# Omnibus Stupid MFers in the news thread (Part 2) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 5, 2024, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657 "2024-01-05T16:15:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 105
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2024, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/2081 "2024-08-07T18:07:57Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Nearly ten years ago [I was kvetching about the word “monokini”](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-made-up-of-two-languages/441708/43) for a topless bikini. It’s a portmanteau of the Greek prefix “mono-” “one” with the toponym “bikini” (from Micronesian “pikinni”), via an implied Latin prefix “bi-” “two”! > > I still think that word really ought to be “unikini”. 😄 My pet peeve in that general direction is “unisex”. Which word has now mostly fallen out of favor but was big in the early days of gender consciousness in the 1970s. Officially, a “unisex” bathroom is one that either sex can use, albeit not at the same time. Sure seems to me that ought to be “multisex”. IMO a “unisex” bathroom is one used by one kind or the other; the traditional men’s or women’s rooms are each unisex; just for different single sexes. one used by both? Multisex. A “unisex” hair cuttery does both mens’ & women’s hair in the usual gender-identified styles. Nope, IMO that’s a “multisex” salon. A unisex salon would cut everyone’s hair the same. Uni means we cater to one, not to both. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2024, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/2082 "2024-08-07T18:22:07Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Uni means we cater to one, not to both. Couldn’t “uni” be short for “universal”? ETA Looks like it could be “one” or “all” > **[Unisex](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unisex)** > > Unisex is an adjective indicating something is not sex-specific, i.e. is suitable for any type of sex. The term can also mean gender-blindness or gender neutrality. > The term 'unisex' was coined as a neologism in the 1960s and was used fairly informally. The combining prefix uni- is from Latin unus, meaning one or single. However, 'unisex' seems to have been influenced by words such as united and universal, in which uni- takes the related sense shared. Unisex then means shared by sexes. > Hair sty... > The term ‘unisex’ was coined as a [neologism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neologism) in the 1960s and was used fairly informally. The combining [prefix](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prefix) _uni-_ is from Latin _[unus](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/unus#Latin)_, meaning _one_ or _single_. However, ‘unisex’ seems to have been influenced by words such as _united_ and _universal_, in which _uni-_ takes the related sense _shared_. Unisex then means _shared by sexes_.[[3]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unisex?useskin=vector#cite_note-3) ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2024, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/2083 "2024-08-07T18:22:44Z")
or “uniform” ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2024, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/2084 "2024-08-07T18:24:24Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > “Kvetching?” I think Yiddish is among Greek and Latin as the great languages. I thoroughly agree! You’re a _mensch_. I, meanwhile, am doing my best to be a _babushka_, preferably not _meshugana_. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2024, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/2085 "2024-08-07T18:34:42Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Couldn’t “uni” be short for “universal”? But the “uni” in “universal” means “one”. So it still means “one”. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2024, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/2086 "2024-08-07T18:41:21Z")
ISTM … Once a word, or an afffix of a word, takes on both the meanings of “one” and “all”, it seems maybe it’s time to retire that word / affix as irretrievably rendered useless. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2024, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/2087 "2024-08-07T18:49:05Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Looks like it could be “one” or “all” English is often weird like that. Though I took the “unisex” in “unisex bathrooms” or “unisex clothing” to mean “this one is for both/all sexes. There aren’t two separate versions; there’s only one version.” ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2024, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/2088 "2024-08-07T18:51:08Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > But the “uni” in “universal” means “one”. So it still means “one”. adjective: **universal** 1. of, affecting, or done by all people or things in the world or in a particular group; applicable to all cases. ---
**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:** [August 7, 2024, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/2089 "2024-08-07T19:02:02Z")
Then that should be a sex unibathroom, not a unisex bathroom. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2024, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/2090 "2024-08-07T19:04:44Z")
That reads to me like a bathroom to have sex in, possibly located in a university. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2024, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/2091 "2024-08-07T19:25:45Z")
Sounds like a great idea! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2024, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/2092 "2024-08-07T19:33:26Z")
In a live comedy sketch I remember from like 40 years ago there was a gag about a hairdresser’s deciding to announce themselves as a “bisexual salon” since they no longered catered to only one… ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2024, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/2093 "2024-08-07T19:37:28Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > adjective: **universal** Maybe I’ll break it down for you to help you out here. > **[Definition of UNI-](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/uni-)** > > one : single… See the full definition > : one : single And further, we have the suffix “verse”. [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/-verse](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/-verse) > Forming compound nouns denoting the whole range or totality of what is indicated by the first element. So it means, one totality, or everything. But the “uni” still means “one”. It’s a mangling of the prefix, using it in the opposite way that it means, and the gripe about it made here is completely understandable. Some portmanteaus are more successful than others. Sometimes they don’t really work even though they manage to catch on (if only temporarily). Imagine I wanted to come up with a description of a shirt which is “extra small size” and so I shortened it to an “extrasize shirt”. You’d think it was a really big shirt when it’s the opposite. That’s pretty much what’s going on with the term “unisex”. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2024, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/2094 "2024-08-07T19:43:13Z")
Can all you stupid motherfuckers knock it off with the tedious grammar hijack? (just riffing on the thread title, not meaning to actually insult anyone) ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.winston_oboogie/32/2945_2.png) [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Winston_OBoogie)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2024, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/2095 "2024-08-07T20:22:25Z")
> [@BippityBoppityBoo](#): > > > [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > > > “Kvetching?” I think Yiddish is among Greek and Latin as the great languages. > > I thoroughly agree! You’re a _mensch_. I, meanwhile, am doing my best to be a _babushka_, preferably not _meshugana_. “Shut up and eat your _shiksa_.” From Woody Allen’s _Sleeper_. It’s in the future; they were trying to get him to regain his memories, and the movie used a lot of words wrong. I agree that Yiddish has a lot of great words. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2024, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/2096 "2024-08-07T20:28:27Z")
> [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](#): > > I agree that Yiddish has a lot of great words. It’s my favorite second language that I have yet to master. Many might say I need to master my native one first, but I digress. ‘Shiksa’, however is word I’ve learned to be careful using, unless I’m meaning to insult or devalue the person being spoken of. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.winston_oboogie/32/2945_2.png) [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Winston_OBoogie)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2024, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/2097 "2024-08-07T20:35:01Z")
But definately not something you eat… well, at least at the dinner table… unless you’re kinky. (for those who don’t know, _shiksa_ is a slang for a non-jewish woman, usually used derisively) ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2024, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/2098 "2024-08-07T20:36:11Z")
There are several Yiddish words that have entered the English language as cutesy expressions, but are actually horribly offensive in Yiddish. “Schmuck”, for example, is an extremely rude word for “penis”. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2024, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/2099 "2024-08-07T20:37:16Z")
> [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](#): > > well, at least at the dinner table… One of those odd coincidences, but ‘shik-sa’ means ‘meal’ in Korean, so something you actually would eat at the dinner table. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2024, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/2100 "2024-08-07T20:37:24Z")
It’s not always used derisively in modern usage, but the people using it non-derisively probably don’t know that it literally means “abomination”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657.md?page=104) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657.md?page=106)