I was playing this computer game (free, I might add… aw heck, it’s www.gunbound.net, a worms clone that’s, well, fun. :)), and it’s got this in game chat function. Now, it’s a team game, and according to “social norms”, 2 people should’t gang up on one. (Leaving aside what’ll actually win you the game, of course). Then comes the mindboggling phrase.
<Grammar, 733t 5p34k and capital letters edited to save the eyes of readers>
13yo kiddie (I hope): You cynical bastard!
Me: ?? You keep using that word. I do not think that word means what you think it means. Do you?
13yo: It means disregarding social norms, of course
Me: … (at this point I alt tab out to get the dictionary.com definition)
Me: Hey dude, check your dictionary. Cynical means “Expressing jaded or scornful skepticism or negativity”
13yo: Oh yeah? I’ve got one right here! It says disregarding social norms!
Me: … No.
13yo: Well, didn’t you know there are different meanings to words, and that different dictionaries give different meanings for the same words?
Me: … (Speechless)
Me: DUDE! What would be the point of dictionaries then?!
<Crickets chirping>
Me: You know, I think the word you’re looking for is psychopathic.
