Buffy: He ran away, right? Giles: Sort of, more. turned and swept out majestically, I suppose. Said I didn't concern him. Buffy: So a mythic triumph over a completely indifferent foe? Giles: Well, I'm not dead or unconscious, so I say bravo for me.

'Same Time, Same Place'


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.


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.


Polter-Cow - Nov 12, 2009 6:50:41 am PST #192 of 30000
What else besides ramen can you scoop? YOU CAN SCOOP THIS WORLD FROM DARKNESS!

It has a nice ring to it, though. Like "harmonious."


§ ita § - Nov 12, 2009 6:52:24 am PST #193 of 30000
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.

Harmony: "Cacophony. That's pretty. What's it mean?"


DavidS - Nov 12, 2009 6:54:00 am PST #194 of 30000
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."

and you're not going to think about the cunt part until you're about 12 when it's suddenly hilarious.

I think about it fairly often because Carlene Carter didn't realize her parents Johnny Cash and June Carter were in the audience one night when she introduced a song by saying, "This'll put the cunt back in Country" and June turned all red and upset.

I'm not taking a hard stand on "niggardly" and indeed just acknowledged that the sound association is a factor in word choice. However, I am not willing to bow to offended sensibilities in all instances and insist on retaining the word. People that say that there are available synonyms are - to me - are incorrect. There are less nuanced choices.

I am not removing "gypped" from my vocabulary anytime soon, either, despite its cultural baggage.

I think there is a danger bending language constantly towards its least offensive, most ameliorated, endlessly qualified word choices.

But I'm not being disingenuous either, or ignorant of cultural context. I know historically how language has been used to demean and restrict. But I think that the deciding factor in word choice is always fluid and balances the vigor of the language against offending people.

Taking offense is quite literally censorious. It's a necessary and useful social pressure but people shouldn't do it lightly.


Vortex - Nov 12, 2009 6:54:38 am PST #195 of 30000
"Cry havoc and let slip the boobs of war!" -- Miracleman

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

fine, it has a homonymic association that is negative. Fact is, that you will make people do a doubletake when they hear it even if they know what it means. If using the word is that important to you, fine. Just don't be surprised if people think that you're being pedantic (and not in a good way) for insisting on using the word even though you know that it might be misintepreted, even for a second.


smonster - Nov 12, 2009 6:54:43 am PST #196 of 30000
We won’t stop until everyone is gay.

Quote The Princess bride book at him.

Or the movie.

Life is pain, Highness. Anyone who tells you differently is selling something.

IMHO the "niggardly" thing is parallel to the debate about swastikas and Confederate battle flags: it's been ruined by popular association so suck it up and find another word/symbol.

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

As have I.

How about "miserly?"


§ ita § - Nov 12, 2009 6:56:23 am PST #197 of 30000
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.

I am not removing "gypped" from my vocabulary anytime soon, either, despite its cultural baggage

Do you jew people down in negotiation too?