# Name a word that doesn't mean what most people think it means **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 9, 2009, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-word-that-doesnt-mean-what-most-people-think-it-means/480523 "2009-01-09T14:23:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2009, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-word-that-doesnt-mean-what-most-people-think-it-means/480523/121 "2009-01-11T05:22:58Z")
> [@amarone](#): > > While you may have etymology on your side, you are going to lose this one. You will find dictionaries that do give “ugly” or “repulsive” as meanings. [Example](http://www.thefreedictionary.com/grotesque). That’s because it has evolved to mean that relatively recently. It’s an example of the evolution of language, of which many of the words listed in this thread are in the process, even as we speak. Most of the words we are saying here are used wrongly, will, inevitably, be used that way ever after in the space of a couple of generations. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2009, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-word-that-doesnt-mean-what-most-people-think-it-means/480523/122 "2009-01-11T05:24:38Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > Sorry, this is still not correct. “Take” is the only correct word in your example; “bring” may feel warmer to you, but it’s incorrect. Oh, bull. As I’ve said before, and will say again, language is about communication. Everybody will know what the people in **guizot** ’s example did whether they use ‘take’ or ‘bring’. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2009, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-word-that-doesnt-mean-what-most-people-think-it-means/480523/123 "2009-01-11T05:27:46Z")
> [@Captain\_Carrot](#): > > Oh, bull. As I’ve said before, and will say again, language is about communication. Everybody will know what the people in **guizot** ’s example did whether they use ‘take’ or ‘bring’. Of course people know what it means. But he was suggesting that it’s somehow more correct in his exampled usage, and it’s not. It’s a colloquiallism that is not unclear in its meaning, but it’s not grammatically correct. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2009, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-word-that-doesnt-mean-what-most-people-think-it-means/480523/124 "2009-01-11T05:58:44Z")
Things that agree don’t _jive_. They jibe. ---
**Author:** ![BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2009, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-word-that-doesnt-mean-what-most-people-think-it-means/480523/125 "2009-01-11T06:05:34Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > Things that agree don’t _jive_. They jibe. That’s jive, homes. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2009, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-word-that-doesnt-mean-what-most-people-think-it-means/480523/126 "2009-01-11T07:17:01Z")
> [@Randy\_Seltzer](#): > > … I really came into this thread to mention “disinterested,” and I will disagree with the previous poster who said it is synonymous with “unbiased.” > > Compare: [ul][li]_Even though I own a 10% stake in the company, I feel I can remain unbiased during the trial.[_]Even though I own a 10% stake in the company, I feel I can remain disinterested during the trial.\*[/ul]The first sentence is logical, if dubious, while the second sentence is impossible, or at least has a totally different meaning. The speaker would have to sell his share in the company before becoming disinterested, but it’s possible he’s a really good judge, and can remain unbiased throughout the proceeding.[/li] > This is why it ticks me off that the previously non-standard definition of “disinterested” has become the standard. There is no totally equivalent word, and when I want to communicate the concept to someone, I now have to use 10 words instead of one to ensure that the listener understands. Bravo! Exactly why “disinterested” is a useful word in the (I’m going to say) correct usage, and a sad loss in the newer one. But I find in law that the correct usage is still predominant. One of my favorites in this area is not heard often: meretricious People think it has something to do with merit, but in fact the opposite; it means flashy but of no real value, and comes from the Latin word “meretrix” which means prostitute. Roddy ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2009, 10:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-word-that-doesnt-mean-what-most-people-think-it-means/480523/127 "2009-01-11T10:08:52Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > Of course people know what it means. But he was suggesting that it’s somehow more correct in his exampled usage, and it’s not. It’s a colloquiallism that is not unclear in its meaning, but it’s not grammatically correct. I never said anything about more correct nor anything about grammar. It’s not about correctness or grammar (or colloquialisms); it’s a question of [pragmatics](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pragmatics). There’s a lot more to language than what your ninth-grade English teacher taught you. ---
