# Words that, to you, don't sound like what they should mean **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 29, 2016, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-to-you-dont-sound-like-what-they-should-mean/758706 "2016-06-29T14:27:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-to-you-dont-sound-like-what-they-should-mean/758706/21 "2016-06-30T19:27:57Z")
I have said this before in threads like this but to me “flurry” sounds like it should be a lot of snow not a little. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-to-you-dont-sound-like-what-they-should-mean/758706/22 "2016-06-30T19:46:14Z")
> [@Martian Bigfoot](#): > > I always have problems with the word “doozy”. It sounds like “easy”, “lazy” or “breezy”. It seems to me that a “doozy” should be something simple or unimpressive, instead of basically the opposite if that. If you’d ever seen a [Duesenberg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duesenberg#/media/File:Duesenberg_Convertible_SJ_LA_Grand_Dual-Cowl_Phaeton_1935.jpg) in its heyday, you might think otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-to-you-dont-sound-like-what-they-should-mean/758706/23 "2016-06-30T19:58:14Z")
“Sanguine” always makes me pause for a second. I have a friend who insists that “saunter” is the word describing the hunched over, Charlie Brown-like walk. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2016, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-to-you-dont-sound-like-what-they-should-mean/758706/24 "2016-07-01T03:09:06Z")
Absconding sounds more like admonishing than getting away. ---
**Author:** ![Cub\_Mistress](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea666f/32.png) [@Cub\_Mistress](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cub_Mistress)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2016, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-to-you-dont-sound-like-what-they-should-mean/758706/25 "2016-07-01T03:40:52Z")
petrichor does not sound, to me, as if it should be something pleasant [petrichor](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petrichor) and yet it is. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2016, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-to-you-dont-sound-like-what-they-should-mean/758706/26 "2016-07-01T07:30:06Z")
“‘Inflammable’ means flammable? What a country!” — Dr. Nick, _The Simpsons_ Similarly, autoantonyms are surprising: “Cleave” can mean either “separate from” or “join to”, and “oversight” can imply someone either was watching something or that they weren’t. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2016, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-to-you-dont-sound-like-what-they-should-mean/758706/27 "2016-07-01T08:02:53Z")
“Puce” is actually a cool color, but it sounds ugly, and it also sounds green. Probably snot-green. But it’s purplish. “Fuchsia” sounds like another ugly color. Again, not. I used to get very confused about whether “sanction” meant to approve of something, or to penalize something (because it didn’t have approval?). I still don’t know… Uh, “livid” I don’t think means what most people think it means. However, CSI has helped with this, so I’m probably wrong about that, these days. ---
**Author:** ![VanillaGorilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f9ae1b/32.png) [@VanillaGorilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VanillaGorilla)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2016, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-to-you-dont-sound-like-what-they-should-mean/758706/28 "2016-07-01T08:41:00Z")
Terrible means really bad. If something is horrific it is pretty bad. Yet terrific means really good? I always struggle with that one. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2016, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-to-you-dont-sound-like-what-they-should-mean/758706/29 "2016-07-01T09:44:05Z")
> [@VanillaGorilla](#): > > Yet terrific means really good? I always struggle with that one. ‘Terrific’ used to be a value-neutral intensifier, like “A terrific explosion caused the man to leap erect and ejaculate ‘Hello, what’s this!?’” It gradually became a purely positive term. (I might have fudged the linguistics a bit to make the quote above as bizarre as possible.) > [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > I used to get very confused about whether “sanction” meant to approve of something, or to penalize something (because it didn’t have approval?). I still don’t know… Another autoantonym: It can mean either, depending on context. > [@](#): > > Uh, “livid” I don’t think means what most people think it means. However, CSI has helped with this, so I’m probably wrong about that, these days. In a CSI context, “lividity” contrasts with “pallor”: A livid region has had blood pooling in it, so it’s dark like a really bad bruise; a pallid region, on the other hand, has had blood drained from it, so it’s very pale. Originally, someone who was “livid with rage” was red-faced, which jives with the “darkened” meaning, above. I think some people use that sense to mean “pale”, now, hence your confusion. ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2016, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-to-you-dont-sound-like-what-they-should-mean/758706/30 "2016-07-01T10:51:18Z")
