> The Indo-European root BHLEG meant 'to shine, burn', obviously associating
flames with light, as in the word 'flagrant' from Latin 'flagrare' (to blaze,
probably with black smoke). By a metonymic link, there was also the suggestion
of what was burnt, therefore black. It is no surprise that as a result we have
the English word 'black', which is etymologically linked with 'flagrare', being
similar to the French 'blanche' (white), our 'blank' and the verb 'blanch' (to
whiten, grow pale). The Old Norse word 'blakkr' meant a white horse.
It seems likely that metonymic links like this became established because
opposites suggest each other, plus the fact of its being common that simple
mistakes were made -- as that made by the child looking over a cliff and
saying "It's high down there."
The word 'down' itself is another example, meaning, in southeastern England,
a hill (the North Downs, the South Downs, Tolkien's 'Barrow Downs').
Edmond
Dr. Edmond Wright
3 Boathouse Court
Trafalgar Road
Cambridge
CB4 1DU
England
Email: [log in to unmask]
Website: http://people.pwf.cam.ac.uk/elw33/
Phone [00 44] (0)1223 350256
Mellowdrama struck me initially as a potential eggcorn
> (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/), but I googled it and it looks like the vast
> majority of hits have to do with a band or a theatre group. I didn't see any
> naive uses in the five pages of hits that I checked. The girl's use that you
> mention may indicate that it is a potential eggcorn, but not one that's very
> widespread yet.
>
> Herb
>
> Herbert F. W. Stahlke, Ph.D.
> Emeritus Professor of English
> Ball State University
> Muncie, IN 47306
> [log in to unmask]
> ________________________________________
> From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar [[log in to unmask]]
> On Behalf Of Susan van Druten [[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: December 8, 2009 8:57 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Words that are their own opposites
>
> "Sick" fits with the slang terms.
>
> And just this morning I heard a girl ask her friend if "mellowdrama"
> meant it was a laid back performance. I laughed back to my
> classroom--never having thought of that word that way.
>
>
>
> On Dec 8, 2009, at 2:31 PM, Larry Beason wrote:
>
>> I wonder how many slang terms fit into this category, such as the
>> use of
>> "bad" to mean something that is essentially commendable. Or the
>> use of
>> "bomb" to mean something that fails ("That movie bombed") or something
>> that is good ("She's the bomb.") I have a feeling such
>> reformations of
>> 'bad words' reflect the sort of shock value and group-bonding that we
>> often find in slang.
>>
>> 'Bale' might fit this category too: 1. To gather together ("We baled
>> hay"). 2. To leave ("Halfway through the party, we baled.")
>>
>> Larry
>>
>> ____________________________
>> Larry Beason, Associate Professor
>> Director of Composition
>> University of South Alabama
>> Mobile, AL 36688-0002
>> Office: 251-460-7861
>> FAX: 251-461-1517
>>
>>
>>>>> Dick Veit <[log in to unmask]> 12/8/2009 1:01 PM >>>
>> On a less weighty note, my colleague Todd Berliner has been collecting
>> words
>> with seemingly contradictory definitions. I've copied his list below.
>> Can
>> anyone supply further examples?
>>
>> *Words That Are Their Own Opposites*
>>
>> *oversight*
>> 1. Watchful care or management; supervision.
>> 2. a failure to notice something. An unintentional omission or
>> mistake. an error
>> "Because there was no oversight there was an oversight."
>>
>> *presently*
>> 1. In a short time; soon
>> 2. At this time or period; now
>> "He will do it presently, because he can't do it presently."
>>
>> *cull*
>> 1. To gather; collect
>> 2. To remove rejected members or parts from
>> "We culled the chickens so that they would not be culled"
>>
>> *traffic*
>> 1. passage
>> 2. stoppage
>> "Because there was so much traffic there was no traffic"
>>
>> *fearsome*
>> 1. Causing or capable of causing fear
>> 2. Fearful; timid.
>> "Because we weren't fearsome enough, we were fearsome"
>>
>> *temper*
>> 1. a tendency to become angry or out of control
>> 2. Calmness of mind or emotions; composure
>> "He had a temper because he often lost his temper"
>>
>> *let*
>> 1. to not prevent or hinder
>> 2. to hinder (as in tennis ła let˛)
>> "Let him go to the movies; don't let him from going"
>>
>> *bolt*
>> 1. affix, attach, connect
>> 2. to flee
>> "They bolted because they weren't bolted."
>>
>> *terrific*
>> 1. Very bad or unpleasant; frightful: a terrific headache
>> 2. Very good or fine; splendid: a terrific tennis player
>> "It was a terrific experience because there was nothing terrific about
>> it."
>>
>> *cleave*
>> 1. to join together
>> 2. to break apart
>> "We cleaved them so tightly that no one could cleave them."
>>
>> I can think of an addition to Todd's list:
>>
>> *awful*: 1. Awe-inspiring. 2. Disdain-provoking. "The mystic thought
>> it
>> would be god-awful not to experience God's awful presence in the
>> hereafter."
>>
>>
>> and maybe also:
>>
>> *unlockable: *1. Not lockable. 2. Able to be unlocked. "Before we
>> locked the
>> door, it seemed unlockable; then it seemed unlockable.
>>
>> Any others?
>>
>> Dick Veit
>>
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