When Bad Words Go Good

[iluvsheep]

You know it's been a while since you've updated when you are unfamiliar with and confused by the appearance of "Update Journal" page. Seriously though, it seems that every time I think of posting something, I defer because I feel a weird obligation to do a "real" update first before the frivolous ones. Well, too bad, you just get inanity

Comments

[derakon]

I'll note that in French, "terrible" can be used as a positive modifier. Let alone "sick", "wicked", etc. in English.

Of course, the French also use "like a cow" ("vachement") as a positive modifier, so what do they know?

[notsteven]

Japanese is similar. The word that means "cool" also means terrible. The word for "very" (as in "very *adjective*") also means horrible.

[tortoise]

Pratchett has a riff on this in Lords and Ladies--the only word I remember him using that you haven't covered already is "terrific".

[arisrabkin]

Spectacular --> that you're a spectacle --> people staring at you.

[tauenn]

And of course there's also 'stellar', of or pertaining to a nuclear fusion reaction that may ultimately explode.

I wonder about the relationship between the group of positive adjectives that ultimately just mean 'fake or likely fake' and the group of positive adjectives that have more colorful (negative) literal denotations: the 'fear and loathing' words, derakon's "terrible" and "wicked" and Pratchett's "terrific" and (stretching it a bit) "awesome" and, for that matter, "bad", and so on.

[iluvsheep]

I hadn't noticed that, but it's true. These words do tend to have literal interpretations that can be boiled down to either "fake" or "fear and loathing". Although, there are a few that don't quite fit, like "outstanding", "spectacular", and (sadly) "awesome". Though, all of these have something to do with being the object of (perhaps negative) attention. Maybe there is some sort of weird categories of words that are such that their literal meanings and connotations are on opposite sides of the spectrum.

Or maybe if you have enough categories and define them nebulously enough, you are left with an under-constrained/over-fitted solution that doesn't actually mean anything.

[willworker]

For the converse,

"Awful" - Full of awe, or awe-inspiring.
Steve

[dclayh]

And its perfect synonym "awesome".

[willworker]

Right, and if "awesome," with only -some is good, then surely "awful," with a -ful[l], should be better!

Steve

[iluvsheep]

I would have interpreted "full of awe" as "filled with awe of others", rather than "awe-inspiring". And, if it is the former, that awful makes a lot of sense, as it's the lowest people on the latter who have the most awe of those higher up, a.k.a. the awful people.