# Words that are their own opposites **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 22, 2021, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-their-own-opposites/949331 "2021-08-22T22:53:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [May 17, 2022, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-their-own-opposites/949331/21 "2022-05-17T12:42:37Z")
Which led to a very acrimonious meeting during World War II, with the British saying that a particular issue was so important that it needed to be tabled immediately, while the Americans thought it was so important that it could not be tabled at all. ---
**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:** [May 17, 2022, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-their-own-opposites/949331/22 "2022-05-17T16:21:33Z")
Someone needed to stand up and shout “No motion is too trivial to table!” Further reading: [https://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=24582](https://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=24582) ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2022, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-their-own-opposites/949331/23 "2022-05-17T16:29:10Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Should we accept “literally” on this list now as it also means figuratively by common usage and IIRC a couple of dictionary’s definitions. It never adds “figuratively” to the meaning of a phrase. I can’t think of a case where if you heard a phrase you would take it literally but if you added “literally” to it you would then take it figuratively. What it means in common usage is more like a generic intensifier of a figurative phrase, which is different from altering the meaning of a phrase toward more figurativeness. ---
**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:** [May 17, 2022, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-their-own-opposites/949331/24 "2022-05-17T16:43:19Z")
Douglas Hofstadter talked about that phrasing in one of his books, as I recall. Citation on the WWII event [https://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/24/books/chapter-origins-of-the-specious.html](https://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/24/books/chapter-origins-of-the-specious.html) > “The enjoyment of a common language was of course a supreme advantage in all British and American discussions,” Churchill wrote in The Second World War. No interpreters were needed, for one thing, but there were “differences of expression, which in the early days led to an amusing incident.” The British wanted to raise an urgent matter, he said, and told the Americans they wished to “table it” (that is, bring it to the table). But to the Americans, tabling something meant putting it aside. “A long and even acrimonious argument ensued,” Churchill wrote, “before both parties realised that they were agreed on the merits and wanted the same thing.” ---
**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:** [May 29, 2022, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-their-own-opposites/949331/25 "2022-05-29T12:13:51Z")
I heard a reference to a concession stand, and thought, hey, a concession can be something you obtain from said concession stand, or something you give up, as in “making a concession”. I looked up the definition and it bears out the opposite meaning: “a thing that is granted, especially in response to demands; a thing conceded.” ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2022, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-their-own-opposites/949331/26 "2022-06-03T19:19:44Z")
I’ve got one! Following standard rules of productive English grammar, “Unalaska” should mean “unlike Alaska”, but is actually a community in Alaska and therefore presumably Alaskan. The Wikipedia page implies that they do share a vaguely related etymology, although if “Alaska” means “mainland” and the “alaska” of “unalaska” means “peninsula”, they still come close to meaning their opposite in Aleut. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2022, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-their-own-opposites/949331/27 "2022-06-03T19:26:35Z")
> [@solost](#): > > I heard a reference to a concession stand, and thought, hey, a concession can be something you obtain from said concession stand, or something you give up, as in “making a concession”. > > I looked up the definition and it bears out the opposite meaning: > > “a thing that is granted, especially in response to demands; a thing conceded.” The “concession” in concession stand refers to the owner/runner of the venue conceding (contracting out to a third party) the right to sell in that location. A concession stand is not a place that sells concessions! So I’m not seeing the opposite meanings here. It can refer to something conceded _by_ you, or something conceded _to_ you. But that’s just a difference in who’s doing the conceding. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2022, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-their-own-opposites/949331/28 "2022-06-03T19:39:07Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > “Unalaska” should mean “unlike Alaska”, but is actually a community in Alaska and therefore presumably Alaskan. The reason it was named that is because on a clear day you can see Unrussia from there. ---
**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:** [June 3, 2022, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-their-own-opposites/949331/29 "2022-06-03T19:40:14Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > So I’m not seeing the opposite meanings here. It can refer to something conceded _by_ you, or something conceded _to_ you. But that’s just a difference in who’s doing the conceding. Fine, I concede the point then. 🙂 ---
**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:** [June 4, 2022, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-their-own-opposites/949331/30 "2022-06-04T21:15:04Z")
If you visited Alaska and then visited Unalaska, would you still have wanderlust? ---
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2022, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-their-own-opposites/949331/31 "2022-06-04T21:32:54Z")
