# Words that only seem to be used in comination with another word(s) **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 9, 2000, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-only-seem-to-be-used-in-comination-with-another-word-s/36326 "2000-10-09T23:33:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Moe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moe/32/2972_2.png) [@Moe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moe)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2000, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-only-seem-to-be-used-in-comination-with-another-word-s/36326/1 "2000-10-09T23:33:03Z")
scrimp. Does anybody use the word _scrimp_ without following it with _and save_? How about _nooks and cranies_. Are those real words? ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2000, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-only-seem-to-be-used-in-comination-with-another-word-s/36326/2 "2000-10-09T23:42:43Z")
I’ve used (and heard) scrimp outside of scrimp n’ save, though I’ll admit it’s none too common. Nook seems to be fairly common, though I’d say crannies sure ain’t. Examples: “Don’t scrimp on the boiled potato!” “We’ve been scrimping for a while so we can afford a place with a real dining room instead of just a breakfast nook.” Maybe it all depends on where you’re fro. Or to. Or both. ---
**Author:** ![MysteryFellow63427](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e4f/32.png) [@MysteryFellow63427](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MysteryFellow63427)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2000, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-only-seem-to-be-used-in-comination-with-another-word-s/36326/3 "2000-10-10T00:40:42Z")
Perfectly. Is perfectly ever used, except as in “perfectly ridiculous?” (Besides maybe perfectly absurd or perfectly preposterous?) ---
**Author:** ![Fairy\_Princess\_Kitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/df705f/32.png) [@Fairy\_Princess\_Kitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fairy_Princess_Kitty)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2000, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-only-seem-to-be-used-in-comination-with-another-word-s/36326/4 "2000-10-10T01:06:37Z")
Hey! I use perfectly, I doubt I use it in the grammatically correct sense of the word but I do use it. “That would be so perfectly, wonderfully, magically, fun” Okay so maybe not like that but close enough, it’s just for when I fell like stringing suff together. Kitty ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2000, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-only-seem-to-be-used-in-comination-with-another-word-s/36326/5 "2000-10-10T01:48:08Z")
Well, Richard Armour pointed out that one “strews” flowers and nothing else. ---
**Author:** ![Soupy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Soupy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soupy)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2000, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-only-seem-to-be-used-in-comination-with-another-word-s/36326/6 "2000-10-10T02:47:26Z")
Retardant - only goes with “fire retardant” ---
**Author:** ![TheNerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/858c86/32.png) [@TheNerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheNerd)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2000, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-only-seem-to-be-used-in-comination-with-another-word-s/36326/7 "2000-10-10T03:31:47Z")
I’m perfectly capable of strewing random destruction. What I want to know is who uses the word “rid” without “get” in front of it. ---
**Author:** ![stuyguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@stuyguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stuyguy)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2000, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-only-seem-to-be-used-in-comination-with-another-word-s/36326/8 "2000-10-10T03:45:27Z")
All the prior examples are lame. You guys aren’t working hard enough. Here’s one I dare you to crack: **akimbo** You can use it with “arms,” as in **“arms akimbo,”** and nothing else. (I’m counting the minutes until **Ukelele Ike** comes in with come improbable, wacko English construction that he’ll swear on a stack of bibles is valid.) ---
**Author:** ![Ben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/df788c/32.png) [@Ben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ben)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2000, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-only-seem-to-be-used-in-comination-with-another-word-s/36326/9 "2000-10-10T03:46:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by TheNerd \* > \*\*I’m perfectly capable of strewing random destruction. > > What I want to know is who uses the word “rid” without “get” in front of it. \*\* “If only I could rid myself of that man…” “Our kitchen has a nice breakfast nook.” “A boulder, perfectly poised on top of a pointed rock in the desert.” I seem to remember hearing “strew” used in conjunction with “feces”, but I don’t remember the context. -Ben ---
**Author:** ![Moe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moe/32/2972_2.png) [@Moe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moe)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2000, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-only-seem-to-be-used-in-comination-with-another-word-s/36326/10 "2000-10-10T03:47:05Z")
Rats. Mods, if you happen to stop in could you change the subject line to read “com_b_ination” so that we may rid this thread of as many misspellings as possible. I’m perfectly willing to have my mistakes corrected whenever necessary. 😃 How about _wreaking havoc_? I’m not even sure which word to focus on. ---
