# My Consonances to the Bereaved **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 11, 2011, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-consonances-to-the-bereaved/577950 "2011-04-11T13:15:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MysteryFellow63427](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e4f/32.png) [@MysteryFellow63427](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MysteryFellow63427)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-consonances-to-the-bereaved/577950/1 "2011-04-11T13:15:30Z")
Okay, so over on this other board, there is a [thread](http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/accidents-incidents/377698-two-fatalities-monterey-4.html) about a fatal scuba diving accident off the California coast. Two different posters expressed their “consonances” to friends and family, etc. Is there somehow an alternate [definition for consonance](http://www.thefreedictionary.com/consonances) that renders these posts meaningful? Or are those posters simply smoking crack? ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-consonances-to-the-bereaved/577950/2 "2011-04-11T13:24:43Z")
I’m guessing that poster just meant condolences. ETA: I only saw one person do it but I don’t know why two people would make that mistake. Maybe one just piggy backed off the other? ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-consonances-to-the-bereaved/577950/3 "2011-04-11T13:28:22Z")
S is right next to D, and an autocorrect might not fix it to the writer’s ingestion. ---
**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:** [April 11, 2011, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-consonances-to-the-bereaved/577950/4 "2011-04-11T13:32:53Z")
It’s a malapropism, though I can see how it might be due to autocorrect rather than brain fart. ---
**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:** [April 11, 2011, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-consonances-to-the-bereaved/577950/5 "2011-04-11T13:39:16Z")
They’re smoking crack. It should be, “My condiments to the bereaved.” ---
**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:** [April 11, 2011, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-consonances-to-the-bereaved/577950/6 "2011-04-11T13:42:41Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > They’re smoking crack. It should be, “My condiments to the bereaved.” I believe the phrase you are looking for is “My condiments to the beavered.” ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-consonances-to-the-bereaved/577950/7 "2011-04-11T14:39:00Z")
We have quite a few elderly couples in our church, and life spans being as they are, the men start dropping like flies in their late 70s/80s. And the widows come to church to be fawned over, and served finger sandwiches, and be put on display as a pillar of fortitude. And, frankly, I’m running out of emotional strength that I can give these women. Besides, you can tell they’re putting up a front. They’re relieved: Ol’ StickInTheMud has finally shuffled off his creaking mortal coil… and they can finally go on that cruise. So lately I’ve been offering my consonants to the widows of these men. They’re just not worth buying a vowel for. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-consonances-to-the-bereaved/577950/8 "2011-04-11T14:42:50Z")
I said _consummate_ V’s! ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-consonances-to-the-bereaved/577950/9 "2011-04-11T15:39:27Z")
Maybe they were sending the "L"s from their LOLs. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-consonances-to-the-bereaved/577950/10 "2011-04-11T15:47:02Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I believe the phrase you are looking for is “My condiments to the beavered.” Just as long as you don’t put ketchup on your beavered. Mustard, onions, and maybe chilli are the only ones that are acceptable. IMO relish is borderline, but most classy people frown on that as well. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-consonances-to-the-bereaved/577950/11 "2011-04-11T16:03:02Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I believe the phrase you are looking for is “My condiments to the beavered.” > [@Ludovic](#): > > I said _consummate_ V’s! This thread is making me laugh way too much. 😃 And, I don’t relish the idea of giving my condiments to the beavered. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-consonances-to-the-bereaved/577950/12 "2011-04-11T16:20:50Z")
It’s also possible that some dim racial memory of “console” has been conflated in their minds with “condolences.” ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-consonances-to-the-bereaved/577950/13 "2011-04-11T16:25:08Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > I said _consummate_ V’s! That’s not an improvement! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_of\_Lucan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dbc845/32.png) [@Michael\_of\_Lucan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_of_Lucan)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-consonances-to-the-bereaved/577950/14 "2011-04-11T16:26:59Z")
It’s not a malapropism. Humpty Dumpty would recognise it immediately as a “portmanteau word”. (See Lewis Carroll’s Alice for a cite.) They are combining the concepts of _condolences_ and _consolation_ into one word - _consonances_. You offer consonances when you combine condolences and consolation - “I’m sorry you’re feeling bad about your husband’s death, but look on the bright side, you’re better off without that bastard.” “It’s a pity your son died, but now you can make a few bucks by renting out his room.” It’s a great concept. ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-consonances-to-the-bereaved/577950/15 "2011-04-11T17:15:12Z")
I think it might be a Cupertino of a malaprop. Possibly they thought “consolences” (or ‘consolances’) was the word to use, and it got corrected to consonances. ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-consonances-to-the-bereaved/577950/16 "2011-04-11T17:32:12Z")
“It says ‘Celebrate.’ Celebrate!” ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-consonances-to-the-bereaved/577950/17 "2011-04-11T18:24:28Z")
They meant to say “My consommé to the bearded.” Clearly. ---
**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:** [April 11, 2011, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-consonances-to-the-bereaved/577950/18 "2011-04-11T18:36:56Z")
> [@](#): > > I said consummate V’s! So you’re saying the problem the people had was that they were using a more different S? ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-consonances-to-the-bereaved/577950/19 "2011-04-11T18:41:04Z")
Speaking of condiments, spicy mustard rates high on my S list. ---
**Author:** ![Corner\_Case](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/corner_case/32/234_2.png) [@Corner\_Case](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corner_Case)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2011, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-consonances-to-the-bereaved/577950/20 "2011-04-18T16:56:37Z")
My condiments to the breathed. I relish your vowelable contritions to this conversion. I shall mustard a replay after I ketchup with my corespondents. Praise Jeebus. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-consonances-to-the-bereaved/577950.md?page=2)