Dust. > [@Sternvogel](#): > > “Fair”, when used to describe a woman’s appearance, can mean either “beautiful” or “average”. Doesn’t have to be a woman’s appearance. I love Jimmy Carter, but remember when a poll rated his performance as “Fair,” and he argued that where he comes from, that means great? (It was on a scale of Excellent – Good – Fair – Poor, IIRC.) Unfortunately can’t find a cite for this but I don’t think I’m making it up. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2022, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-their-own-opposites/949331/32 "2022-06-04T21:33:24Z")
> [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > If you visited Alaska and then visited Unalaska, would you still have wanderlust? No, I rather think you’d blow up in a gigantic energy explosion. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2022, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-their-own-opposites/949331/33 "2022-06-04T21:36:12Z")
> [@Briny\_Deep](#): > > Dust. You didn’t spell it out, but that’s an interesting one. When the type of dust is undesirable household dust, the verb means to remove it; otherwise it means to add it. ---
**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:** [June 4, 2022, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-their-own-opposites/949331/34 "2022-06-04T21:41:59Z")
Which is why you should never ask Amelia Bedelia to dust the furniture. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2022, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-their-own-opposites/949331/35 "2022-06-05T01:40:51Z")
> [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > If you visited Alaska and then visited Unalaska, would you still have wanderlust? If you haven’t visited Onalaska\*† yet. \*Doesn’t matter which one: WI, WA, or TX. †“On Alaska” is the fight song of the University of Alaska‡ ‡OK, not true, but it should be. ---
**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:** [June 9, 2022, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-their-own-opposites/949331/36 "2022-06-09T07:25:05Z")
“barred”, referring to being allowed to practice as a lawyer. Seen in context: An article about Peter Navarro, who can’t make up his mind whether to act as his own lawyer. (Spoiler: He’s not a lawyer.) Bold added: > [@](#): > > The trial is set for Navarro to appear in July. In a letter sent Wednesday, however. Navarro explained he still doesn’t have a lawyer. The former Trump adviser went to Harvard to get a master’s in public administration, but he never attended law school **nor is he a barred attorney**. > **[Peter Navarro said he would represent himself — but now he’s complaining to a...](https://www.rawstory.com/peter-navarro-confused-lawyer/)** > > Former top White House adviser Peter Navarro was indicted by a grand jury last week, but he maintained that he would be representing himself in the case. Navarro explained he'd rather represent himself because he doesn't want to waste his retirement... So when an attorney is admitted to the bar, they say he is “barred”? And if he later gets disbarred, then he is barred? ---
**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:** [June 9, 2022, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-their-own-opposites/949331/37 "2022-06-09T07:30:43Z")
Somebody once discussed careless driving (this was on a Usenet soc.something thread, 35-some years ago), which the poster referred to as “wreckless driving”. I felt compelled to nit-pick that. Wreckless driving, meaning driving without wrecks, is desirable. The opposite, wreckful driving, is to be avoided. So reckless driving = wreckful driving; wreckless driving = reckful driving. ---
**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:** [June 9, 2022, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-their-own-opposites/949331/38 "2022-06-09T13:10:44Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > So reckless driving = wreckful driving; > wreckless driving = reckful driving. Nice wordplay. Got me to thinking, did we recently have a thread of words commonly used, in which their opposite meaning has fallen into disuse? If not, maybe I read a story about it on [Mentalfloss.com](http://Mentalfloss.com) or something. ‘Reckless’ is one; nobody describes a careful person as ‘reck’, or ‘reckful’. There are several, but the only other one I can think of off the top of my head right now is ‘unravel’. Nobody uses the word ‘ravel’ anymore, though it was used in Shakespeare’s time; at least, by Shakespeare: “sleep that knits up the raveled sleeve of care”. Though he used it in the sense we use ‘unravel’, so maybe it’s a ‘flammable / inflammable’ thing. [/pre-coffee ramblings] ---
**Author:** ![Heracles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heracles/32/487_2.png) [@Heracles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heracles)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2022, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-their-own-opposites/949331/39 "2022-06-09T20:58:40Z")
Would “biweekly” quality ? It means both every 2 weeks and every half-week, so basically is so ambiguous as to be useless. Same problem for “bimonthly”. In French, we have _“faire long feu”_, which means “to fail”, and _“ne pas faire long feu”_, which should logically / syntactically be the opposite, but means “to fail/die after a short while”. ---
**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:** [June 10, 2022, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-their-own-opposites/949331/40 "2022-06-10T08:16:52Z")
> [@solost](#): > > Nice wordplay. Got me to thinking, did we recently have a thread of words commonly used, in which their opposite meaning has fallen into disuse? Sorry, I couldn’t wresist. I think we did have such a thread around here somewhere. The best-known such word, I think, is disgruntled, which happens when you get disgusted with your job. Employers do best when they keep their workers happily gruntled and gusted. Biweekly means either twice a week or once every other week, not both, but nobody (this poster included) can ever remember which. Likewise with bimonthly. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-their-own-opposites/949331.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-their-own-opposites/949331.md?page=3)