flavor even in our time. "Peruse" can suggest paying close attention to something, but it can also simply mean "to read." The "read" sense, which is not especially new and was in fact included in Samuel Johnson's 1755 dictionary, has drawn some criticism over the years for being too broad. Some commentators have recommended that "peruse" be reserved for reading with great care and attention to detail. But the fact remains that "peruse" is often used in situations where a simple "read" definition could be easily substituted. It may suggest either an attentive read or a quick scan.
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i thought "spitting image" was actually pronounced and spelled "splitting image".

i even explained to myself that this is reasonable , you're splitting a person in two so they look alike (like a clone).

my friend in college looked at me like wtf when i used it a couple times.
 
Originally posted by: slsmnaz
Originally posted by: SirChadwick
Originally posted by: RKS
Originally posted by: SirChadwick
Maybe it's because I'm an only child.

My wife and I got into an argument and she told me I didn't understand because I don't have any siblings like her! I laughed and said WTF ever - my Mom is 3 hrs away. She looked at me completely dumbfounded and said SIBLINGS are your brothers or sisters and you have none! I guess I never took the time to look it up until today. Wow... did I really just go half of my life not knowing this? LOL.

Have any of you gone through most of your life thinking you knew what a word meant only to find out you didn't?
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Are you from WV or KY; that could be a true statement.
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Nope, good ol' GEEEORGIIIA. That help? ATL though.
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GA is pretty much the same thing (cue Deliverance banjo)
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Being from Atlanta makes you a Yankee. We don't take kindly to those Atlanta Yankee bastards!

 
I used a staple remover backwards for many years.
They work much better when you use them the correct way.

I updated the wikipedia entry to benefit other idiots like me.
 
You know that italian ham stuff prosciutto?

The first bar I worked at had a prosciutto salad, and for at least 6-7 months working there I called it the "pro-si-cute-o" salad, to multiple guests on various occasions.

Funny thing is, one of the illegals working in the kitchen called me out on my poor pronunciation.

It's actually "pro-SHUTE-o"
 
Originally posted by: RKS
Originally posted by: SirChadwick
Maybe it's because I'm an only child.

My wife and I got into an argument and she told me I didn't understand because I don't have any siblings like her! I laughed and said WTF ever - my Mom is 3 hrs away. She looked at me completely dumbfounded and said SIBLINGS are your brothers or sisters and you have none! I guess I never took the time to look it up until today. Wow... did I really just go half of my life not knowing this? LOL.

Have any of you gone through most of your life thinking you knew what a word meant only to find out you didn't?
Click to expand...

Are you from WV or KY? That could be a true statement.
Click to expand...

:laugh:

:beer:
 
its pangs. no, its pains. youre a pain.

thats one of my fave commercials right now, my kids thought the guy saying pains was right.
 
Originally posted by: SirChadwick
Maybe it's because I'm an only child.

My wife and I got into an argument and she told me I didn't understand because I don't have any siblings like her! I laughed and said WTF ever - my Mom is 3 hrs away. She looked at me completely dumbfounded and said SIBLINGS are your brothers or sisters and you have none! I guess I never took the time to look it up until today. Wow... did I really just go half of my life not knowing this? LOL.

Have any of you gone through most of your life thinking you knew what a word meant only to find out you didn't?
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what do you mean half your life? wouldn't it be all of your life up until now?
 
Originally posted by: keird
Yeah. For instance, I kept pronouncing moot as mute. I just didn't know.
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You just blew my mind. I have a bunch of coworkers who say "mute point" all the time. I always figured they didn't know the word moot. Now it may just be matter of pronunciation and I wasn't giving them enough credit all along.

Hm.
 
Originally posted by: CRXican
this thread makes me feel smart

::edit::

If you want to feel really smart look up defenestrate
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To forcibly eject through a window.

I didn't need to look it up. 😀😛
 
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