MSNative Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 There are certain words whose definitions I know but still give me pause every time I read them. These words just don't look like they should mean what they do. Bucolic - always looks like it should mean "plague-ridden" to me. Nonplussed - I'm always nonplussed when I remember that this word doesn't mean bored, uninterested, etc. Add your favorite double take words. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SquirrellyMama Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 precocious- I used this word wrong for a couple years. Bucolic - always looks like it should mean "plague-ridden" to me. Nonplussed - I'm always nonplussed when I remember that this word doesn't mean bored, uninterested, etc. :iagree: Kelly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaxMom Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 Bucolic - always looks like it should mean "plague-ridden" to me. Nonplussed - I'm always nonplussed when I remember that this word doesn't mean bored, uninterested, etc. :lol: so true! I can't think of any off the top of my head, probably because I do know the definitions, so it only pops up when I'm reading along and have to consciously adjust the meaning. Oh! Puce! I have to consciously readjust my mental image from a yucky yellow-green-brown every.single.time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathryn Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 :lol: I can't think of any on my own but bucolic and puce are definitely on my list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MSNative Posted August 10, 2012 Author Share Posted August 10, 2012 Oh, just thought of another: spendthrift. I always have to remind myself that person is not thrifty despite what the word says. Totally agree with puce. Wins hands down for the worst sounding color. Precocious is one of those words that I "hear" wrong when I'm reading it.Kinda like endoscopy - I always read it endo-scope-y rather than the correct way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leanna Tomlinson Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 Mine is more of a spelling issue: Grateful - makes me think of things grating on my nerves - so I don't feel very grateful when I read that word OTOH Greatful (which is wrong, but the way I want to spell it) implies that things are great, or I am aware of God's greatness. I just think we should change the spelling. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 Oh! Puce! I have to consciously readjust my mental image from a yucky yellow-green-brown every.single.time. Ha! I am always telling my kids something is puce colored. Or mauve. It drives them nuts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mothersweets Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 There are certain words whose definitions I know but still give me pause every time I read them. These words just don't look like they should mean what they do. Bucolic - always looks like it should mean "plague-ridden" to me. Nonplussed - I'm always nonplussed when I remember that this word doesn't mean bored, uninterested, etc. Add your favorite double take words. :iagree:and I had to go google to remember what nonplussed does mean. :blushing: and on the google rabbit trail, I found this article from Slate - The Nonplussed Problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mothersweets Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 Oh, and the word that bugs me is moist. Gah! I can't even say it without cringing. It looks okay but to me it is one of those eewwww words. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VeganCupcake Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 Jingoistic--just had an encounter with that one earlier this week. Inflammable--*I* know what this one means, but one of my professors in grad school gave me the smackdown in class sbout it. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SquirrellyMama Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 I used to have trouble with the word "humility" as a child. I always linked it with humiliation and couldn't think of humility as a good thing. And in high school I remember some kids having trouble with the word 'invaluable". K Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belacqua Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 Temerity should mean the same as timidity. Not the opposite. Who do I talk to about getting that changed? Gregarious doesn't sound like a good thing. Neither does magnanimous. Bucolic. Heh. Love that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 Misled. It looks like My-zld to me. It took me ages, as a child, to work out that it was made up of two bits that I already understood and could pronounce. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MSNative Posted August 10, 2012 Author Share Posted August 10, 2012 Oh, and the word that bugs me is moist. Gah! I can't even say it without cringing. It looks okay but to me it is one of those eewwww words. :iagree::iagree: I can't stand that word either. Yuck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radiobrain Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 Misled. It looks like My-zld to me. It took me ages, as a child, to work out that it was made up of two bits that I already understood and could pronounce. Laura Great. I had never thought this, and from now on I will always say it in my head and think of you. ;) I had a good one, but I forgot it. :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted August 11, 2012 Share Posted August 11, 2012 Great. I had never thought this, and from now on I will always say it in my head and think of you. ;) Scrambling words wherever I go. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dansamy Posted August 11, 2012 Share Posted August 11, 2012 (edited) This one drives me nuts because it's not really a word: irregardless. It's a terrible mangling. Edited August 11, 2012 by dansamy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leanna Tomlinson Posted August 11, 2012 Share Posted August 11, 2012 Temerity should mean the same as timidity. Not the opposite. Who do I talk to about getting that changed? . :iagree: We need to find this committee and get the changes underway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onceuponatime Posted August 11, 2012 Share Posted August 11, 2012 sanguine- how in the world can this mean cheerful? sartorial- why do I always think of the stereotypical evil villain with oily hair, a pointed beard and thin moustache? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaxMom Posted August 11, 2012 Share Posted August 11, 2012 sanguine- how in the world can this mean cheerful?sartorial- why do I always think of the stereotypical evil villain with oily hair, a pointed beard and thin moustache? No kidding. So, when one exsanguinates, they run out of nice? "Rope off the crime scene, Ed, there's a huge pool of cheer we need the forensic cleaning team to deal with." :confused: It's the top hat that's throwing you. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto2Cs Posted August 11, 2012 Share Posted August 11, 2012 Satiety Can you say-sh!tty? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MSNative Posted August 11, 2012 Author Share Posted August 11, 2012 sanguine- how in the world can this mean cheerful?sartorial- why do I always think of the stereotypical evil villain with oily hair, a pointed beard and thin moustache? Yours reminded me of another one: phlegmatic. Should mean someone coughing up a lung, not a cool, calm character. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted August 11, 2012 Share Posted August 11, 2012 Yours reminded me of another one: phlegmatic. Should mean someone coughing up a lung, not a cool, calm character. Just because one thousand years ago people who were ruddy were assumed to be optimistic and those afflicted with phlegm to be slow to rouse doesn't mean that it makes any sense now. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pink Fairy Posted August 11, 2012 Share Posted August 11, 2012 Niggard, and any offshoots (niggardly). Totally different meaning, but just a little too close phonetically to the N-word. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted August 11, 2012 Share Posted August 11, 2012 Misled. It looks like My-zld to me. It took me ages, as a child, to work out that it was made up of two bits that I already understood and could pronounce. Laura I was over 30 before I figured this out. My best friend was visiting for a week at the time, and she and DH had no end of fun ribbing me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngelaNYC Posted August 11, 2012 Share Posted August 11, 2012 Infrared always gets me. In fra RED, not in-frared. ugh. Mirth doesn't look like it should mean amusement. How about "gaiety" - that doesn't look right at all. Oh, and harbinger and amalgamated stop me in my tracks every time. And don't you hate when a word is written (or you say it) over and over and it just loses all meaning and looks totally wrong? This happened to me recently with the word "traffic". It eventually felt more like an adjective. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto2Cs Posted August 11, 2012 Share Posted August 11, 2012 And don't you hate when a word is written (or you say it) over and over and it just loses all meaning and looks totally wrong? This happened to me recently with the word "traffic". It eventually felt more like an adjective. Say the word "work" several times. I swear it loses all meaning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrothead Posted August 11, 2012 Share Posted August 11, 2012 Hyperbole.:glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted August 11, 2012 Share Posted August 11, 2012 And don't you hate when a word is written (or you say it) over and over and it just loses all meaning and looks totally wrong? This happened to me recently with the word "traffic". It eventually felt more like an adjective. yes, even one's own name. Or stare at yourself in the mirror for a few minutes. Frightening! But maybe that's just me. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted August 12, 2012 Share Posted August 12, 2012 I always have to think through solicitude. It sounds so peaceful, relaxed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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