# 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:** 6
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2013, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-go-together/646317/101 "2013-01-12T15:23:16Z")
> [@](#): > > 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. I’m not aware of any particular connection between “cromulent” and physicists. But I am pretty sure we have a large number of Simpsons fans around here. And speaking of high falutin’, there’s also new-fangled, though I’m not sure that fangled ever appears unhyphenated there. Just a couple of days ago, I had occasion to refer to a new-fangled washing machine, as opposed to an old-mangled one. ---
**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, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-go-together/646317/102 "2013-01-12T18:04:00Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > rama lama lama ke ding a de dinga a dong > > shoo bop shoo wadda wadda yipitty boom de boom > > etc Beep beep oombeep beep yeah Coo-coo ka-choo kuhkoo coo kachoo Oom chaka chacka-lacka oom chacka chacka-lacka ---
**Author:** ![Learjeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Learjeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Learjeff)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2013, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-go-together/646317/103 "2013-01-12T18:46:14Z")
> [@Aspidistra](#): > > In modern English, if you “wreak” something, it’s generally “havoc” (or possibly revenge). The only thing that can be “akimbo” is “arms”. There’s only “flotsam” where there’s also “jetsam” > > Is there a term for words like this that are solely or mainly used in just one context? And what are some more that people can think of? I’ve heard “limbs akimbo”, from Frank Zappa. Since “akimbo” means “hand on hips, elbows out” it clearly refers to arms, but we’re talking about specific words, not concepts. The idea of legs akimbo buggers the imagination. (So does the phrase “bugger the imagination,” but we’re not talking about self reference here.) Flotsam and jetsam were covered above. Wreak seems like a winner, though. > [@Leaffan](#): > > Michelle, ma belle, > These are words that go together well. FTW! > [@commasense](#): > > The only thing one slakes is thirst. > > Only former employees are disgruntled (and no one is ever gruntled). > > Only love is unrequited. Not sure about disgruntled. It could also include band members. If you’re unfamiliar with this concept, you’ve never been in a band. Slake and thirst seem good, though. > [@senpai71](#): > > Let’s not forget laggan (sp?) - which is basically a subclass of jetsam (deliberately thrown overboard). What’s the subclass? All jetsam is deliberately thrown overboard. Otherwise it’s flotsam. ---
**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, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-go-together/646317/104 "2013-01-12T18:59:32Z")
Yes, but [Lagan](http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/lagan) is attached to a bouy, for later recovery. ---
**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, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-go-together/646317/105 "2013-01-12T20:48:53Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I’m not aware of any particular connection between “cromulent” and physicists. But I am pretty sure we have a large number of Simpsons fans around here. > > And speaking of high falutin’, there’s also new-fangled, though I’m not sure that fangled ever appears unhyphenated there. Just a couple of days ago, I had occasion to refer to a new-fangled washing machine, as opposed to an old-mangled one. Just to be sure, because _I_ want to use the word and perhaps scrape up against other people, “cromulent” means (as I’ve seen it used here): “Not only pertinent to the subject at hand, but appropriate and correct.” I always thought “pertinent” and “appropriate” covered that, but if the word is a compact way of expressing a finer shading, then it should be admitted with all rights and honor due to any other good neologism or borrowing from another language. Am I getting the sense right? ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2013, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-go-together/646317/106 "2013-01-12T21:09:45Z")
It was originally used in a simpsons episode as a response to someone’s surprise at the use of the word embiggen with Mrs. Krabappel saying, “It’s a perfectly cromulent word.” My understanding is that when it is used in real liife, it is used to mean unobjectionable. ---
**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, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-go-together/646317/107 "2013-01-12T21:18:37Z")
Well, SD users of the word cromulent? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2013, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-go-together/646317/108 "2013-01-12T22:17:20Z")
I would consider “cromulent” to mean “valid”, or “legitimate”. Oh, and on “disgruntled”, you can have disgruntled customers, 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 13, 2013, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-go-together/646317/109 "2013-01-13T00:25:43Z")
Well, my definition is better. And richer. And like Humpty Dumpty, I say that words mean what I want them to mean. Let’s check back in 30 years and see whose meaning triumphed. ---
