# A bad case of palimpsest - words that mean the wrong thing. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 22, 2020, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bad-case-of-palimpsest-words-that-mean-the-wrong-thing/854312 "2020-05-22T20:05:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bad-case-of-palimpsest-words-that-mean-the-wrong-thing/854312/1 "2020-05-22T20:05:18Z")
You know what I mean? There are certain words that just have no business meaning what they actually mean. OK, let me explain. For some reason I was musing on the word **pulchritudinous**. Now, whoever came up with that word clearly meant for it to be used to convey _“Angry and looking for trouble”_ or _“Spoiling for a fight”_. But then something went horribly wrong at Team English Language headquarters. An intern on their first morning on the job made a disastrous clerical error, which led to it being defined as “Beautiful”. _What??_ Oh, come on – that should have been picked up and corrected by a line manager – but no, it wasn’t. It still means beautiful. There are others. **Palimpsest** – as in the title – is the sort of rash in the moist nether regions that you absolutely wouldn’t want to get – except it isn’t. A [palimpsest](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palimpsest) is > [@](#): > > ……a manuscript page, either from a scroll or a book, from which the text has been scraped or washed off so that the page can be reused for another document. Again, it’s a word that clearly means the wrong thing. There must be many more examples out there, and I would like to be introduced to them. I need you to tell me what these words _ought_ to mean, and what they _actually_ mean; and if you wish, an example of how the word should be used, like: _That’s Davey over there, watch out for him - if he’s had a couple of drinks he can be a proper pulchritudinous bastard._ See what I mean – that just sounds _right_. What have you got? j PS: examples from other languages also welcome! ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bad-case-of-palimpsest-words-that-mean-the-wrong-thing/854312/2 "2020-05-22T20:28:36Z")
OP is off his rocker. Palimpsest is clearly an ornate pillow. A credenza is some sort of creeping vine plant. Meretricious should mean malevolently cunning. A virago is someone who busts in like a whirlwind and then disappears as quickly as they arrive having made a mess of everything. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bad-case-of-palimpsest-words-that-mean-the-wrong-thing/854312/3 "2020-05-22T20:42:48Z")
‘Copacetic’ - a word I first encountered right here on this board - should clearly be a technical term in psychology for some sort of personality disorder. _I see from your history that you’ve been suffering from bipolar disorder with copacetic tendencies._ ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bad-case-of-palimpsest-words-that-mean-the-wrong-thing/854312/4 "2020-05-22T20:44:13Z")
… ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bad-case-of-palimpsest-words-that-mean-the-wrong-thing/854312/5 "2020-05-22T20:58:20Z")
Some of us who took Latin in high school knew all along that “pulchra” means beautiful, sooooo… ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bad-case-of-palimpsest-words-that-mean-the-wrong-thing/854312/6 "2020-05-22T21:11:12Z")
Hey, I didn’t know that that palimp was my second cousin. ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bad-case-of-palimpsest-words-that-mean-the-wrong-thing/854312/7 "2020-05-22T21:27:30Z")
What a load of crepuscular nonsense! The OP may be interested in Douglas Adams’s [the _Hitchhiker’s Guide_ guy] little but well-loved book, _The Meaning of Liff_, which aims to pair essential concepts describing modern life with otherwise wasted place-names, just sitting around on signposts doing nothing, e.g. “SLIGO (n.) An unnamed and exotic sexual act which people like to believe that famous films stars get up to in private. ‘To commit sligo.’” or “GRIMMET (n.) A small bush from which cartoon characters dangle over the edge of a cliff.” Unputdownable. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bad-case-of-palimpsest-words-that-mean-the-wrong-thing/854312/8 "2020-05-22T21:47:01Z")
I dunno, something that’s scraped off isn’t all that far separated from crotch rot. Palimpsest is fine. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bad-case-of-palimpsest-words-that-mean-the-wrong-thing/854312/9 "2020-05-22T21:53:03Z")
