Where'd they get CAT scan from?... I mean, did they test it on cats? Or does the machine sort of look like a cat?

Dawn ,'Sleeper'


Spike's Bitches 45: That sure as hell wasn't in the brochure.  

[NAFDA] Spike-centric discussion. Lusty, lewd (only occasionally crude), risqué (and frisqué), bawdy (Oh, lawdy!), flirty ('cuz we're purty), raunchy talk inside. Caveat lector.


Vortex - Nov 12, 2009 6:24:23 am PST #182 of 30000
"Cry havoc and let slip the boobs of war!" -- Miracleman

You know, when you answer someone else's phone, you should really answer it "[name]'s phone" I just spent a very confusing few minutes on the phone with my friend's mother because she picked up the phone with "hello" I said "hey, it's Steph!" She said "Steph?" I said "yes, stephanie Johnson. Oh, I'm calling from my work phone, probably why you don't recognize the number" (and I'm thinking "damn, can't believe she doesn't recognize my voice") She said "your work phone?" and I said "yes, I'm calling to tell you that I can't make it to the wedding cause I suck" She FINALLY said "this is Kelly's mom" @@


Gudanov - Nov 12, 2009 6:28:51 am PST #183 of 30000
Coding and Sleeping

I’m not ignorant (of theword’s meaning, anyway) and it still gives a knee jerk reaction. Yes, it’s a perfectly good word, but why use a word that is (or seems to be) loaded with negative connotation when there are plenty of others to suffice?

I agree with that. I don't think you have to be ignorant to have a reaction, and it's not exactly a common word either. I would say it's not a perfectly good word anymore--through no fault of its own--because it's distracting even if the context is correct.


DavidS - Nov 12, 2009 6:31:00 am PST #184 of 30000
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."

Yes, it’s a perfectly good word, but why use a word that is (or seems to be) loaded with negative connotation when there are plenty of others to suffice?

It doesn't have a negative connotation. It has a homonymic association. I'm not going to stop using "country" because it's got the rude "cunt" in it.

Le sigh. However, truth be told I probably self-edit and use stingy instead even though the meaning is not exactly the same.


Steph L. - Nov 12, 2009 6:33:10 am PST #185 of 30000
Unusually and exceedingly peculiar and altogether quite impossible to describe

It doesn't have a negative connotation. It has a homonymic association.

I agree. That said, I think I'd use "niggardly" in written communication rather than verbal. Basically because of the homonymic thingie -- people hear it and their brain makes the immediate connection; I know *I* do.


DavidS - Nov 12, 2009 6:33:41 am PST #186 of 30000
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."

Addendum: To me the word "niggardly" has the connotation of a moral failing whereas "stingy" skews a bit more towards mean and petty. More of a compulsion. And that's a useful distinction worth maintaining. I don't insist on it, however, and if I were in a social situation where there was even a chance of it being misheard or misconstrued I wouldn't use it.


Steph L. - Nov 12, 2009 6:34:29 am PST #187 of 30000
Unusually and exceedingly peculiar and altogether quite impossible to describe

What about "parsimonious"?


Fred Pete - Nov 12, 2009 6:36:38 am PST #188 of 30000
Ann, that's a ferret.

Disappointed at the stigma on the word "niggardly." But not that big a disappointment in the grand scheme of things, and certainly not an issue to raise out of the blue. Can't remember if I've ever had occasion to use it.


P.M. Marc - Nov 12, 2009 6:39:41 am PST #189 of 30000
So come, my friends, be not afraid/We are so lightly here/It is in love that we are made; In love we disappear

It doesn't have a negative connotation. It has a homonymic association. I'm not going to stop using "country" because it's got the rude "cunt" in it.

You're splitting hairs and comparing apples to oranges here both. Country's used a hell of a lot more in everyday language than niggardly, and you're not going to think about the cunt part until you're about 12 when it's suddenly hilarious.

Is viscerally negative homonymic association precise enough for you?


DavidS - Nov 12, 2009 6:39:43 am PST #190 of 30000
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."

What about "parsimonious"?

I wouldn't want to offend any parsons!

Or persimmons.

I kid.

Different meaning. "Parsimonious" could be a virtue. It has a much less negative sense.

To me, there are no exact synonyms because each word shades differently. That's there are different words even if in English we may have both the Anglo-Saxon and the Latinate word for the same thing. Because each culture has a different set of cultural baggage about that thing. And the sounds is different which does affect meaning.

The homonymic element is something that poets exploit all the time. You can stretch the meaning slightly by pushing that association. It's all very elastic.


Steph L. - Nov 12, 2009 6:46:31 am PST #191 of 30000
Unusually and exceedingly peculiar and altogether quite impossible to describe

Or persimmons.

Fuck the persimmons!

Not literally.

Different meaning. "Parsimonious" could be a virtue. It has a much less negative sense.

Interesting. I've always read it with a negative connotation.