**Author:** ![Henrichek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5daacb/32.png) [@Henrichek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Henrichek)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2009, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-word-that-doesnt-mean-what-most-people-think-it-means/480523/128 "2009-01-11T12:01:21Z")
> [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > Wherefore What do people mistake this word to mean? ---
**Author:** ![legalsnugs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/45deac/32.png) [@legalsnugs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/legalsnugs)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2009, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-word-that-doesnt-mean-what-most-people-think-it-means/480523/129 "2009-01-11T12:20:34Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > What people misuse “pulchritude,” and what do they think it means? It is a word that means something different from what some people seem to think it means. I have no idea what they think it means, but based on reactions I’ve seen to its correct usage, obviously not “beauty.” :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2009, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-word-that-doesnt-mean-what-most-people-think-it-means/480523/130 "2009-01-11T12:39:57Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > I think the assumption behind saying something like “and then he said X, which was totally random” is that X is a non sequitur, and/or was a brainfart. As if the speaker had a long mental list of phrases ranging from “my name is Phil” to “whales are blue” and picked one at random. > > Or was that not what you were referring to ? If he’s thinking of the same sort of usages I’ve heard, then not really – though it’s a good guess that’s what it’s evolved from. I hear things like “Did you see Britney shaved her hair? That’s just so random!” ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2009, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-word-that-doesnt-mean-what-most-people-think-it-means/480523/131 "2009-01-11T15:08:52Z")
> [@Henrichek](#): > > What do people mistake this word to mean? Some people think it means ‘where’ (Imagining that Juliet is looking for Romeo when she says ‘wherefore art thou?’) ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2009, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-word-that-doesnt-mean-what-most-people-think-it-means/480523/132 "2009-01-11T15:58:08Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Some people think it means ‘where’ (Imagining that Juliet is looking for Romeo when she says ‘wherefore art thou?’) And it means “why”, as in “all the rotten luck that my new-found love is the son of my dad’s enemy- why’d you have to be Romeo. (Pouts).” ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2009, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-word-that-doesnt-mean-what-most-people-think-it-means/480523/133 "2009-01-11T17:25:52Z")
> [@picunurse](#): > > _Bring_. It means to cause a thing to be carried to where the speaker is. _Take_ means to carry a thing to somewhere else. So what you’re saying is, although you can tell Grandma, “We brought you some flowers,” you can’t have previously said, “Let’s bring Grandma some flowers”? Would that mean that if you are a teacher, and you tell a child, “Stop playing with that or I’ll take it from you,” if you then go to the principal with it, you must then say, “I \*brought \*this from Billy,” since it’s now with you in a different place than where it was? Nobody says that. The distinction between “bring” and “take” doesn’t just indicate direction relative to _the speaker_; it indicates direction relative to _the point of interest you are trying to indicate._ You bring _to_, you take _from_ - whatever point of interest. In this case, you are bringing flowers to Grandma; the interest is the flowers’ direction relative to Grandma, not to you, since the flowers are for her. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2009, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-word-that-doesnt-mean-what-most-people-think-it-means/480523/134 "2009-01-11T18:09:59Z")
Until I read this thread, I didn’t know there _was_ a distinction between ‘bring’ and ‘take’. And quite frankly, I don’t think it’s a useful one. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2009, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-word-that-doesnt-mean-what-most-people-think-it-means/480523/135 "2009-01-11T19:39:59Z")
> [@picunurse](#): > > _Bring_. It means to cause a thing to be carried to where the speaker is. _Take_ means to carry a thing to somewhere else. Are you a native Spanish speaker, Picunurse? Because the distinction you make IS correct for Spanish. In Spanish you use “traer” (usually translated as “bring”) for carrying something to where the speaker is (or will be) at the moment of the action, not at the moment of the utterance, while you use “llevar” (usually translated as “take”) otherwise. In English, the important spatial concept is where the speaker is when he/she is talking. Same with “go” and “come” That’s why, in Spanish, if you are on the phone with someone and you want to tell them that you are coming, you say “Voy” (I “go”) rather than “Vengo” (I “come”). Sorry for the hijack. ---
