# Words that go together **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 7, 2013, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-go-together/646317 "2013-01-07T04:51:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2013, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-go-together/646317/81 "2013-01-11T12:20:36Z")
The only thing one slakes is thirst. Only former employees are disgruntled (and no one is ever gruntled). Only love is unrequited. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2013, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-go-together/646317/82 "2013-01-11T13:05:24Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > The only thing one slakes is thirst. I thought lust was also slaked. I remember an episode of M_A_S\*H where Radar stumbled into a scene in, glasses crooked and hair in disarray after a romantic interlude. When asked what happened he says: “I think I got slaked.” ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2013, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-go-together/646317/83 "2013-01-11T14:31:11Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > The only thing one slakes is thirst. > > Only former employees are disgruntled (and no one is ever gruntled). > > Only love is unrequited. To be ruthless is fairly well known, not to many people know that you can be full of ruth as well. ---
**Author:** ![Peanuthead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peanuthead/32/360_2.png) [@Peanuthead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanuthead)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2013, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-go-together/646317/84 "2013-01-11T18:00:27Z")
> [@For You](#): > > In my youth, “Spic” was a vulgar contraction of “Hispanic”, not something you would use in polite company. I don’t believe it’s contraction of Hispanic. I’m pretty sure it came from Whites making fun of Puerto Ricans saying “no spic English”. ---
**Author:** ![senpai71](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7993a0/32.png) [@senpai71](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/senpai71)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2013, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-go-together/646317/85 "2013-01-11T18:16:18Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > …“Invasion”, …“Incident”, …“Disaster”, …“Scandal”, or even just by itself to refer to the event (as in, “The Bay of Pigs was the low-water mark in Kennedy’s presidency”). > > And **Superhal** , regardless of whether the meaning of “grammar” is such as to encompass “write a picture” as a grammatical mistake, it’s clearly not an example of what the OP is talking about. One might not be able to “write a picture”, but one can “write an article”, or “write a book”, or “write a story”, or “write a letter”, and so on: The word “write” can be associated with many, many other words. This is in contrast to the OP’s examples, where you can wreak havoc, but can’t wreak anything else. Um… You can wreak vengeance. Which may well be havoc, but then again, may not. I am gruntled. ---
**Author:** ![senpai71](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7993a0/32.png) [@senpai71](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/senpai71)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2013, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-go-together/646317/86 "2013-01-11T18:23:17Z")
> [@MacLir](#): > > Not so! They are typically used together because, like “boys and girls” they are two classes within the same general type. I will grant that the phrase “flotsam and jetsam” to refer to random assemblages, especially those of dubious value, has had a lot of use. > > They actually refer to types of marine salvage and can occur separately or together. > > Flotsam is what falls off a ship or is released by action of a shipwreck, and is salvageable by the finder - Finders Keepers. > > Jetsam is items intentionally jettisoned (note the similarity of terms) in efforts to save a ship from sinking, and the owner retains title if the item can be located. (Salvagers can get a finders fee / reward.) Let’s not forget laggan (sp?) - which is basically a subclass of jetsam (deliberately thrown overboard). I guess I could use Wikipedia, but I fear the worst. My father once taught me all about them, but that was 30 years ago… ---
**Author:** ![senpai71](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7993a0/32.png) [@senpai71](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/senpai71)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2013, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-go-together/646317/87 "2013-01-11T18:33:46Z")
My favorite was always “turpitude” as in “moral turpitude” (also on the fossil words Wikipedia link referenced earlier, I see). The weird thing is that this phrase showed up on one of the forms I have filled out in years past (either immigration or SF-86) as in “Have you ever committed a crime of moral turpitude”, without explaining exactly what a crime of moral turpitude is. Also (and somewhat off the subject), the N-400 Naturalization form still contains the question “Have you ever been a habitual drunkard?”. Apparently this is a legal definition. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2013, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-go-together/646317/88 "2013-01-11T19:21:36Z")
Shipoopi only seems to show up with “The girl who’s hard to get” and “you can win her yet.” ---
**Author:** ![panaccione](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/94ad74/32.png) [@panaccione](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panaccione)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2013, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-go-together/646317/89 "2013-01-11T19:29:15Z")
ISTM that the words “furthermore”, “also”, “however”, “but”, and some others can be found in almost all paragraphs. Not sure why that is? ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2013, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-go-together/646317/90 "2013-01-11T20:08:17Z")
I’m feeling rather gruntled myself, at the moment. cease and desist hail and farewell rough and tumble high and low near and far ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2013, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-go-together/646317/91 "2013-01-11T20:54:12Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Crazy Americans. We _take_ rather than _write_ exams in the U.K. too, so I think this is a case of crazy Canadians. ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ What I really came to say, however, is that in replying to another thread I have thought of another example of teh phenomenon: **“high faluting”**. Outside of this phrase, I have absolutely no idea what it might be _to falute_, or whether it can ever be done at any less exalted altitude. ---
**Author:** ![GreenElf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@GreenElf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenElf)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2013, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-go-together/646317/92 "2013-01-11T22:09:31Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Michelle, ma belle, > These are words that go together well. Tres bien ensemble. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2013, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-go-together/646317/93 "2013-01-11T22:13:06Z")
You rarely see kith without kin. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2013, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-go-together/646317/94 "2013-01-11T23:28:13Z")
I just want to say that as a teacher I wrote many exams. I then gave them to my students who took them. There is a perfectly cromulent meaning of “to write an exam” and it basically means to create it. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2013, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-go-together/646317/95 "2013-01-12T01:33:37Z")
Well, the vernacular here is to write an exam. Hey, I understand the cromulent meaning too, but if I were to say “I have to take an exam” people would look at me funny and scratch their heads. Perhaps even stroke their goatees. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2013, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-go-together/646317/96 "2013-01-12T03:48:25Z")
Nothing ever ensues but panic. (except on the SDMB, of course) ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2013, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-go-together/646317/97 "2013-01-12T03:53:02Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Nothing ever ensues but panic. > > (except on the SDMB, of course) Other than you-know-what, I have seen “zany hijinks” precede “ensue.” ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2013, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-go-together/646317/98 "2013-01-12T13:45:21Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Nothing ever ensues but panic. > > (except on the SDMB, of course) > [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Other than you-know-what, I have seen “zany hijinks” precede “ensue.” Hilarity often ensues too. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2013, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-go-together/646317/99 "2013-01-12T13:53:12Z")
[quote=“njtt, post:91, topic:646317”] … I have thought of another example of teh phenomenon: **“high faluting”** …[/] That’s “high falutin’.” Good example. No idea what “faluting” means, but it surely is not pronounced that way. > [@drewtwo99](#): > > I just want to say that as a teacher I wrote many exams. I then gave them to my students who took them. There is a perfectly cromulent meaning of “to write an exam” and it basically means to create it. OK. Second use I’ve seen here of “cromulent” in two weeks. Way too many physicists around here, or the word is spreading like kudzu. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2013, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-go-together/646317/100 "2013-01-12T14:24:05Z")
rama lama lama ke ding a de dinga a dong shoo bop shoo wadda wadda yipitty boom de boom etc [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-go-together/646317.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-go-together/646317.md?page=6)