Palimpsest is the title of an oddball L&O: Criminal Intent episode. I’ve never heard it used other than that, so that’s what it means to me. A made up word. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bad-case-of-palimpsest-words-that-mean-the-wrong-thing/854312/10 "2020-05-22T22:16:08Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Palimpsest is the title of an oddball L&O: Criminal Intent episode. I’ve never heard it used other than that, so that’s what it means to me. A made up word. 🙂 It is also [one of my favorite time travel stories](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palimpsest_(novella)) and [a fantasy novel that I haven’t read](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palimpsest_(novel)). ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bad-case-of-palimpsest-words-that-mean-the-wrong-thing/854312/11 "2020-05-22T22:22:20Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Some of us who took Latin in high school knew all along that “pulchra” means beautiful, sooooo… So “sepulchral” means…? ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bad-case-of-palimpsest-words-that-mean-the-wrong-thing/854312/12 "2020-05-22T22:25:30Z")
“Anorexia” is a simply lovely name for a young woman (complete with built-in charming nicknames Ana, Rexy, and Sia). No idea how such a delightful word got tied up with an eating disorder. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bad-case-of-palimpsest-words-that-mean-the-wrong-thing/854312/13 "2020-05-22T22:46:34Z")
This is not a cromulent thread. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bad-case-of-palimpsest-words-that-mean-the-wrong-thing/854312/14 "2020-05-22T23:12:15Z")
I was the biggest valetudinarian of my school. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bad-case-of-palimpsest-words-that-mean-the-wrong-thing/854312/15 "2020-05-22T23:16:39Z")
Niggardly. Although I would keep its meaning as is. > [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Some of us who took Latin in high school knew all along that “pulchra” means beautiful, sooooo… > [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > So “sepulchral” means…? Must have to do with necrophilia, best I can figure. ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bad-case-of-palimpsest-words-that-mean-the-wrong-thing/854312/16 "2020-05-22T23:57:28Z")
Vichyssoise-swordplay or other form of attack that is cruel and devoid of humanity. “The evil knight, not above heinous acts of vichyssoise, attacked his noble, unarmed foe when his back was turned…then stole his soup coldly.” Props to some of “four bears” John Lennon (A Spanner in the Works, In His Own Write) Lewis Carroll (Jabberwocky) And of course, Norm Crosby. And this gem from Don McLean [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/SBsC8uQ-tgs/hqdefault.jpg "On The Amazon - Don McLean") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBsC8uQ-tgs) All the stalactites and vicious vertebrae Hunt the stalagmites while laryngitis slay All that parasites that come from Paraguay in the spring ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2020, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bad-case-of-palimpsest-words-that-mean-the-wrong-thing/854312/17 "2020-05-23T00:38:18Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Palimpsest is the title of an oddball L&O: Criminal Intent episode. I’ve never heard it used other than that, so that’s what it means to me. A made up word. 🙂 In a strange coincidence, two different science fiction authors independently used _Palimpsest_ as the title of a work in 2009; Charles Stross, for a [novella](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palimpsest_(novella)) and Catherynne Valente, for a [novel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palimpsest_(novel)). ---
**Author:** ![Civil\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d78d45/32.png) [@Civil\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Civil_Guy)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2020, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bad-case-of-palimpsest-words-that-mean-the-wrong-thing/854312/18 "2020-05-23T02:33:36Z")
_Esprit d’escalier_ is a high end cologne, and _Treppenwitz_ is a quaint village in Austria, right? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2020, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bad-case-of-palimpsest-words-that-mean-the-wrong-thing/854312/19 "2020-05-23T02:37:54Z")
_Drosophila_ is obviously the name of the evil sorceress who put the Prince under a terrible curse, and _Melanogaster_ is the wise old wizard who was eventually able (with the help of brave heroes) to break the curse. No way either is a tiny speck of an insect. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2020, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bad-case-of-palimpsest-words-that-mean-the-wrong-thing/854312/20 "2020-05-23T02:37:39Z")
_Drosophila_ is obviously the name of the evil sorceress who put the Prince under a terrible curse, and _Melanogaster_ is the wise old wizard who was eventually able (with the help of brave heroes) to break the curse. No way either is a tiny speck of an insect. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bad-case-of-palimpsest-words-that-mean-the-wrong-thing/854312.md?page=2)