# Sayings, idioms, and acronyms which seem to indicate the OPPOSITE of what is intended **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 5, 2025, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sayings-idioms-and-acronyms-which-seem-to-indicate-the-opposite-of-what-is-intended/1024599 "2025-11-05T14:47:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2025, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sayings-idioms-and-acronyms-which-seem-to-indicate-the-opposite-of-what-is-intended/1024599/81 "2025-11-07T02:06:48Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > I’m not sure it qualifies, but the first saying that came to mind was “Bless your heart”. Though it may be said in a sincere manner, I think it’s just as often uttered with more than a little snark. Two older southern women rekindle a friendship after many, many years. They decide to meet for tea and discuss their lives. The first older lady, starts telling the second about all the wonderful things her husband has done for her over her life. “See this big ol ring right here on my finger? My husband bought me that, because he loves me.” Second lady, “Well, bless your heart.” First lady, “See that big ol nice car out there? My husband bought me that, because he loves me” Second lady, “Well, bless your heart” First lady pulls out her phone and starts showing the other pictures of her house. “See this big ol house right here? My husband bought me that, because he loves me.” Second lady, “Well, bless your heart” First lady, “Well now, I’ve been going on and on about my husband, what has yours done for you?” Second lady, “Well my husband sent me to finishing school.” First lady, incredulous, “Now why would he do something like that?” Second lady, “So I’d learn to say things like ‘Well, bless your heart’ instead of fuck you.” ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2025, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sayings-idioms-and-acronyms-which-seem-to-indicate-the-opposite-of-what-is-intended/1024599/82 "2025-11-07T02:14:59Z")
> [@solost](#): > > If something is an oversight, it usually means it was missed or forgotten. Yet we have ‘oversight committees’. Same with overlook-- “did we already pass the scenic overlook I wanted to stop at?” “yes, I think we overlooked it”. That probably explains the usage of “overwatch.” It lacks that ambiguity. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2025, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sayings-idioms-and-acronyms-which-seem-to-indicate-the-opposite-of-what-is-intended/1024599/83 "2025-11-07T02:21:18Z")
To me it means that while it is theoretically possible that I could care less, it is unlikely in the extreme. ---
**Author:** ![Ancient\_Nerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed655f/32.png) [@Ancient\_Nerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ancient_Nerd)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2025, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sayings-idioms-and-acronyms-which-seem-to-indicate-the-opposite-of-what-is-intended/1024599/84 "2025-11-07T02:41:07Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > This is yet another example where the original phrase made sense, but idiots didn’t understand it and got it wrong. The original was “…at twice the price”, but any mention of “twice the price” makes it sound expensive, so it got mangled. Many people have trouble with math. ---
**Author:** ![Ancient\_Nerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed655f/32.png) [@Ancient\_Nerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ancient_Nerd)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2025, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sayings-idioms-and-acronyms-which-seem-to-indicate-the-opposite-of-what-is-intended/1024599/85 "2025-11-07T03:05:11Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > a physics textbook that asked “Why can not a man lift himself by pulling up on his bootstraps?” Computer science used the concept to describe the way a computer starts up. When it boots, it needs a way to load a program in memory that loads the program it runs. It’s simpler now than it was in the days of core memory. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2025, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sayings-idioms-and-acronyms-which-seem-to-indicate-the-opposite-of-what-is-intended/1024599/86 "2025-11-07T04:11:50Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > Another one which really gets my umm _Capra_ is the acronym GOAT as it is typically used in sports to denote the **Greatest Of All Time** in some athletic activity. Except that the term “goat” has historically been used to denote an athlete who has _fucked up_, as in Bill Buckner or Jim Marshall. So whenever I see that I get antsy because the two terms pretty much mean the opposite. Yeah, this pisses me off too. Now they are using AGI for something AI? But AGI stands for Adjusted Gross Income. Even the best dictionaries are giving up on using “literally” to mean figuratively . That battle is over. Even Hiroo Onoda agrees that war is over. 