# Critique this misuse of the word "apropos" **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 15, 2005, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/critique-this-misuse-of-the-word-apropos/294619 "2005-03-15T10:31:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2005, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/critique-this-misuse-of-the-word-apropos/294619/1 "2005-03-15T10:31:02Z")
In some song lyrics I’ve recently been working on, I use the word _apropos_ as if it is perfectly interchangeable with the word _appropriate_. Now this isn’t quite as wrong as using _apropos_ as if it is perfectly interchangeable with the word _halibut_, but still it isn’t quite right. > [@dictionary.com](#): > > **apropos** > _adj_ > Being at once opportune and to the point. See Synonyms at relevant > > _adv_ > 1: At an appropriate time; opportunely. > 2: By the way; incidentally > > - prep \* > With regard to; concerning So, I know it’s not quite right, but lyrically it works very well. It’s a great sounding word, and it gives me the rhyme I need- but it’s still a bit like hammering a square peg into a round hole. I keep going back and forth between thinking “Eh, it’s close enough” and thinking “Ick, **bienville** , that’s horrible- change it!” I’ll be recording the song soon, I don’t want to spend the big money recording and pressing the CD then end up thinking “Gross! I should have changed that lyric!” So, what’s your opinion on my misuse of this word? Is it just horrible, would it really bug you? Or does the lyric quality and necessary rhyme justify it? I’m not looking for suggestions for alternate lyrics. I just want to know whether the current lyric bugs you very much. The current lyric (the context is in wanting to get it on with a total hottie, who we find out is married): **She’s your brand new friend and she’s beautiful Thoughts start running through your head diverting your blood flow You’d love to get her out of those clothes, but There’s a ring on her finger so it wouldn’t be apropos** sometimes I change it to **You’d love to get her out of those clothes, but There’s a ring on her finger so it’s gonna be a no go** The alternate lyric just doesn’t have the quality that the “wrong” lyric has. (Again, I’m not looking for suggestions of alternate lyrics- just an opinion on the use of the word _apropos_) ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/96bed5/32.png) [@Cat\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Jones)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2005, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/critique-this-misuse-of-the-word-apropos/294619/2 "2005-03-15T11:50:31Z")
I had a look at this earlier but didn’t want to jump in as the fisrt person to reply but since no one else has yet here goes … I like it. I think it’s quite clever - a bit Cole Porteresque even. It comes across that you’re almost sharing a joke with the person listening, winking - we both know this is wrong but it sounds like it could be right. In contrast the ‘no go’ version sounds forced. So say I. ---
**Author:** ![Mithril](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mithril/32/3517_2.png) [@Mithril](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mithril)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2005, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/critique-this-misuse-of-the-word-apropos/294619/3 "2005-03-15T14:25:19Z")
I have to disagree with **Cat Jones**. To me, the original lyric sounds like you don’t know what _apropos_ means. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2005, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/critique-this-misuse-of-the-word-apropos/294619/4 "2005-03-15T15:00:44Z")
I agree with **Mithril**. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2005, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/critique-this-misuse-of-the-word-apropos/294619/5 "2005-03-15T15:05:42Z")
Apropos of nothing I’d like to say, "What the?’ ---
**Author:** ![Bites\_When\_Provoked](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bites_when_provoked/32/18073_2.png) [@Bites\_When\_Provoked](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bites_When_Provoked)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2005, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/critique-this-misuse-of-the-word-apropos/294619/6 "2005-03-15T15:06:26Z")
Unfortunately, **Mithril** ’s quite right - it doesn’t fit in that context. I suspect you’re correct in your belief that it’d be something you’d regret post-production whenever you heard it. For the record, I think it’s fantastic when songwriters manage to incorporate unusual words into their lyrics as I think it really adds interest - but it falls flat if it’s used in a way that doesn’t quite gel. I’m sorry it can’t fit there, because it’s an excellent word. Though perhaps my judgment on what constitutes an ‘excellent word’ may be unreliable, as I also thought that ‘halibut’ was a mighty fine word to find in a song when you mentioned that one. Have you considered a thread soliciting people’s favourite words? I’d like to put forward ‘defenestrate’, which I personally think has been overlooked as a potential inclusion in popular lyrics for far too long. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2005, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/critique-this-misuse-of-the-word-apropos/294619/7 "2005-03-15T15:13:43Z")
Sorry – another “no” vote. If you’re going for the Cole Porter vibe, you could try: **…so it wouldn’t be _comme il faut_.** Okay, maybe not. Can you do anything with: Bushido, buffalo, mistletoe, quid pro quo, roccoco, or UFO? ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2005, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/critique-this-misuse-of-the-word-apropos/294619/8 "2005-03-15T15:22:11Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > Sorry – another “no” vote. > > If you’re going for the Cole Porter vibe, you could try: > > **…so it wouldn’t be _comme il faut_.** Very Porteresque. But a song like this shouldn’t try to be Porteresque. _Apropos_ works fine considering the overall vibe of the lyric: straight-ahead, accessible, man-in-the-street. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2005, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/critique-this-misuse-of-the-word-apropos/294619/9 "2005-03-15T15:32:51Z")
> [@Beware of Doug](#): > > Very Porteresque. But a song like this shouldn’t try to be Porteresque. _Apropos_ works fine considering the overall vibe of the lyric: straight-ahead, accessible, man-in-the-street. Yeah. I was making a little joke. But since apropos doesn’t mean what **bienville** wishes it meant, he’s better off not using it. ---
**Author:** ![missbunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/76d3ee/32.png) [@missbunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missbunny)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2005, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/critique-this-misuse-of-the-word-apropos/294619/10 "2005-03-15T16:15:10Z")
I also think it sounds like you don’t know what “apropos” means. I would change the lyric – either the last line or the one it’s supposed to rhyme with. ---
