overheard at work
Coworker #1: "Sometimes I like using big words to confuse my daughter. Like yesterday, I used the word 'whimsical,' and she was like, 'Mommy, what's that'?"
Coworker #2: "Hahahaha, that's funny." [Pause] "What does whimsical mean again?"
Coworker #1: "It means, like, beautiful. That's what I told her. She was like, "What's that mean?", and I said, "It means like something's beautiful'."
Coworker #2: "Oh, right!"
Me: *shocked speechless*
I wanted to say something. I mean, I really really wanted to say something. But there were a few things stopping me. Such as, this job is so much better than my previous job in that, like, I actually get to hold conversations with people and work with them, and I've been told more than once that my habit of correcting people is condescending/patronizing/stuck-up/stick-up-ass behavior. But mostly, it was because my mind was shouting a running commentary of WHAT THE FUCK WHIMSICAL MEANS...WHIMSICAL. IT MEANS FULL OF WHIMSY. IT IS LIGHT AND FLUFFY AND WHIMSICAL. WHIMSICAL IS NOT BEAUTEOUS. IT CAN BE BEAUTEOUS. BUT THEY ARE NOT MUTUALLY INCLUSIVE. WHIMSICAL IS, IS *flippy hand waving* WHIMSICAL.
It gave me new respect for people who write dictionaries, let me tell you.
You see, I was a voracious reader as a child and not much of a talker, which means I learned most of my vocabulary through context. Therefore, my definitions for most words with more than one syllable involve a lot of handwaving and physical qualifiers, like the above "light and fluffy," because that is the word's texture, perhaps with a playful breeze mixed in. And if it were to be written in old-timey calligraphy, the letters would be thin and airy. And if one were to give the word 'whimsical' a hue, it would be a certain shade of purple I cannot describe because I've never actually studied color.
Hey, I never said it would make sense to the world. Just to me.
In short, I'm not the most intelligent person in the world, but sometimes the ignorance of my peers astounds me.
Should I have said something? :\
Coworker #2: "Hahahaha, that's funny." [Pause] "What does whimsical mean again?"
Coworker #1: "It means, like, beautiful. That's what I told her. She was like, "What's that mean?", and I said, "It means like something's beautiful'."
Coworker #2: "Oh, right!"
Me: *shocked speechless*
I wanted to say something. I mean, I really really wanted to say something. But there were a few things stopping me. Such as, this job is so much better than my previous job in that, like, I actually get to hold conversations with people and work with them, and I've been told more than once that my habit of correcting people is condescending/patronizing/stuck-up/stick-up-ass behavior. But mostly, it was because my mind was shouting a running commentary of WHAT THE FUCK WHIMSICAL MEANS...WHIMSICAL. IT MEANS FULL OF WHIMSY. IT IS LIGHT AND FLUFFY AND WHIMSICAL. WHIMSICAL IS NOT BEAUTEOUS. IT CAN BE BEAUTEOUS. BUT THEY ARE NOT MUTUALLY INCLUSIVE. WHIMSICAL IS, IS *flippy hand waving* WHIMSICAL.
It gave me new respect for people who write dictionaries, let me tell you.
You see, I was a voracious reader as a child and not much of a talker, which means I learned most of my vocabulary through context. Therefore, my definitions for most words with more than one syllable involve a lot of handwaving and physical qualifiers, like the above "light and fluffy," because that is the word's texture, perhaps with a playful breeze mixed in. And if it were to be written in old-timey calligraphy, the letters would be thin and airy. And if one were to give the word 'whimsical' a hue, it would be a certain shade of purple I cannot describe because I've never actually studied color.
Hey, I never said it would make sense to the world. Just to me.
In short, I'm not the most intelligent person in the world, but sometimes the ignorance of my peers astounds me.
Should I have said something? :\