**Author:** ![Moe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moe/32/2972_2.png) [@Moe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moe)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2000, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-only-seem-to-be-used-in-comination-with-another-word-s/36326/11 "2000-10-10T03:48:32Z")
I am waaaay too slow. ---
**Author:** ![Moe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moe/32/2972_2.png) [@Moe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moe)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2000, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-only-seem-to-be-used-in-comination-with-another-word-s/36326/12 "2000-10-10T03:53:00Z")
Damn **stuy** , akimbo is a tough one. It’s examples like that I had in mind when I started this thread. Unfortunately, they all left my mind before I actually entered them in it. ---
**Author:** ![Rich\_Mann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ce73a5/32.png) [@Rich\_Mann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rich_Mann)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2000, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-only-seem-to-be-used-in-comination-with-another-word-s/36326/13 "2000-10-10T04:08:02Z")
Meemees (sp?). Are there any other kind besides the _screaming_ ones? ---
**Author:** ![OrcaChow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e47c2d/32.png) [@OrcaChow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OrcaChow)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2000, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-only-seem-to-be-used-in-comination-with-another-word-s/36326/14 "2000-10-10T04:41:53Z")
Re: Arms akimbo. In a writers’ critique group I once attended, one of the manuscripts under review included the phrase, “_legs_ akimbo.” (That was small potatoes after reading of the protagonist’s horse, which began the chapter as a mare and ended it as a gelding.) How about **disgruntled**? Who else is ever disgruntled but workers? Usually Postal workers. ---
**Author:** ![BrothaTJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d07c76/32.png) [@BrothaTJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrothaTJ)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2000, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-only-seem-to-be-used-in-comination-with-another-word-s/36326/15 "2000-10-10T04:58:02Z")
OrcaChow, I’ve got disgruntled squirrels in my back yard, and they are not employees of the postal service. Ever since we got that new bird feeder that they can’t get into… Someone try using “ulterior” without following it up with “motive.” ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2000, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-only-seem-to-be-used-in-comination-with-another-word-s/36326/16 "2000-10-10T13:04:59Z")
Gelded horse. Every other animal is fixed. ---
**Author:** ![Jman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jman/32/4416_2.png) [@Jman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jman)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2000, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-only-seem-to-be-used-in-comination-with-another-word-s/36326/17 "2000-10-10T14:35:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by neuroman \* > \*\*Perfectly. Is perfectly ever used, except as in “perfectly ridiculous?” (Besides maybe perfectly absurd or perfectly preposterous?) \*\* I don’t think anyone I know would think ‘perfectly’ must be used with a certain word, and certainly not with ‘rediculous.’ I’m not even sure if I’ve heard ‘perfectly rediculous’ more than 3 times in my life. He did that backflip perfectly. She applied her makeup perfectly. They performed perfectly on the test. and so on… Jman ---
**Author:** ![ReservoirDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8edcca/32.png) [@ReservoirDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ReservoirDog)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2000, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-only-seem-to-be-used-in-comination-with-another-word-s/36326/18 "2000-10-10T14:46:14Z")
It seems there is only one thing that is referred to as “unrequited”. ---
**Author:** ![ThisYearsGirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@ThisYearsGirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisYearsGirl)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2000, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-only-seem-to-be-used-in-comination-with-another-word-s/36326/19 "2000-10-10T16:01:59Z")
I’ve never heard the word “harbinger” not referring to death or the bluebird of spring. ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2000, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-only-seem-to-be-used-in-comination-with-another-word-s/36326/20 "2000-10-10T16:09:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Moe \* > \*\*scrimp. > > Does anybody use the word _scrimp_ without following it with _and save_? > \*\* At Red Lobster, I ordered the Steak with Scrimp Scampi. :D:D [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-only-seem-to-be-used-in-comination-with-another-word-s/36326.md?page=2)