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Preposterous

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July 14, 2022, 19:04
BobHale
Preposterous
Why doesn't "preposterous" just mean "now"?


"No man but a blockhead ever wrote except for money." Samuel Johnson.
July 14, 2022, 20:06
shufitz
Lol. If you say something is simultaneously both before and after (that is, both pre- and post-), you are speaking nonsense; that is, you are being preposterous. The word “preposterous” is a preposterous word.

Accordingly, it is a word that describes itself. Another such word is the word “polysyllabic”.

Further examples?
August 02, 2022, 13:03
haberdasher
It's a thorough-paced absurdity. Explain it if you can.
August 02, 2022, 16:49
BobHale
Of course I understand the origin but my reasoning is that “post” means after and “pre” means before and something the comes before something that comes after is something that comes right now.


"No man but a blockhead ever wrote except for money." Samuel Johnson.
August 02, 2022, 16:51
BobHale
Monosyllabic is of course also polysyllabic.


"No man but a blockhead ever wrote except for money." Samuel Johnson.
August 03, 2022, 04:36
Geoff
Since pre cancels post the word doesn't exist. Don't use it!
August 03, 2022, 05:48
BobHale
We all have it wrong... it’s prep-oste-rous(e) or getting your bones ready to get out of bed in the morning.


"No man but a blockhead ever wrote except for money." Samuel Johnson.
August 03, 2022, 06:28
zmježd
quote:
preposterous


Who am I to begrudge everybody their fun. But, if you look at the meaning of preposterus in Latin the language ithe word was borrowed from: it means "reversed, inverted; perverted, distorted; absurd". While the preposition præ does mean "before", posterus is an adjective meaning "following, next, coming after". Sort of like the English *US?) term "ass-backwards[/i]. The Latin posterius gave us another loanword, posterior, which is the comparative form of posterus.


Ceci n'est pas un seing.