March 20, 2004, 19:25
KallehIs there a word for this?
One of my son's friends said that he was going to throw something into the
carcinerator.
Now, is there a word for this? A malaprop is using the
wrong word for the context. A mondegreen refers to the misinterpretation of a series of words.
Or, is this kind of word use called just plain stupidity?
March 20, 2004, 22:57
Richard EnglishIt would be stupidity if the person using the word didn't know how to use words; it would be ignorance if the person knew how to use words but was unaware that the word used was wrong.
It would be creativity if the person using the word was trying to invent a new word for a concept.
March 21, 2004, 05:52
jheemWell, that's a tad bit extreme. Infants and those who have certain kinds of aphasia are two kinds of people who do not know how to use words. In neither case is it due to stupidity.
March 21, 2004, 13:24
KallehWell, of course this guy was neither aphasic nor an infant. However, Richard is correct; the precise word is "ignorant."
[I had asked a question here once about the word that meant to use the "precise word." I recently found the answer myself...and now I've forgotten again! Anyone know? But, I digress!]
However, is there a word for mangling a word? "Carcinerator" is not a word.
March 22, 2004, 08:07
<Asa Lovejoy>Kalleh, it may not be a word, but if he were referring to his consumption of known carcinogen, it would seem to be a clever and creative made up word. Where else would one metabolize a carcinogen than down one's gullet?
March 22, 2004, 11:33
C J StrolinSounds to me like the name of a TV wrestler. You can just hear the commercials:
"Come see The CARCINERATOR!! He beats you so bad, you get cancer!!!"
(And, yes, I know it should be bad
ly but we're talking about a TV wrestling commercial here.)
March 22, 2004, 11:44
Kalleh I had asked a question here once about the word that meant to use the "precise word." I recently found the answer myself...and now I've forgotten again! Anyone know? But, I digress!Now I remembered the word I was referring to..."Lethologica - The inability to recall a precise word for something."
Of course this is the
inability to recall the precise word, rather than the the ability to find it. But, it is on the right track.