# What is this linguistic phenomenon? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 16, 2021, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-linguistic-phenomenon/938039 "2021-03-16T18:10:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2021, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-linguistic-phenomenon/938039/141 "2021-03-24T15:16:48Z")
You’re being confused by Google’s very one-of-a-kind method of presenting results. Example. “Donald Trump” returns 335,000,000 results. But Google shows only 176 of them. Why? No idea. But nobody could possibly believes the internet contains only 176 references to “Donald Trump.” > Page 2 of about 176 results (0.99 seconds) When I went back and looked at “very one-of-a-kind” I saw 1,210,000 results, or less than 5% of “very unique.” That’s believable. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2021, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-linguistic-phenomenon/938039/142 "2021-03-24T16:54:56Z")
From “A Chorus Line” > She walks into a room (Singular sensation) and you know she’s un- > (Every little step she takes) commonly rare, **very unique** > Peripatetic, poetic and chic (One!) First thing that came to my mind… ---
**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:** [March 24, 2021, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-linguistic-phenomenon/938039/143 "2021-03-24T18:33:48Z")
A recent infection caused me to be sincerely anemic. I’ve altered my diet, and I’m taking iron supplement pills. I seldom use the word_ironic,_ but today I am more ironic than I have been for a long time. ---
**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:** [March 24, 2021, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-linguistic-phenomenon/938039/144 "2021-03-24T19:53:38Z")
Would that be pronounced like eye-RON-ick or like iERN-ick? ---
**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:** [March 24, 2021, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-linguistic-phenomenon/938039/145 "2021-03-24T20:01:43Z")
Or perhaps your are “well ironed”. Not to be confused with laundry. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2021, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-linguistic-phenomenon/938039/146 "2021-03-24T20:49:18Z")
> [@AskNott](#): > > oday I am more ironic than I have been for a long time. Shhh. Don’t tell Magneto. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2021, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-linguistic-phenomenon/938039/147 "2021-03-24T23:51:14Z")
Or maybe AskNott is just irony. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2021, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-linguistic-phenomenon/938039/148 "2021-03-25T00:06:47Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > When I went back and looked at “very one-of-a-kind” I saw 1,210,000 results, or less than 5% of “very unique.” I would never say “very one-of-a-kind,” but I can see saying “It’s very much one-of-a-kind in that…” and then go on to explain how the way in which it is singular sets it apart even from other things that are one-of-a kind. For example, if I have a collection of antiques, and I have several things which are the only known extant examples of such a thing of their design and material from their time periods, making them unique; however, I have one thing that has not even been identified. We don’t even know whether it is a thing unto itself, or part of something else. That thing is unique, but singular even among my collection of unique items. Reminds me of one of my favorite TBBT quotes. Sheldon corrects Stuart when Stuart says that Sheldon Stuart couldn’t be “more wrong.” Sheldon says there are not degrees of wrongness. Stuart says “It’s a little wrong to call a tomato a vegetable; it’s a lot wrong to call it a suspension bridge.” ---
**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:** [March 25, 2021, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-linguistic-phenomenon/938039/149 "2021-03-25T20:30:49Z")
I’m not “well-ironed.” I’m just as wrinkly as ever. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2021, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-linguistic-phenomenon/938039/150 "2021-03-25T20:45:52Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > But I disagree, I think within the limitations of needing to write song lyrics that fit with a melody, she does a decent job of giving examples of irony. _happening in the opposite way to what is expected, and typically causing wry amusement because of this._ _An old man turned 98_ _He won the lottery and died the next day_ Not ironic. Now, winning the lottery and planing great vacations and having covid hit- that could be ironic. _It’s like rain on your wedding day_ Not even close, now if a weatherman had predicted nice weather and his wedding got ruined, that could be ironic. _It’s the good advice that you just didn’t take_ Nope. On to broadening: _Genocide_. [United Nations Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect](https://www.un.org/en/genocideprevention/genocide.shtml) There must be _Intent._ So- _mostly_, the wiping out of the North American natives doesnt come under this, since diseases werent intentional. _Sexual assault-_ some have expanded this term to include verbal abuse. These two things are really horrible, so we need to resist strongly attempts to broaden them, since that dilutes and weakens how horrific they are. Broadening weakens the term. **Mansplaining** (wiki) _Mansplaining is a pejorative term meaning " to comment on or explain something to a woman in a condescending, overconfident, and often inaccurate or oversimplified manner". ._ So, saying “Honey, you shouldnt try to pet those Bison, they can be dangerous!” isnt Mansplaining. It needs to be condescending, overconfident, and often inaccurate or oversimplified. Not just a male explaining something to a female . ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2021, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-linguistic-phenomenon/938039/151 "2021-03-25T20:48:36Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > Well, the usage has certainly broadened. Its original meaning was to consciously manipulate someone’s perception of reality in an attempt to make them believe they are crazy. Can we broaden gaslighting to _consciously manipulate someone’s perception of reality in an attempt to make_ **actually be crazy.**. Q-anon might count then. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2021, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-linguistic-phenomenon/938039/152 "2021-03-26T01:24:39Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > _It’s like rain on your wedding day_ Not even close, now if a weatherman had predicted nice weather and his wedding got ruined, that could be ironic. Well this gets to what I was saying about the limitations of the song. Many of the examples in the verses are indeed examples of irony. In the chorus though, each example is one line, which gives her 5-6 syllables to tell a story. With those ones, the irony can only be implied. For example, I would read “rain on your wedding day” as implying it did not rain on any other day. “Ironically, the only day it rained that month was our wedding day” scans fine. Anyway, in terms of this thread, it’s only necessary to say that _some_ of her examples show irony (like the aforementioned 10,000 spoons). So the song doesn’t support the notion that Alanis, or anyone else, necessarily think that irony just means “a bad thing happened”. ---
**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:** [March 26, 2021, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-linguistic-phenomenon/938039/153 "2021-03-26T01:31:40Z")
Or we could just dismiss it all as meta-irony. The irony is that the song “Ironic” is not ironic. Or something like that. (Of course, the fact that there are some examples of irony there don’t make that interpretation work.) ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2021, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-linguistic-phenomenon/938039/154 "2021-03-26T02:36:21Z")
> [@Bootb](#): > > One that I’ve noticed lately is the over-use and watering down of “creepy.” Good point. Especially when men are talked about “that really creepy guy” Oh what was so creepy? “He was going down the same aisle of the grocery store as me, and he wore socks with sandals!” 😱 ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2021, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-linguistic-phenomenon/938039/155 "2021-03-26T02:43:31Z")
> [@rowrrbazzle](#): > > Fascism, etc., etc. Orwell, Yes, and worse is Nazi. Not many nazis around anymore other than as members of weird tiny white supremacist groups. Now some governments have tended towards being Fascist, but more are actually "populist’. A Populist being what many call the rather nasty leaders of some democratic states, such as Brazil, Philippines, etc. “_a person, especially a politician, who strives to appeal to ordinary people who feel that their concerns are disregarded by established elite groups._” Often they appear to be somewhat like fascists. (we have been asked to keep politics out of this so no names, and other comparisons, please) ---
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2021, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-linguistic-phenomenon/938039/156 "2021-03-26T02:57:08Z")
> It is the weakest word in the English language; doesn’t mean anything. If you feel the urge of ‘very’ coming on, just write the word, ‘damn,’ in the place of ‘very.’ My grade two teacher had a similar opinion of the word “nice”. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2021, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-linguistic-phenomenon/938039/157 "2021-03-26T04:51:31Z")
Maybe she had read the Jane Austen book mentioned in [post #25](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-linguistic-phenomenon/938039/25). ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2021, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-linguistic-phenomenon/938039/158 "2021-09-07T19:32:52Z")
Please help! Bumping this thread because I need answer fast on a related linguistic phenomenon. Namely: What is it called, linguistically, when a word gets a restrictive modifier to narrow its meaning, and then loses its modifier but retains the more restricted meaning? Examples: “High heels”, i.e., a particular kind of shoe with heels that are high, becomes just “heels”, still referring specifically to shoe heels that are high. “Finger-ring”, i.e., a ring small enough to wear on the finger, becomes just “ring”, still meaning specifically a ring for the finger. “Window-curtains”, i.e., a particular type of soft divider installed on a window (as opposed to a door curtain, bed-curtains, theater curtain, etc.), becomes just “curtains”, still signifying curtains on a window. What’s this phenomenon called?? ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2021, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-linguistic-phenomenon/938039/159 "2021-09-08T00:29:02Z")
Isn’t “pretty” akin to “fairly”? And even “nicely”? It isn’t exactly an intensifier. More of a meaning of “sufficiently”, hence pleasantly? ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2021, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-linguistic-phenomenon/938039/160 "2021-09-08T02:34:07Z")
> [@AskNott](#): > > I’m not “well-ironed.” I’m just as wrinkly as ever. Let me help you out there: > [@](#): > > \_'\_ \_\_\_ “\_\_\_\_-\_\_\_\_\_\_.” \_'\_ \_\_\_\_ \_\_ \_\_\_\_\_\_\_ \_\_ \_\_\_\_. Your wrinkly post has been ironed by the ironist. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-linguistic-phenomenon/938039.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-linguistic-phenomenon/938039.md?page=9)