# Parody words becoming serious words **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 13, 2007, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parody-words-becoming-serious-words/407826 "2007-06-13T07:56:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2007, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parody-words-becoming-serious-words/407826/41 "2007-06-13T16:40:11Z")
[QUOTE=Sapo] “shat” and “thunk” are too words that I see bound to enter the dictionaries soon enough. [/QUOTE] “Shat” (as a past tense of shit) has been in the OED since at least the second edition, with a citation dating from 1980. “Thunk” (as a past tense of think) is likewise there, with the earliest use dated to 1876. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2007, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parody-words-becoming-serious-words/407826/42 "2007-06-13T16:45:06Z")
[QUOTE=Ragiel] “Burgle” and “snuck” are rapidly gaining ground. My spell checker still worries about “snuck” but is fine with “burgle.” [/QUOTE] I should hope so. The word has been around since at least 1872, according to the OED. There’s a Latin cognate, _burgulare_, which has been attested as far back as 1354. Likewise, “snuck” has been in use since at least 1887. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_chao_goes_mu/32/3191_2.png) [@The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Chao_Goes_Mu)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2007, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parody-words-becoming-serious-words/407826/43 "2007-06-13T16:47:18Z")
[QUOTE=Sunspace] Doesn’t ‘normalcy’ go all the way back to the 1920s? I seem to remember reading about the ‘Return to Normalcy’ in “Only Yesterday”, the popular history of the 1920s written in 1931. Edit: here’s [Only Yesterday](http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/ALLEN/cover.html) in full HTML glory. Frederick Lewis Allen, 1931. And Chapter 2 is titled “Back to Normalcy”. So it wasn’t Carter’s fault. [/QUOTE] Interesting. I stand corrected. Sorry Jimmy. ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2007, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parody-words-becoming-serious-words/407826/44 "2007-06-13T17:05:44Z")
[QUOTE=panamajack] The word ‘apron’ used to be ‘napron’ until enough people who heard ‘a napron’ figured it should just be ‘an apron’. [/QUOTE] Likewise, nicknames like Nan and Ned were backformed from “mine Anne” (my Nan) and “mine Ed” (my Ned). ---
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2007, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parody-words-becoming-serious-words/407826/45 "2007-06-13T17:17:43Z")
[QUOTE=Jodi] Likewise, nicknames like Nan and Ned were backformed from “mine Anne” (my Nan) and “mine Ed” (my Ned). [/QUOTE] Did “Nancy” then derive from “Nan”? More curious about that, since “Nan” as a name (save as a Grandmother nickname–Nana, Nanny, Nan) is pretty much dead here in the US. ---
**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:** [June 13, 2007, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parody-words-becoming-serious-words/407826/46 "2007-06-13T17:25:07Z")
> [@](#): > > Likewise, nicknames like Nan and Ned were backformed from “mine Anne” (my Nan) and “mine Ed” (my Ned). I would doubt that, personally, since “Ted” is also a nickname for Ed, and there’s also “Bob” for “Rob”, “Bill” for “Will”, and “Peg” for “Meg”. Adding or changing a random consonant at the beginning of a name seems to be a pretty standard way of forming English nicknames. ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2007, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parody-words-becoming-serious-words/407826/47 "2007-06-13T17:25:39Z")
[QUOTE=toadspittle] Did “Nancy” then derive from “Nan”? [/quote] Yes, or from Anne. IOW, the “sy” or “cy” was added as a diminuitive to form the nickname: Nancy, Patsy, Betsy. But I don’t know if it went: Anne =\> Ann-sy =\> Mine Ann-sy =\> Nancy, or Anne =\> Mine Anne =\> Nan =\> Nancy I suspect the latter since “Ann-sy” is not and AFAIK never was a widely used nickname for Anne. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2007, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parody-words-becoming-serious-words/407826/48 "2007-06-13T17:30:58Z")
“Normalcy” dates from 1852. Warren G. Harding popularized it in the 20s and was castigated for it, but it was in the dictionary even then. “Yankee” was a derogatory term for Americans that became a mark of honor. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2007, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parody-words-becoming-serious-words/407826/49 "2007-06-13T17:31:32Z")
[QUOTE=h.sapiens] Fred Hoyle first used the term “big bang” sarcastically when referring to a theory for the origin of the universe that he disagreed with. [/QUOTE] That was originally on a radio program. Hoyle later said he just wanted to use a visual description and denied it was a put-down. ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2007, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parody-words-becoming-serious-words/407826/50 "2007-06-13T17:54:11Z")
[QUOTE=Chronos] I would doubt that, personally, since “Ted” is also a nickname for Ed, and there’s also “Bob” for “Rob”, “Bill” for “Will”, and “Peg” for “Meg”. Adding or changing a random consonant at the beginning of a name seems to be a pretty standard way of forming English nicknames. [/QUOTE] You certainly can doubt it if you like, since at this point there’s no way to prove it. But metanalysis is an accepted explanation for names like “Nan,” “Ned,” and “Nell” – as well as the old English (as opposed to “Old English”) nickname “Nunks” for an uncle. These nickname formations also appear to be supported by other, non-name examples of metanalysis such as “nother” (as in “whole nother story” from “another”) as well as apron, orange, and auger. [Cite](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metanalysis) [Cite](http://books.google.com/books?id=yPsRAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA219&lpg=PA219&dq=nan+%22mine+ann%22&source=web&ots=I-eW7uTuCr&sig=wK8PL7Y-avl5Zsg01fTICXY3Vq4) [Cite](http://books.google.com/books?id=s0UbAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA111&lpg=PA111&dq=nan+%22mine+ann%22&source=web&ots=2c9s9DnoeH&sig=HMn35qakT7J8nhj01K4Zh1bMPmA) [Cite](http://www.jstor.org/view/02714442/ap010017/01a00060/0) ---