**Author:** ![senpai71](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7993a0/32.png) [@senpai71](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/senpai71)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-go-together/646317/110 "2013-01-14T18:10:33Z")
> [@Learjeff](#): > > What’s the subclass? All jetsam is deliberately thrown overboard. Otherwise it’s flotsam. Lagan (apparently one ‘n’) is basically jetsam marked for subsequent recovery, whereas plain ole’ jetsam is just thrown overboard to lighten the load, with no expectation of future retrieval. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-go-together/646317/111 "2013-01-14T18:53:54Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > 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. > [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > That’s “high falutin’.” Good example. No idea what “faluting” means, but it surely is not pronounced that way. Except it’s not relevant to this thread because it’s only one word: [_highfalutin_](http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/highfalutin). The link suggests that the word somehow arose from the root _flute_. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-go-together/646317/112 "2013-01-17T21:43:24Z")
> [@mascaroni](#): > > I’ve only ever seen it spelt ‘_Spick_ and Span’. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spic\_and\_Span](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spic_and_Span) > [@zombywoof](#): > > “Ajar” (“Door”) Can also be used with window, drawer, trunk, really anything that opens and closes like that. > [@Chronos](#): > > I would consider “cromulent” to mean “valid”, or “legitimate”. > > Oh, and on “disgruntled”, you can have disgruntled customers, too. Don’t forget Disgruntled Goat. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-go-together/646317/113 "2013-01-17T23:41:24Z")
One that just came up today: “Neap”. I don’t think I’ve _ever_ seen that word without it being followed by “tide”. And while we’re at it, “gibbous moon” (though technically, Mercury and Venus can be gibbous, too). Waxing and waning come close, but you can also be waxing poetical, and have waning influence. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2013, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-go-together/646317/114 "2013-01-18T22:05:01Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > One that just came up today: “Neap”. I don’t think I’ve _ever_ seen that word without it being followed by “tide”. That’s pretty much by definition. “Neap” doesn’t mean anything but the kind of tide. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2013, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-go-together/646317/115 "2013-01-19T01:12:42Z")
“Fro” is rare without “to” as in “to & fro”. ---
**Author:** ![Dancer\_Flight](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dancer_flight/32/7601_2.png) [@Dancer\_Flight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dancer_Flight)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2013, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-go-together/646317/116 "2013-01-19T03:53:34Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > The only thing one slakes is thirst. > > Only former employees are disgruntled (and no one is ever gruntled). > > Only love is unrequited. One can also slake lime. Lime is CaO. Hydrated or slaked lime is Ca(OH)[sub]2[/sub] which is formed by the action of water on the oxide. -DF ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2013, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-go-together/646317/117 "2013-01-19T09:45:03Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I’m not aware of any particular connection between “cromulent” and physicists. But I am pretty sure we have a large number of Simpsons fans around here. I assumed that **Leo** was conflating cromulent and embiggen insofar as [embiggen first appeared in print](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cromulent#Embiggen_and_cromulent) in [an article published in High Energy Physics in 2007](http://www.iop.org/EJ/article/1126-6708/2007/01/083/jhep012007083.pdf?request-id=lrc9b12D3BGpMQfQ2wi7Kg). ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2013, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-go-together/646317/118 "2013-01-19T11:33:54Z")
> [@KarlGauss](#): > > I assumed that **Leo** was conflating cromulent and embiggen insofar as [embiggen first appeared in print](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cromulent#Embiggen_and_cromulent) in [an article published in High Energy Physics in 2007](http://www.iop.org/EJ/article/1126-6708/2007/01/083/jhep012007083.pdf?request-id=lrc9b12D3BGpMQfQ2wi7Kg). According to your own link, “embiggen” first appeared in print in 1884. The 2007 occurrence in _High Energy Physics_ is its first use, in print, _in the context of physics_. Physicists did not invent it. No doubt they got it off _The Simpsons_. _The Simpsons’_ writers probably did invent it, but they were by no means the first to do so. ---
**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 19, 2013, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-go-together/646317/119 "2013-01-19T16:26:25Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > It was originally used in a simpsons episode as a response to someone’s surprise at the use of the word embiggen with Mrs. Krabappel saying, “It’s a perfectly cromulent word.” My understanding is that when it is used in real liife, it is used to mean unobjectionable. I just spotted an embiggen in a conservative political blog. ---
**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 19, 2013, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-go-together/646317/120 "2013-01-19T16:32:59Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > … > > Only former employees are disgruntled (and no one is ever gruntled)… There’s a word for these words–I read it here in a thread, but lost it. I guess I’ll do a search. But, in the meantime, a lot of people have taken whacks at poems and short pieces using words like gruntled. The best and longest I ever saw was [this](http://www.newyorker.com/archive/1994/07/25/1994_07_25_082_TNY_CARDS_000367745) in _The New Yorker_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-go-together/646317.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-go-together/646317.md?page=7)