> [@Draelin](#): > > This is making me laugh so hard right now, and I’m not certain why. > > As a kid, I always thought **highfalutin** was an improperly-pronounced gerund, and decided to myself that _to highfalute_ had something to do with a musical instrument. I used to think the same thing as a kid. And, well, as an adult. Actually, I thought that up until three minutes ago, so thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2016, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-to-you-dont-sound-like-what-they-should-mean/758706/31 "2016-07-01T11:00:21Z")
> [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > “Puce” is actually a cool color, but it sounds ugly, and it also sounds green. Probably snot-green. But it’s purplish. It sounds pukey. Does anybody know where the name comes from? I’ve never been able to find any meaning for puce other than the color itself. ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2016, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-to-you-dont-sound-like-what-they-should-mean/758706/32 "2016-07-01T11:04:55Z")
The word _scrupulous_ always gives me pause—first of all, it sounds like it has something to do with cartilage, or some medical connection at any rate, and second, being German, I keep thinking it means the opposite of what it actually does mean—since _skrupellos_ is German for _unscrupulous_. ---
**Author:** ![Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Springtime_for_Spacers)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2016, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-to-you-dont-sound-like-what-they-should-mean/758706/33 "2016-07-01T11:59:54Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > It sounds pukey. Does anybody know where the name comes from? I’ve never been able to find any meaning for puce other than the color itself. Flea coloured, specifically the colour of the blood engorged belly or the stain left after one is crushed. How lovely! From the French. There is however puce green which[Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puce) says may be a corruption of puke green or pus green. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2016, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-to-you-dont-sound-like-what-they-should-mean/758706/34 "2016-07-01T12:31:51Z")
For some reason “opaque” sounds like something should be partially transparent. It in fact means not transparent at all. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2016, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-to-you-dont-sound-like-what-they-should-mean/758706/35 "2016-07-01T12:38:46Z")
> [@Springtime\_for\_Spacers](#): > > Flea coloured, specifically the colour of the blood engorged belly or the stain left after one is crushed. How lovely! From the French. Ah. _Merci_. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2016, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-to-you-dont-sound-like-what-they-should-mean/758706/36 "2016-07-01T12:47:20Z")
Another one: _redress_. Sounds like it should mean “putting on clothes again”, but actually means “to remedy or set right”. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2016, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-to-you-dont-sound-like-what-they-should-mean/758706/37 "2016-07-01T14:18:26Z")
Once I noticed that the phrase “out of whack” was generally applied to situations that had plenty of whack, I couldn’t hear it without giggling a little inside. ---
**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:** [July 1, 2016, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-to-you-dont-sound-like-what-they-should-mean/758706/38 "2016-07-01T16:19:14Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > It sounds pukey. Does anybody know where the name comes from? I’ve never been able to find any meaning for puce other than the color itself. [Etymonline.com](http://Etymonline.com) is a good resource for these questions in lieu of having the OED at hand. [See here the entry on “puce.”](http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=puce) ---
**Author:** ![john\_b\_2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a9a28c/32.png) [@john\_b\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/john_b_2)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2016, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-to-you-dont-sound-like-what-they-should-mean/758706/39 "2016-07-01T16:36:32Z")
contumely doesn’t sound like something bad at all. More like praise, something to do with poise; or maybe demeanor or elegance. Nothing of the sort. ---
**Author:** ![Clare\_de\_Loone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/clare_de_loone/32/3407_2.png) [@Clare\_de\_Loone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clare_de_Loone)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2016, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-to-you-dont-sound-like-what-they-should-mean/758706/40 "2016-07-01T18:59:20Z")
The phrase “to pan out” always makes me think “oh, it _didn’t_ work.” My internal monologue processes this along the lines of panning for gold and you didn’t get any, so you’re stopping…maybe tapping out of the activity? I don’t have an OED handy and American Heritage isn’t much help on this phrase. I can’t even blame my confusion on French–I’m not _that_ good–where “en panne” is how you describe your broken-down car. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-to-you-dont-sound-like-what-they-should-mean/758706.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-to-you-dont-sound-like-what-they-should-mean/758706.md?page=3)