# Please stop using this word **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 24, 2023, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-stop-using-this-word/989043 "2023-08-24T16:30:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2023, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-stop-using-this-word/989043/21 "2023-08-24T19:15:25Z")
> [@motu](#): > > Being prodigal has nothing to do with returning. I didn’t realize this. But I did look it up and it looks like the dictionary has adapted a bit to include a definition that includes someone returning: someone who returns to a place, organization, team, etc. after previously leaving it: They greeted him with the warmth of a returning prodigal. There have been a significant return of prodigals to the church. From [PRODIGAL | definition in the Cambridge English Dictionary](https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/prodigal) ---
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2023, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-stop-using-this-word/989043/22 "2023-08-24T19:16:22Z")
> [@alovem](#): > > I’d like to see the meaning of the word trump changed from override to swindle. In the meantime, I kinda wish people would stop using it. [I started a whole thread on this topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-word-to-replace-trump-in-its-common-usage/920347). ---
**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:** [August 24, 2023, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-stop-using-this-word/989043/23 "2023-08-24T19:23:19Z")
[“Why should I change? He’s the one who sucks.”](https://youtu.be/ADgS_vMGgzY?t=41) ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2023, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-stop-using-this-word/989043/24 "2023-08-24T20:38:39Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > I ask everyone to stop using the word **farfegnugen**. …or _Fahrvergnügen_ for that matter. ---
**Author:** ![Joeu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/joeu/32/2911_2.png) [@Joeu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joeu)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2023, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-stop-using-this-word/989043/25 "2023-08-24T20:45:40Z")
I tried to visit a website today that was having some server overload issues and instead of the usual 502 error page, I got “this site has suffered an existential problem.” ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2023, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-stop-using-this-word/989043/26 "2023-08-24T20:48:39Z")
Virtually. It is literally awesome irregardless of your reality. ---
**Author:** ![dirtball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dirtball/32/18772_2.png) [@dirtball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dirtball)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2023, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-stop-using-this-word/989043/27 "2023-08-24T20:50:20Z")
**Actually** It’s all over the damn place, and maybe one out of a thousand occurrences can justify its miserable existence. It’s become empty and meaningless. In particular, I’m casting a very stern stink-eye at you, writers of _The Mindy Project_. ---
**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 24, 2023, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-stop-using-this-word/989043/28 "2023-08-24T20:51:35Z")
> [@Akaj](#): > > > [@alovem](#): > > > > I’d like to see the meaning of the word trump changed from override to swindle. In the meantime, I kinda wish people would stop using it. > > [I started a whole thread on this topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-word-to-replace-trump-in-its-common-usage/920347). We really need two different but related things: - A word to replace “trump” in card and other contexts meaning something top-rate or overcoming all others. - A new agreed definition for what “trump” means instead of “top rate or overcoming all others”. Even better, maybe we could exchange the two meanings (or the two words). So when you say either word, you now mean what the other word used to mean. That’ll help everybody get on board with the change, and keep straight what we all mean. Simple is good. The word we pick should be short and sharp & memorable. Also well-known, but not have too many vague or disparate definitions. Given this challenge, I propose the following: I propose we exchange “trump” with “shart”. When you have the good suit in cards, you have a shart, or the sharts, or maybe a three-shart. Conversely, when you inadvertently poop in your pants after too much coffee or greasy jalapeno poppers with cheez-whiz or whatever, you’ve trumped yourself. Oh no! I just trumped! Where’s the bathroom! The mess you need to clean up is a trump. If it’s extra big or stinky it’s a two-trump. I look forward to reading other’s ideas on this topic. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2023, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-stop-using-this-word/989043/29 "2023-08-24T20:57:20Z")
> [@Dallas\_Jones](#): > > Virtually. It is literally awesome irregardless of your reality. The misuse of “literally” drives me figuratively insane. (Regardless) ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2023, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-stop-using-this-word/989043/30 "2023-08-24T21:08:27Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Conversely, when you inadvertently poop in your pants after too much coffee or greasy jalapeno poppers with cheez-whiz or whatever, you’ve trumped yourself. Oh no! I just trumped! Where’s the bathroom! The mess you need to clean up is a trump. If it’s extra big or stinky it’s a two-trump. When it’s liquid and running down your leg, is it unpleasantly guiliani? ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2023, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-stop-using-this-word/989043/31 "2023-08-24T21:33:12Z")