**Author:** ![capybara](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/capybara/32/202_2.png) [@capybara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capybara)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2005, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/critique-this-misuse-of-the-word-apropos/294619/11 "2005-03-15T20:16:54Z")
I also agree with Mithril, et al. I like your alternate lyric more anyway. While the first definitions may exist in the dictionary, the word is almost always used with the last meaning. It is not absolutely synonymous with ‘appropriate.’ ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2005, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/critique-this-misuse-of-the-word-apropos/294619/12 "2005-03-15T20:40:15Z")
Change “it wouldn’t be apropos” to “you gotta think no no no” or “that’s somewhere you shouldn’t (_or_ dare not) go.” ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2005, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/critique-this-misuse-of-the-word-apropos/294619/13 "2005-03-16T02:13:35Z")
> [@Bites When Provoked](#): > > For the record, I think it’s fantastic when songwriters manage to incorporate unusual words into their lyrics as I think it really adds interest - but it falls flat if it’s used in a way that doesn’t quite gel. Isn’t it ironic? 😉 Thanks folks, Overwhelming opinion seems to be against it. Really just confirming what I felt deep down. If I really felt comfortable with it I guess I wouldn’t have started this Thread in the first place. I still don’t really dig the “no go” lyric, I’ll probably just try to rewrite the line completely. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2005, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/critique-this-misuse-of-the-word-apropos/294619/14 "2005-03-16T02:45:37Z")
Depending on the mood of the song and the sentiment of next verse in particular: There’s a ring on her finger so it wouldn’t be right, though There’s a ring on her finger so it wouldn’t be right, no There’s a ring on her finger so it wouldn’t be right, so or even There’s a ring on her finger so it wouldn’t be right, yo ---
**Author:** ![Thinktank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Thinktank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thinktank)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2005, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/critique-this-misuse-of-the-word-apropos/294619/15 "2005-03-16T05:30:40Z")
Bienville, I was to suggest rewriting the lyric as you already felt drawn to do. I write poetry in my spare time. I’ve only written maybe two songs in my life and so much fear surrounded their release that as they were both about girls I had killer crushes on that they were happily buried in one of my old notebooks. The freedom that songwriters have that poets do not is their ability to force things and shrug it off like they meant it to be their all along like many artists, yes? I’m not voting pro"no-go" … I’m just stating that if it came down to it, you could add in a whole slew of tricks to “fit” the word in place such as chorus, extra lead vocals, maybe a signature guitar riff or other instrumental component that would deviate just as much as the “forced lyric” or you could hold the words completely until the beat synchs up again with the meter that the lyrics are laid-down to… you’re a musician man… make them understand what y-ou want them to understand and let them know (the audience)( cuz the band’ll kick your ass 😛 ) who’s rules to play by… just some suggestions, just to leave you with a thought, do you really think a bunch of SDers are going to be your main audience? In other words, how many people really care s-ooo much about the lyrics that they will find their noses buried in the nearest dictionary unbeknownst to their conscious self? …good luck man… rock on 😉 ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2005, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/critique-this-misuse-of-the-word-apropos/294619/16 "2005-03-16T07:52:06Z")
> [@Thinktank](#): > > do you really think a bunch of SDers are going to be your main audience? In other words, how many people really care s-ooo much about the lyrics that they will find their noses buried in the nearest dictionary unbeknownst to their conscious self? Even if your audience is not filled with Dopers, you should write _as if_ your audience is filled with Dopers. 😉 We’ve got to have _some_ standards. ---
**Author:** ![Bites\_When\_Provoked](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bites_when_provoked/32/18073_2.png) [@Bites\_When\_Provoked](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bites_When_Provoked)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2005, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/critique-this-misuse-of-the-word-apropos/294619/17 "2005-03-16T08:34:32Z")
> [@bienville](#): > > Isn’t it ironic? 😉 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Thinktank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Thinktank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thinktank)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2005, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/critique-this-misuse-of-the-word-apropos/294619/18 "2005-03-16T16:32:57Z")
Don’t ask me why, Bienville- but let us know what you decided:) it’s your song, but I guess you just brought us all into this “hottie” :rolleyes:song of yours, besides; gotta love the ladies 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Thinktank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Thinktank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thinktank)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2005, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/critique-this-misuse-of-the-word-apropos/294619/19 "2005-03-16T16:52:58Z")
btw, you may have even found your rhyme already, like I said- your song. But you might want to consider reversing the last two lines, your rhyme being “clothes” (whatever it takes to get your complete thought through- right?) so take away “wouldn’t be appropo” (since you already did anyway) and the 2nd to last line will now be the one involving the ring on her finger and the last line will talk about getting her out of her clothes or “so much for getting her out of her clothes…yadda,yadda” -your words, I’m just casting the lot; throwing seeds and see’n ’ what’ll grow… I’ll go back to ignoring you now :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![capybara](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/capybara/32/202_2.png) [@capybara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capybara)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2005, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/critique-this-misuse-of-the-word-apropos/294619/20 "2005-03-16T19:30:11Z")
About your audience not being SD people obsessed with their dictionaries. . maybe not, but you never know. There are songs out there that I cringe at every time I hear them because of awkward lyrics. Like, there’s a dead can Dance song with nice little phrases like “She’s an American girl, she’s my best friend” blah blah. Fine. Then, suddenly one line goes “somnambulistaclly, maniacal in the dark” and it makes me smack my head every time and ask “YUCK! WHY!? WHY?! Yes, I get that you studied for the SAT, but this doesn’t fit here at all.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/critique-this-misuse-of-the-word-apropos/294619.md?page=2)