Quick would-be trivia question, except for the fact that I don't know the answer. What does the phrase "it was all downhill from there" mean? I think I've heard it used to mean "everything was easy after that" AND "everything went to hell after that." Both make sense, in the sense that going downhill is easier than going uphill and that down is normally bad. Like hell. That's down. And hell is bad.
Maybe it means both, like this word is starting to: http://www.word-detective.com/091400.html#nonplussed
One last fun fact. The word moot, even though it's used to end arguments actually means arguable. So when you're saying "the point is moot" to end a discussion, you're really just saying "the point that we've been arguing about is arguable". You idiot.
(My Spidey-sense is tingling, meaning I might've heard that "moot" thing from someone in EL. If so, mad props to you, EL person!)
Thursday, December 02, 2004
Wordplay
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
7 comments:
Actually, I think moot means "this point is no longer an issue because events have transpired to make it no longer worth talking about." For example: we're deciding what the best color for the living room is. A meteor crashes through our living room and we no longer have a living room. Therefore, arguing what color the living room should be is a "moot" point because it really doesn't matter anymore.
I do however hate it when people declare points to be "mute."
According to Dictionary.com:
Usage Note: The adjective moot is originally a legal term going back to the mid-16th century. It derives from the noun moot, in its sense of a hypothetical case argued as an exercise by law students. Consequently, a moot question is one that is arguable or open to debate. But in the mid-19th century people also began to look at the hypothetical side of moot as its essential meaning, and they started to use the word to mean “of no significance or relevance.” Thus, a moot point, however debatable, is one that has no practical value. A number of critics have objected to this use, but 59 percent of the Usage Panel accepts it in the sentence The nominee himself chastised the White House for failing to do more to support him, but his concerns became moot when a number of Republicans announced that they, too, would oppose the nomination. When using moot one should be sure that the context makes clear which sense is meant."
Stefan said it funnier, though.
At least I was 41% right!
Also, this might help with the "All Downhill From Here" thing:
http://www.songmeanings.net/lyric.php?lid=3530822107858488882
Mute points are fine by me.
They're probably points that, while still important and relevent, suddenly lack the power or capability to be argued any further.
Think of your own example. I'm too tired.
yo, word dorks! here is another one...
Egregious derives from Latin egregius, "separated or chosen from the herd," from e-, ex-, "out of, from" + grex, greg-, "herd, flock."
Trivia: Egregious formerly indicated a good quality (that which was distinguished "from the herd" because of excellence), but now it is used only in a bad sense. It is related to congregate (to "flock together," from con-, "together, with" + gregare, to assemble, from grex); segregate (from segregare, "to separate from the herd," from se-, "apart" + gregare); and gregarious (from gregarius, "belonging to a flock").
yay, dictionary.com!
-- kathy
how about "pitted"
which can mean "having the pits removed"
or, alternatively, "with the pits still in".
and "inflammable" - i love this language...
~marni
Post a Comment