That one was wearing on me … slowly, but undeniably. But when I first Googled it … [https://digitalcultures.net/slang/pop-culture/farfegnugen/](https://digitalcultures.net/slang/pop-culture/farfegnugen/) So, yeah, we bastardized the snot out of that one. **[Es tut mir leid](https://m.interglot.com/de/en/Es%20tut%20mir%20leid.)**. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2023, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-stop-using-this-word/989043/32 "2023-08-24T21:34:19Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > When it’s liquid and running down your leg, is it unpleasantly guiliani? When you’re sliding into first, and you’re feeling something burst…GUILIANI!!! GUILIANI!!! ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2023, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-stop-using-this-word/989043/33 "2023-08-24T21:35:27Z")
I’m reminded of Rick … Santorum. But I’ll say no more about that, and would caution anybody who doesn’t understand the reference and deigns to look into it. ---
**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 24, 2023, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-stop-using-this-word/989043/34 "2023-08-24T21:52:22Z")
Ah, yes, Santorum. Both the person and the substance. One of the finer take-downs of a pompous ass in many years. I’m drawing a blank on the name of the columnist (or his column) behind that work of genius, but I totally remember his style & area of expertise. Used to read it every week in our local alternative newspaper. Good stuff. Of course I could look up that info right now, but instead I’ll let it … percolate … in there a bit and perhaps it’ll … come back … to me. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2023, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-stop-using-this-word/989043/35 "2023-08-24T21:57:05Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > The misuse of “literally” drives me figuratively insane. See, “figuratively” just _sucks_ in that kind of usage. Just deflates the whole point. Hence, go “literally” go! I will forever defend “literally” in its hyperbolic sense. It’s not a misuse. It’s a perfectly cromulent idiomatic use. The literalists can go suck an egg. Now using “backslash” in URLs drives me freaking up a wall. I still hear commercials to this day where they give an address as “[www.whatever.com](http://www.whatever.com) backslash moreinformation.” IT’S JUST A NORMAL SLASH! URLS ARE NOT MS-DOS PATHS. ---
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2023, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-stop-using-this-word/989043/36 "2023-08-24T22:01:06Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Ah, yes, Santorum. Both the person and the substance. One of the finer take-downs of a pompous ass in many years. > > I’m drawing a blank on the name of the columnist (or his column) behind that work of genius, but I totally remember his style & area of expertise. Used to read it every week in our local alternative newspaper. Good stuff. > > Of course I could look up that info right now, but instead I’ll let it … percolate … in there a bit and perhaps it’ll … come back … to me. [Dan Savage](https://savage.love/)! ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2023, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-stop-using-this-word/989043/37 "2023-08-24T22:14:19Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Existential is a fine word, when used properly. Unlike penultimate, or literally, which have become the epi-tome of improper usages. Agreed on all points. “Existential” is used a lot because it’s a very versatile word with a wide range of meanings, though they all stem from its fundamental meaning of “related to existence”. But it has acquired a formal meaning in philosophy, a related one in psychology, a different one in logic, as well as its original basic meaning, as in the common expression “existential threat”. And yes, “penultimate” is frequently misused. The misuse of “literally” is a more nuanced issue which has been thrashed to death here many, many times. Its careless use as an all-purpose intensifier is on about the same level of sloppiness as “I could care less”. > [@wguy123](#): > > > [@motu](#): > > > > Being prodigal has nothing to do with returning. > > I didn’t realize this. But I did look it up and it looks like the dictionary has adapted a bit to include a definition that includes someone returning: > > someone who returns to a place, organization, team, etc. after previously leaving it: > They greeted him with the warmth of a returning prodigal. > There have been a significant return of prodigals to the church. > > From [PRODIGAL | definition in the Cambridge English Dictionary](https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/prodigal) More than “a bit”, I’d say, though not all dictionaries endorse that second meaning. The word “prodigal” has its origins in the Latin _prodigalis_ and _prodigus_ which mean “wasteful” and “extravagant” so it’s certainly true that it has nothing to do with anyone returning. But the return of the prodigal son is such an important and familiar part of the parable that I’d cheerfully give a pass to someone using the term in that sense. Mainly because I’m pretty sure I’ve done it myself! 😁 ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2023, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-stop-using-this-word/989043/38 "2023-08-24T22:18:26Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Given this challenge, I propose the following: > > I propose we exchange “trump” with “shart”. > > When you have the good suit in cards, you have a shart, or the sharts, or maybe a three-shart. Unless you are going to amend Hoyle then that’s a non-starter. I fail to see why the members of my 500 & Euchre club need to make any gameplay adjustment because merkins can’t elect a functionable government. 🙃 ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2023, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-stop-using-this-word/989043/39 "2023-08-24T23:42:05Z")
Somewhere here is a thread on a replacement, “fukengruven” ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2023, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-stop-using-this-word/989043/40 "2023-08-24T23:51:58Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > the epi-tome Isn’t that the book you use to look up the proper dosage of an e-pipen? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-stop-using-this-word/989043.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-stop-using-this-word/989043.md?page=3)