# What is the opposite of .... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 30, 2008, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-opposite-of/443277 "2008-03-30T15:27:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-opposite-of/443277/21 "2008-03-31T14:59:22Z")
[QUOTE=brujaja] Well, originally, I was going to **say** “orange”…but then I thought, no, that’s a secondary color; and once you make the 3 primaries into 6 secondaries, that’s an even number, and then you have “opposites”. So I said blue, because I thought as one of **three** things it would be **indisputably unopposed**. Musta forgot where I was posting. 😃 [/QUOTE] To give this dying horse one more lash, there are any number of concepts where some phenomenon, like light, which seems to be a continuum of frequencies/wave-lengths, gets moved into a circular arrangement like the color wheel to make some other aspect of the phenomenon a little easier to grasp or work with. Much like the temperature problem I mentioned earlier. Some of these aids (color wheel, cycle of fifths in music, even the basic clock) take over the underlying concept and make us think of them as being tied to the concept when they really aren’t. We human beings like to fool ourselves at every turn. I have always thought that the “law of the excluded middle” where something is True if it can be shown it’s not False (and vice versa) leaves out a whole bunch of Maybe and It Depends. Fuzzy Logic is supposed to deal with that issue, I hear. What’s the opposite of _miracle_? ---
**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:** [March 31, 2008, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-opposite-of/443277/22 "2008-03-31T15:02:30Z")
[QUOTE=matt\_mcl] No, that’s why left _is_ the opposite of right. “Opposite” doesn’t mean “everything except”; it means, well, opposite; as far in the other direction; the negative of the quantity, not zero. [/QUOTE] That’s kinda my point. The _opposite_ of ‘exceed’ therefore does not need to cover being _just right_ - the opposite of ‘exceed’ is ‘fall short’ (or any synonym for that). ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/47e85d/32.png) [@Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Lance_Murdoch)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-opposite-of/443277/23 "2008-03-31T15:14:59Z")
[QUOTE=Zeldar] To give this dying horse one more lash, there are any number of concepts where some phenomenon, like light, which seems to be a continuum of frequencies/wave-lengths, gets moved into a circular arrangement like the color wheel to make some other aspect of the phenomenon a little easier to grasp or work with. Much like the temperature problem I mentioned earlier. Some of these aids (color wheel, cycle of fifths in music, even the basic clock) take over the underlying concept and make us think of them as being tied to the concept when they really aren’t. We human beings like to fool ourselves at every turn. I have always thought that the “law of the excluded middle” where something is True if it can be shown it’s not False (and vice versa) leaves out a whole bunch of Maybe and It Depends. Fuzzy Logic is supposed to deal with that issue, I hear. What’s the opposite of _miracle_? [/QUOTE] The color wheel is not comparable to a clock though. Orange is the opposite of blue in a very real sense. Orange has no blue in it at all. If you mix orange paint with red or yellow you will make progressively redder or yellower orange, but if you mix it with blue it will cease to be orange altogether. It will turn grey. This only goes for the subtractive colors, of course, but that is still rather the default in the world. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-opposite-of/443277/24 "2008-03-31T15:21:37Z")
[QUOTE=Litoris] Fail. [/QUOTE] Yes, the opposite of exceed is [Fail](http://thesaurus.reference.com/browse/exceed). ---
**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:** [April 1, 2008, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-opposite-of/443277/25 "2008-04-01T13:01:48Z")
[QUOTE=Zeldar] What’s the opposite of _miracle_? [/QUOTE] It’s funny, I was just discussing this one with a friend the other day. The most we could come up with was “freak accident.” ---
**Author:** ![Litoris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9f8e36/32.png) [@Litoris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Litoris)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2008, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-opposite-of/443277/26 "2008-04-01T14:25:44Z")
[QUOTE=matt\_mcl] It’s funny, I was just discussing this one with a friend the other day. The most we could come up with was “freak accident.” [/QUOTE] It would depend on the context of “miracle” that you are using. I would say curse if using the most common usage of miracle (a sudden, unexpected good outcome that seems to come from a higher power). ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2008, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-opposite-of/443277/27 "2008-04-01T14:39:25Z")
Pie. Can you name a specific food product that is as unlike pie as possible in every way? ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2008, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-opposite-of/443277/28 "2008-04-01T14:44:13Z")
[QUOTE=Beware of Doug] Pie. Can you name a specific food product that is as unlike pie as possible in every way? [/QUOTE] Tripe ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2008, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-opposite-of/443277/29 "2008-04-01T14:48:07Z")
By George, I think we have a winner here. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2008, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-opposite-of/443277/30 "2008-04-01T14:51:51Z")
Hence the old expression: When go away, take tripe. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2008, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-opposite-of/443277/31 "2008-04-01T17:33:09Z")
[QUOTE=Annie-Xmas] “Couth” does get used occasionally. It’s a good word. Be a little more couth, why doncha? [/QUOTE] My dad will sometimes say, “I’m not uncouth! I’ve got couth I haven’t even used yet!” Sometimes I say it, too. Always good for a giggle. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2008, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-opposite-of/443277/32 "2008-04-01T20:44:46Z")
[QUOTE=elfkin477] Yes, the opposite of exceed is [Fail](http://thesaurus.reference.com/browse/exceed). [/QUOTE] Seems more accurate that the opposite of ‘fail’ would be ‘succeed’. The opposite of ‘exceed’ would be more like ‘underachieve’. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2008, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-opposite-of/443277/33 "2008-04-02T02:14:04Z")
All I know is that these things attract each other. ---