**Author:** ![PeskiPiksi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e495f1/32.png) [@PeskiPiksi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PeskiPiksi)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2009, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-word-that-doesnt-mean-what-most-people-think-it-means/480523/136 "2009-01-11T19:44:19Z")
I’ll nominate akimbo. As in “arms akimbo.” It’s doesn’t mean that your arms are flying about…you’ve got your hands on your waist, elbows out. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2009, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-word-that-doesnt-mean-what-most-people-think-it-means/480523/137 "2009-01-11T19:49:08Z")
> [@matt\_mcl](#): > > Nobody says that. The distinction between “bring” and “take” doesn’t just indicate direction relative to _the speaker_; it indicates direction relative to _the point of interest you are trying to indicate._ You bring _to_, you take _from_ - whatever point of interest. In this case, you are bringing flowers to Grandma; the interest is the flowers’ direction relative to Grandma, not to you, since the flowers are for her. A note in the American Heritage Dictionary supports your position: [QUOTE=AHD as found on [dictionary.com](http://dictionary.com)] When the relevant point of focus is not the place of speaking itself, the difference obviously depends on the context. We can say either The labor leaders brought or took their requests to the mayor’s office, **depending on whether we want to describe things from the point of view of the labor leaders or the mayor.** [/QUOTE] I also consulted by Canadian Oxford, which has no explanatory note but has enough definitions for “bring” that its use in such a context can’t really be challenged. Webster’s Revised Unabridged is even more permissive than either the Oxford or AHD. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2009, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-word-that-doesnt-mean-what-most-people-think-it-means/480523/138 "2009-01-11T19:55:13Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > Are you a native Spanish speaker, Picunurse? Because the distinction you make IS correct for Spanish. In Spanish you use “traer” (usually translated as “bring”) for carrying something to where the speaker is (or will be) at the moment of the action, not at the moment of the utterance, while you use “llevar” (usually translated as “take”) otherwise. In English, the important spatial concept is where the speaker is when he/she is talking. > > Same with “go” and “come” That’s why, in Spanish, if you are on the phone with someone and you want to tell them that you are coming, you say “Voy” (I “go”) rather than “Vengo” (I “come”). > > Sorry for the hijack. Oops – in my first paragraph, I got it backwards – the distinction between English and Spanish should be the other way around. My example in the second paragraph is correct. ---
**Author:** ![vison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/e47774/32.png) [@vison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vison)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2009, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-word-that-doesnt-mean-what-most-people-think-it-means/480523/139 "2009-01-11T19:56:25Z")
Flout, when you mean flaunt. Flaunt, when you mean flout. And all the others on this list. ---
**Author:** ![sjc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e5b9ba/32.png) [@sjc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sjc)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2009, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-word-that-doesnt-mean-what-most-people-think-it-means/480523/140 "2009-01-11T21:57:19Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > I never said anything about more correct nor anything about grammar. It’s not about correctness or grammar (or colloquialisms); it’s a question of [pragmatics](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pragmatics). > > There’s a lot more to language than what your ninth-grade English teacher taught you. ::clap clap clap:: _Thank you!_ That expressed very well my problem with **lissener** ’s post. (I.e. why I felt he was missing the point.) Someone mentioned “ambivalent” up-thread and I want to say that I too dislike seeing or hearing it used as a direct synonym for not caring about the subject. However, I feel I must disagree slightly with them when they said that a person who is ambivalent cares very much about the subject. I’ve always thought of ambivalent as meaning “of two minds, having conflicting emotions about something”. In other words, while a person who is ambivalent may very well care strongly about something, they may just have weak emotions in conflict. I may be mistaken about this, but I think not. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-word-that-doesnt-mean-what-most-people-think-it-means/480523.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-word-that-doesnt-mean-what-most-people-think-it-means/480523.md?page=8)