😀 > [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > Do you have anything to support that extended version claim? This cite seems to indicate the “OG” 😀 phrase was just “Jack of all trades” - > **[Demystifying The Old Saying: Jack Of All Trades, Master Of None](https://medium.com/@gaurav_krishnan/demystifying-the-old-saying-jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none-7ea3de07e240)** > > If you’re a person with a multitude of interests and passions and have the undying urge to explore new things and acquire more knowledge… ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2025, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sayings-idioms-and-acronyms-which-seem-to-indicate-the-opposite-of-what-is-intended/1024599/87 "2025-11-07T05:22:50Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > FTW used to mean Fuck The World, which is a negative cry of anger or despair. Then it changed to mean For The Win, which is a positive cry of support and hope. The change happened so quickly I was very confused for quite a long while. > > Now nobody says it at all. I used it recently in a comment on McCoy Tyler’s piano playing: “Quartal chords FTW.” Then I commented on that: > When I write “FTW,” I mean “Fine That Way.” I mean “Feel These Waves.” I mean “Fresh Thrill Wishes.” If others have dropped it, that leaves it open for me to redefine it however I please. ---
**Author:** ![fedman1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e495f1/32.png) [@fedman1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman1)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2025, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sayings-idioms-and-acronyms-which-seem-to-indicate-the-opposite-of-what-is-intended/1024599/88 "2025-11-07T07:14:20Z")
a reverse meaning to me is the phrase “it’s all downhill” spoken as positive or encouraging, but when you think about the literal experience, you’re probably going to be injured rolling down the hill, hurt when you land at the bottom, and will likely have things fall on you , so not a “good” thing to look forward to ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2025, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sayings-idioms-and-acronyms-which-seem-to-indicate-the-opposite-of-what-is-intended/1024599/89 "2025-11-07T08:56:17Z")
I have walked down many hills, and have never wound up unaccountably rolling and being injured (though I have visited the [cheese rolling](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooper's_Hill_Cheese-Rolling_and_Wake) several times). Why would things fall on you? Walking downhill is widely considered to be easier than walking uphill. ---
**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:** [November 7, 2025, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sayings-idioms-and-acronyms-which-seem-to-indicate-the-opposite-of-what-is-intended/1024599/90 "2025-11-07T11:54:48Z")
While doing today’s NT Times crossword, I realized that “spare” is a contranym: it can mean either “too much” of something (like a spare tire), or “not enough” of it (like “the interior is spare, almost minimalist”). The latter meaning is the original one (“frugal”); the former meaning arose from this: “something to use when supplies are low” (e.g., when a car’s tire has burst). ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2025, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sayings-idioms-and-acronyms-which-seem-to-indicate-the-opposite-of-what-is-intended/1024599/91 "2025-11-07T12:14:57Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > FTW used to mean Fuck The World, which is a negative cry of anger or despair. Then it changed to mean For The Win, which is a positive cry of support and hope. The change happened so quickly I was very confused for quite a long while. > > Now nobody says it at all. Back during the Vietnam War I believe it meant “Fuck the War”. Somebody spray painted it cross the WWI memorial outside the library in my home town back then. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2025, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sayings-idioms-and-acronyms-which-seem-to-indicate-the-opposite-of-what-is-intended/1024599/92 "2025-11-07T13:26:01Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > So if you think people are using literally to mean figuratively, you are saying they are using it as a de-intensifier. > > Saying “I saw a mouse that was literally as big as a house” is using “literally” as an intensifier since one is (hyperbolically) claiming the mouse was as big as a house. > > You have it precisely backwards. No. I’m saying that ‘literally’ is a useful word with a specific meaning: “actually; factually; free from exaggeration or embellishment”. In other words, the opposite of a hyperbolic intensifier. People at least used to realize the actual meaning of the word, and that they were being ironic when they used it as such. But i think the knowledge of the actual, original meaning of the word is disappearing and that people are starting to use the word as a hyperbolic intensifier unironically. Your argument that people are using the word knowing it does not mean ‘figuratively’, or that using a word (or phrase) to mean ‘figuratively’ is automatically a de-intensifier, doesn’t hold up, I think. Per your example: “I saw a mouse that was literally as big as a house”. One could also say “I saw a mouse that was seriously, I’m not kidding, as big as a house!” It’s still mutually understood that ‘seriously, I’m not kidding’ is meant ironically as an intensifier, and is actually meant figuratively. Nobody hears that and thinks there’s really a mouse as big as a house. But ‘literally’ I feel is being misused with a falling away of not only the actual meaning, but also the ironic use of the actual meaning, and becoming nothing more than an intensifier word. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2025, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sayings-idioms-and-acronyms-which-seem-to-indicate-the-opposite-of-what-is-intended/1024599/93 "2025-11-07T14:18:08Z")
The word _livid_ means leaden or bluish in color (that’s direct from its etymology), but people have been using the phrase “he was livid”, meaning that he was so angry that he was turning blue, for so long with no direct knowledge of its literal meaning that it is acceptable to take “livid” to mean “pale” or even “red” (because angry people get red in the face). You can find this in several places on the internet, such as here > **[Reddit - The heart of the internet](https://www.reddit.com/r/etymology/comments/g98gdh/the_colorful_history_of_livid/)** ---
**Author:** ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2025, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sayings-idioms-and-acronyms-which-seem-to-indicate-the-opposite-of-what-is-intended/1024599/94 "2025-11-07T14:42:22Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > But the more common problem in skiing is being behind the turn, i.e. in the back seat with your weight behind center. Not sure why this expression caught on. IMHO, it took on the meaning it has now to refer to people who are over anticipating good outcomes. So being out over your skis is a bad thing. > [@fedman1](#): > > a reverse meaning to me is the phrase “it’s all downhill” “It’s all downhill from here” is a bad thing. You were at the top, now you are going back to the low places. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2025, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sayings-idioms-and-acronyms-which-seem-to-indicate-the-opposite-of-what-is-intended/1024599/95 "2025-11-07T14:45:58Z")
Likewise, the original meaning of “plastic” was “malleable” or “pliant” - that’s how the material got its name. But over time, it picked up the connotation of being rigid or inert, like a Lego or a Barbie doll. Now it’s not uncommon to see an actor criticized for a “plastic-faced” performance, when he would have been praised for the same thing 80 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2025, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sayings-idioms-and-acronyms-which-seem-to-indicate-the-opposite-of-what-is-intended/1024599/96 "2025-11-07T21:35:28Z")
> [@solost](#): > > I’m saying that ‘literally’ is a useful word with a specific meaning: “actually; factually; free from exaggeration or embellishment”. In other words, the opposite of a hyperbolic intensifier. You were right- some time ago. Now, words have evolved and dictionaries disagree. ---
**Author:** ![Zoobi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/13edae/32.png) [@Zoobi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoobi)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2025, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sayings-idioms-and-acronyms-which-seem-to-indicate-the-opposite-of-what-is-intended/1024599/97 "2025-11-07T21:39:05Z")
In fact, I think it would be quite impossible to have such a word and not have it eventually become a hyperbolic intensifier. That’s the nature of human language. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2025, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sayings-idioms-and-acronyms-which-seem-to-indicate-the-opposite-of-what-is-intended/1024599/98 "2025-11-07T21:42:29Z")
Hmm, interesting concept- thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2025, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sayings-idioms-and-acronyms-which-seem-to-indicate-the-opposite-of-what-is-intended/1024599/99 "2025-11-08T00:29:47Z")
Yeah, like since the 1700s. This train left the station a long time ago. Long past time to let go. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2025, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sayings-idioms-and-acronyms-which-seem-to-indicate-the-opposite-of-what-is-intended/1024599/100 "2025-11-08T00:52:30Z")
I suppose there must be some young people who are confused about why Plastic Man has that name. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sayings-idioms-and-acronyms-which-seem-to-indicate-the-opposite-of-what-is-intended/1024599.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sayings-idioms-and-acronyms-which-seem-to-indicate-the-opposite-of-what-is-intended/1024599.md?page=6)