12 Comments

I like fruit words. You're bananas. Everything is peachy. Your head is a big fat melon. I know that wasn't the assignment but ... oh how about that's a plum deal!

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author

Those are berry good!

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Aug 4Liked by Andrew Smith

I'm going to offer Cookies, because they used to only conjure up thoughts of amazing aroma, delicious devouring, sights on seconds (and sometimes was used with sexual connotations) but now also represents tracking, targeting and frequent sweeping away of those unwanted crumbs. Whose idea was that?! 😐

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author

Great question, and maybe something to write about in the future! Apparently, there was "magic cookie" in use before the internet, possibly alluding to a fortune cookie with something hidden on the inside. I bet there's more.

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Aug 4Liked by Andrew Smith

Brilliant etymology.

Favourite words that have evolved? Never thought about it...but I like:

- Cheesy ( from resembling or suggesting cheese to ... )

- Stoked ( how did a term applied to an ancient wood burning craft gain such popularity?)

- Ghosted

- Flex ( from contracting a muscle to ..flaunting). Quite the leap.

So many more.

If ( as I believe) Notes is a continuation of the old Amazon " chat " feature, on the latter I saw folks start with one question ( like this " Favorite word evolution") ...and it continued, comment by comment, for years. Quite enlightening.

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author

Cheesy is a very good one. I can kind of grasp ghosted and flex (they made leaps, but they were logical), but what's up with "cheesy"? Very curious!

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Aug 4·edited Aug 4Liked by Andrew Smith

You know what sound a bit like "crooked"?

That's right, "Croaked."

Do you know who croaks?

That's right, frogs.

Do you know what my AI Jest Daily was about today?

That's right, an alien-frog mascot.

How much of a stretch was that?

That's right, way too much of a stretch.

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Aug 5Liked by Andrew Smith

'Crooks' is a word that will go down in infamy for the July 13 attack.

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author

Good point. He's right up there with Hinckley.

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Aug 5Liked by Andrew Smith

Yes indeed!

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Aug 4Liked by Andrew Smith

There's probably whole essays on how nouns ( cheese ) become adjectives ( cheesy ). Love the English language.

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