**Author:** ![brujaja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@brujaja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brujaja)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2008, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-opposite-of/443277/34 "2008-04-02T08:38:45Z")
The horse has rallied, he sat up and ate some soup today in fact. It just doesn’t seem right to me that the opposite of a **primary** color should be a **secondary** color. [QUOTE=Captain Lance Murdoch] Orange is the opposite of blue in a very real sense. Orange has no blue in it at all. If you mix orange paint with red or yellow you will make progressively redder or yellower orange, but if you mix it with blue it will cease to be orange altogether. It will turn grey. [/QUOTE] Red and yellow also have no blue in them at all. Why aren’t **they** its opposite? If you mix orange paint with green or purple, it will also cease to be orange. You see, if you regard secondary and primary colors as the same thing (i.e., it is possible for orange to be the opposite of blue), then you must apply your logic equally. (i.e., purple and green are also opposites of blue, because the add-to-orange rule also applies to them.) Really, what \*\*Zeldar \*\* said is closest to the truth; I myself think of the secondary colors as a **subset** of the primary colors, not elgible to be opposites. Sorry to sorta hijack your thread, **Twickster**. I love your word-related threads. (And your shaking-groovy-things threads! Utterly charming.) ---
**Author:** ![Moglet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Moglet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moglet)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2008, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-opposite-of/443277/35 "2008-04-02T09:03:39Z")
The opposite of uncouth is refined. ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2008, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-opposite-of/443277/36 "2008-04-02T09:11:56Z")
[QUOTE=Chefguy] Seems more accurate that the opposite of ‘fail’ would be ‘succeed’. The opposite of ‘exceed’ would be more like ‘underachieve’. [/QUOTE] To “bollocks up” something insinuates that you’ve not just failed, but completely ruined any chance of undoing what damage you’ve done. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2008, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-opposite-of/443277/37 "2008-04-02T12:40:00Z")
[QUOTE=brujaja] The horse has rallied, he sat up and ate some soup today in fact. It just doesn’t seem right to me that the opposite of a **primary** color should be a **secondary** color. Red and yellow also have no blue in them at all. Why aren’t **they** its opposite? If you mix orange paint with green or purple, it will also cease to be orange. You see, if you regard secondary and primary colors as the same thing (i.e., it is possible for orange to be the opposite of blue), then you must apply your logic equally. (i.e., purple and green are also opposites of blue, because the add-to-orange rule also applies to them.) Really, what \*\*Zeldar \*\* said is closest to the truth; I myself think of the secondary colors as a **subset** of the primary colors, not elgible to be opposites. Sorry to sorta hijack your thread, **Twickster**. I love your word-related threads. (And your shaking-groovy-things threads! Utterly charming.) [/QUOTE] What **brujaja** said, **Twickster** , regarding your threads and sense of humor. Also, just one more swipe at the soup-guzzling nag. If color, as a field of concern, is removed from its basis in the electro-magnetic spectrum and thought of in its difficulties for finding matches at Home Depot or Lowe’s paint departments, I think the color wheel (or better still, the color **solid** ), is a marvelous tool for thinking of how hues, and shades, and tints and all the other measuring scales like saturation, intensity, and the rest, can be made to apply to the raw colors in the rainbow (or a prism’s output). Once you bring in all the attributes of _turquoise_ or _puce_ or _lime green_, it gets progressively harder to think of a true **opposite** to any color. It’s like, “what’s the opposite of A-Flat?” And which 9:00 is the opposite of 3:00? The AM or the PM one or the one from exactly six months ago? For those who see what I’m driving at, try to identify other _linear_ or _spectrum_ concepts that get re-visualized into clocks or wheels or circles or maybe even some other shape that bumps up the number of dimensions where the other members of the set reside. Once you orient things like time and temperature and maybe even emotions (love vs. hate) into neat little geometric arrangements it’s tempting to think that they actually behave that way. Not to get overly philosophical, if I haven’t yet, but I believe that many (maybe most) of our problems as a “thinking” species stem from our desire to think of things in a binary way, where opposites rule. I confess to being a basic “black and white” type of person in most matters, where if it ain’t X, it has to be Y. But at least I recognize it as mental laziness. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/47e85d/32.png) [@Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Lance_Murdoch)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2008, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-opposite-of/443277/38 "2008-04-02T13:54:56Z")
To understand that colors truly do have opposites take a look [here](http://triangleparkcreative.com/images/posted/1f943b2fd38614d8d62dbab4c58151fe.gif). star at the little dot in the center for 30 seconds and then look at the white area. Your eyes relax into the opposite colors and the afterimage appears in different colors. This would not work if complimentary colors were merely a philosophical construct. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2008, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-opposite-of/443277/39 "2008-04-02T14:02:02Z")
[QUOTE=Captain Lance Murdoch] To understand that colors truly do have opposites take a look [here](http://triangleparkcreative.com/images/posted/1f943b2fd38614d8d62dbab4c58151fe.gif). star at the little dot in the center for 30 seconds and then look at the white area. Your eyes relax into the opposite colors and the afterimage appears in different colors. This would not work if complimentary colors were merely a philosophical construct. [/QUOTE] A compelling refutation to my thesis! Nicely done. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2008, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-opposite-of/443277/40 "2008-04-02T14:19:13Z")
[QUOTE=Zeldar] It’s like, “what’s the opposite of A-Flat?” [/QUOTE] D natural. What is the opposite of sneeze? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-opposite-of/443277.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-opposite-of/443277.md?page=3)