**Author:** ![liberty3701](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3d9bf3/32.png) [@liberty3701](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/liberty3701)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2007, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parody-words-becoming-serious-words/407826/51 "2007-06-13T18:53:30Z")
[QUOTE=toadspittle] That’s why you have “Beowulf” instead of “Bear.” “Bee-wolf” was a euphemism for the bear, which was sacred and unnameable. Google “circumpolar bear cults.” I find this whole area fascinating–that we once had a hemisphere-girdling religion/worldview of which almost no one is aware today. [/QUOTE] That’s really cool stuff, thanks! ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2007, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parody-words-becoming-serious-words/407826/52 "2007-06-13T21:47:13Z")
“Bazooka” was first a cobbled-together musical instrument invented by US comedian Bob Burns. When the rocket launcher came around, somebody joked that it looked liked Burns’s Bazooka. The name stuck. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2007, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parody-words-becoming-serious-words/407826/53 "2007-06-13T23:02:54Z")
> [@Keeve](#): > > I’m not sure what this thread is really about. The example in the OP is “sammich”, which, as I see it, is a reasonable spelling of a mispronounced real word. > > If that’s what we’re looking for, then I nominate “ekcetera” and “Febuary”. “Sammich” isn’t so much a real example, as one that I hope to become true someday. “Okay” and “truthiness” are real examples, though: nonce words that became “real” words that are used in all seriousness today. > [@The Chao Goes Mu](#): > > Normalcy. Thanks Jimmy Carter for that abomination! However incorrect it may be Is it really incorrect? It has a clear and nuanced meaning; it describes it well; everyone understands it. (Just like “grok”, only more widespread.) Which “correct” word do you prefer, that means exactly the same thing? ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2007, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parody-words-becoming-serious-words/407826/54 "2007-06-13T23:08:50Z")
[QUOTE=fetus] Is it really incorrect? It has a clear and nuanced meaning; it describes it well; everyone understands it. (Just like “grok”, only more widespread.) Which “correct” word do you prefer, that means exactly the same thing? [/QUOTE] “Normality”, presumably, though I agree that there’s nothing wrong with “normalcy”. ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2007, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parody-words-becoming-serious-words/407826/55 "2007-06-14T00:14:59Z")
[QUOTE=psychonaut] “Shat” (as a past tense of shit) has been in the OED since at least the second edition, with a citation dating from 1980. “Thunk” (as a past tense of think) is likewise there, with the earliest use dated to 1876. [/QUOTE] :eek: ignorance fought, I guess. I always thought they were made up. I have even used “shitten”, which now I am guessing is also legit. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2007, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parody-words-becoming-serious-words/407826/56 "2007-06-14T00:54:20Z")
[QUOTE=Sapo] :eek: ignorance fought, I guess. I always thought they were made up. I have even used “shitten”, which now I am guessing is also legit. [/QUOTE] Yep. Chaucer used it in 1386. The OED also has examples from Jonson in 1616 and Swift in 1738, plus some from modern times. ---
**Author:** ![Nic2004](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/4491bb/32.png) [@Nic2004](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nic2004)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2007, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parody-words-becoming-serious-words/407826/57 "2007-06-14T01:35:26Z")
One I see often is **Alright** even though it should be **All right** as I understand. Another that is in common use that makes my ears twitch is **Irregardless** and it can now be found in the dictionary. Oh, how about **Liberry**. Last, I occasionally hear “I have to go home and **unthaw** something for dinner.” ---
**Author:** ![RedRosesForMe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/91b2a8/32.png) [@RedRosesForMe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedRosesForMe)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2007, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parody-words-becoming-serious-words/407826/58 "2007-06-14T01:55:41Z")
[QUOTE=Nic2004] One I see often is **Alright** even though it should be **All right** as I understand. Another that is in common use that makes my ears twitch is **Irregardless** and it can now be found in the dictionary. Oh, how about **Liberry**. Last, I occasionally hear “I have to go home and **unthaw** something for dinner.” [/QUOTE] I usually hear that as “dethaw” which sorta annoys the crap outta me. No, you might wanna _defrost_ it, or _thaw_ it, but _dethawing_ it would make for very unappetizing and inedible pork chops. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2007, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parody-words-becoming-serious-words/407826/59 "2007-06-14T04:48:07Z")
Just want to nip this in the bud before it turns into a hijack–I appreciate what you two are trying to do, but prescriptivist gripes are really not what I’m going for with this OP, and I’ve noted my intense dislike of prescriptivism in other threads. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2007, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parody-words-becoming-serious-words/407826/60 "2007-06-14T10:35:58Z")
[QUOTE=toadspittle] That’s why you have “Beowulf” instead of “Bear.” “Bee-wolf” was a euphemism for the bear, which was sacred and unnameable. Google “circumpolar bear cults.” I find this whole area fascinating–that we once had a hemisphere-girdling religion/worldview of which almost no one is aware today. [/QUOTE] Except of course that the euphemism for bear was ‘bear’ (the original indo-european word being so sacred it got lost in many languages) and there being several competing theories for the meaning of the name Beowulf. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parody-words-becoming-serious-words/407826.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parody-words-becoming-serious-words/407826.md?page=4)