1. Is it good if a vacuum really sucks?
2. Why is the third hand on a watch called the second hand?
3. If a word is misspelled in the dictionary, how would we ever know?
4. If Webster wrote the first dictionary, where did he find the words?
5. Why do we say something is out of whack? What is a whack?
6. Why does "slow down" and "slow up" mean the same thing?
7. Why does "fat chance" and "slim chance" mean the same thing?
8. Why do "tug" boats push their barges?
9. Why do we sing "Take me out to the ball game" when we are already there?
10. Why are they called "stands" when they are made for sitting?
11. Why is it called "after dark" when it is really "after light"?
12. Doesn't "expecting the unexpected" make the unexpected expected?
13. Why are a "wise man" and a "wise guy" opposites?
14. Why do "overlook" and "oversee" mean opposite things?
My friends, I'm giving you only half the list of oxymorons, because I think it's probably all your brains can handle at one time. :-D
Don't blame me. Blame Doug.
Dr Johnson's Dictionary was first published in 1755. So I guess Mr Webster got his words from the Brits - 73 years later.
ReplyDeleteWhat you've done with them since is another matter altogether. On this side of the pond 'overlook' and 'oversee' are quite separate. Even our oxymorons diverge. And, FWIW, 'whack' is kilter.
And, while we're on topic, why do flammable and inflammable mean the same?
Webster may have done a bit of plagiarizing, but where did Dr J get his words? And how DOES one know about misspelled words in a dictionary?
DeleteI've given the "tugboat" label quite a lot of thought. Each time I see a tugboat pushing barges up or down the river I experience a moment of cognitive dissonance.
Over here, "whack" usually means a blow, but one deduces the kilter meaning from its context.
I've given flammable and inflammable quite a lot of thought, too, and it seems one of them could go, preferably inflammable.