[A.B.Yaffle]

I heard a bit of the phone-in show on Hallam FM in the car tonight, and the presenter was winding a caller up for calling the show wicked when he meant it was good.

The word "wicked" used to refer to something evil, but for ages people have been using it to refer to something nice.

The latest reversed-word I have heard is when kids see something really nice and say "Wow that is so sick!"

Who decides which words to reverse the meaning of, and where does it come from?

[xafier]

skater and surf dudes do it I think... then again, half they're sayings make no sense lol...

[GazB]

Personally, I find the word "dark" pretty pointless when describing something good.. Same if you called it "bright" (this hasn't been used yet.. but would make more sense when describing something as being good!)

"Ya' man, 'nuff bright."

Other words that, apparently, mean good:

Wicked, Bad, Terrible (really, it does), sick, sound.. Anymore for anymore?

What next? Er.. I think they've all been used up

[Ned Ludd]

Originally posted by Patchy
Who decides which words to reverse the meaning of, and where does it come from?

Dunno but it hardly takes a genius does it. These people aren't inventive enough to come up with new words any more than modern songwriters can write new quality pop songs.
How did the modern use of "gay" come about, I wonder?

Politicians are very good at reversing meaning as in:
"..........presents a real and current threat"
"......can be activated and deployed in 45 minutes"
"....anti-Iraqi forces....."

[A.B.Yaffle]

Originally posted by Ned Ludd

How did the modern use of "gay" come about, I wonder?

Which modern use are you refering to? The word gay has at least 3 meanings now. Happy and gay, gay as in a sexual orientation, and now people use it to mean something rubbish ie "that song is so gay!"

[Snook]

It's just a part of language, the meaning of words change and they always have. It's just a natural progression, and nobody really instigates it.

Somd of the words that have changed meaning over the years...

Counterfeit - Once meant a legitimate copy.
Brave - Once implied cowardice (Just as bravado still does).
Crafty - Was a word of praise.
Enthusiasm - Was once a term of mild abuse.
Garble - Meant to sort out.
Harlot - Was a boy.
Girl - In Chaucer's day meant any young person.
Manufacture - Means to produce something by hand.
Notorius - Simply meant Famous.
Enormity - Means wickedness or evil.

[slimsid2000]

Originally posted by Ned Ludd
Dunno but it hardly takes a genius does it. These people aren't inventive enough to come up with new words any more than modern songwriters can write new quality pop songs.
How did the modern use of "gay" come about, I wonder?

Politicians are very good at reversing meaning as in:
"..........presents a real and current threat"
"......can be activated and deployed in 45 minutes"
"....anti-Iraqi forces....."

Interesting point about politicians. Presumably George Galloway was being ironic all along and not brown-nosing Saddam at all.

[Killian]

Originally posted by Patchy
Which modern use are you refering to? The word gay has at least 3 meanings now. Happy and gay, gay as in a sexual orientation, and now people use it to mean something rubbish ie "that song is so gay!"

yes, all the kids at school here use 'gay' to mean 'rubbish'. Not sure what they use instead of 'gay' as in 'homosexual'. Perhaps it's best not to know.

[Abdul]

Originally posted by slimsid2000
Interesting point about politicians. Presumably George Galloway was being ironic all along and not brown-nosing Saddam at all.

Didn't we discuss this several months ago?

George Galloway said he was praising the Iraqi people, not Saddam (yes, there is a difference).

Funny how these things slip your mind, eh Sid?

If you're looking for a politician who supported Saddam, look to your heroine Thatcher and her cronies. They were so keen to supply the Iraqi dictator with weapons, that David Mellor went to visit Saddam while he was busy gassing thousands of Kurds.

Once again, it's funny how these things slip your mind.

I'm sure the bus drivers on the Forum are quaking in their boots, now you've returned from your self-imposed exile

Anyway, back to the point of the thread:

In 'street' culture, bad means good, and rude is actually a sort of compliment. I think it means cool.

And if someone calls you phat (pronounced fat) don't put down that cream bun; it too is a compliment.

[evildrneil]

The one that annoys me most is the use of the word litterally to mean something similar!

[Snook]

Originally posted by slimsid2000
Interesting point about politicians. Presumably George Galloway was being ironic all along and not brown-nosing Saddam at all.

Talking of words that have changed, the original meaning of politician was someone who was sinister.... well, maybe it's not changed THAT much.

[Abdul]

Originally posted by evildrneil
The one that annoys me most is the use of the word litterally to mean something similar!

I hold my hand up to that!

It was a while before I realised literally meant exactly / absolutely.

I should use my thesaurus more

[jgharston]

Forge - to create something, now implies creating a fake.
Gay as in homosexual is at least 250 years old.
Politician has never meant anything to do with sinister, it means one (a person) of the city (the polis).

--
JGH

[evildrneil]

Originally posted by Abdul
I hold my hand up to that!

It was a while before I realised literally meant exactly / absolutely.

I should use my thesaurus more

Oooooh that makes me literally boil with rage!!!

Ooooops *hangs head in word abuse shame*!!!

[miniminch]

Beast! Kids say it to mean Great!!

[slimsid2000]

Originally posted by Abdul
Didn't we discuss this several months ago?

George Galloway said he was praising the Iraqi people, not Saddam (yes, there is a difference).

Funny how these things slip your mind, eh Sid?

If you're looking for a politician who supported Saddam, look to your heroine Thatcher and her cronies. They were so keen to supply the Iraqi dictator with weapons, that David Mellor went to visit Saddam while he was busy gassing thousands of Kurds.

Once again, it's funny how these things slip your mind.

I'm sure the bus drivers on the Forum are quaking in their boots, now you've returned from your self-imposed exile

Anyway, back to the point of the thread:

In 'street' culture, bad means good, and rude is actually a sort of compliment. I think it means cool.

And if someone calls you phat (pronounced fat) don't put down that cream bun; it too is a compliment.

Well yes George Galloway did calim that afterwards. I suppose we can all make our own judgements about how convincing his explanation was. It does seem odd to give him the benefit of the doubt but not give Blair etc the same benefit as regards claqims about WMDs.

Good to see you are still on top form Abdul

[smedley]

Originally posted by jgharston
Forge - to create something, now implies creating a fake.

I think forge is still used widely in both ways. For instance if i was to forge a lead in a race, I wouldn't be faking it.

(actually, on reflection I probably would be faking it, as I am too lazy to race anywhere)

[Kermit]

Originally posted by Snook
It's just a part of language, the meaning of words change and they always have. It's just a natural progression, and nobody really instigates it.

Somd of the words that have changed meaning over the years...

Counterfeit - Once meant a legitimate copy.
Brave - Once implied cowardice (Just as bravado still does).
Crafty - Was a word of praise.
Enthusiasm - Was once a term of mild abuse.
Garble - Meant to sort out.
Harlot - Was a boy.
Girl - In Chaucer's day meant any young person.
Manufacture - Means to produce something by hand.
Notorius - Simply meant Famous.
Enormity - Means wickedness or evil.

Slave referred to the enslaved Slavs. Starting off as 'noble', its ****-taking use by their conquerors led to its current meaning.

IDIOT originally meant someone who did not work in public office. The connotation from this that they didn't work in public because of incompetence.