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Things aren’t quite what they seem…. Words with a little mystery. Let’s start with a French term…. Faux (pronounced “foe”). Means fake/false. What is called when…. At a fancy dinner meal, you daintily take a sip out of the “finger bowl.”
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Things aren’t quite what they seem… Words with a little mystery
Faux (pronounced “foe”) • Means fake/false
What is called when… • At a fancy dinner meal, you daintily take a sip out of the “finger bowl.” • You show up to a Packer’s party in an old Favre jersey. • You go to a job interview in a shirt that says, “I’m not dumb, just lazy.” • You dog-ear your book to keep your place, only to see that the author is sitting right next to you. • You are so busy texting during a wedding ceremony that you are the only one not standing when the bride comes down the aisle. • You are still wearing “saggy pants” when they clearly went out of style about 5 years ago. • You start making fun of your teacher’s outfit, only to discover that she’s right behind you. These are all examples of…
Faux Pas (translates to “false step”) • An error of manners. It might be an indiscreet comment or an embarrassing social blunder.
Another root for false: PSEUDO- • WORD TOWER
PSEUDONYM • “Fake Name”
How does this word (metamorphosis) make sense? • Meta: • Morph: Two other words that contain “meta”: Five other words that contain “morph or form”:
Morpheus • Greek God: “Shaper of Dreams”
Prefixes: • uniform= • deform= • Inform= • reform= • conform=
Spooner (from “Ordinary Finds”) • The Reverend William Archibald Spooner is a big hero, not for his noble deeds, nor for his good work at New College in Oxford - but for being a trail-blazer among tongue-twisters, coining numerous, so-called spoonerisms in his attempt to have his tongue keep up with his racing brain… • Spooner, who also was an albino and a sufferer of poor eye-sight, was born July 22, 1844 (d. 1930). Photos of him are scarce, but the National Portrait Gallery in London has the one reproduced above…
Some of his more famous lines… • "Is it kisstomary to cuss the bride?" (customary to kiss) • "The Lord is a shoving leopard." (a loving shepherd) • "A blushing crow." (crushing blow) • "Three cheers for our queer old dean!" (dear old queen, referring to Queen Victoria) • "A well-boiled icicle" (___________________) • "You were fighting a liar in the quadrangle." (_______) • "Is the bean dizzy?" (__________) • "Someone is occupewing my pie. Please sew me to another sheet." (___________________________)
Spoonerisms: Play on words • we'll have the hags flung outwe'll have the flags hung out • you've tasted two wormsyou've wasted two terms • a half-warmed fisha half-formed wish Rindercella
Latin Misunderstandings: • Ad- • Means “to”
Ad hoc • Means: “To this”. • It refers to somethingimprovised/put together in a hurry. Example: We formed an ad hoc panel to address the problem of H1N1 last year.
Ad Infinitum • Means “to forever/without limit” • A savings account should earn interest ad infinitum.
Ad Nauseam • Means: “to sickness/to a ridiculous degree” (Watch the spelling)