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Is “Ass” the Most Complicated Word in English?

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Re: Is “Ass” the Most Complicated Word in English?

#31

Post by wil421 »

senorjazz wrote: post #10
ryanmercer wrote: post #3

I would think "dude" would be more confusing. - "Dude" = cool - "Dude" = come on man, really? - "Dude!" = WTF man, I should punch you in the face - "Dude!" = holy crap, I just got that girl's number! - "Dude?" = who's there, is there a killer in my house? - "Dude?" = no shit, for real? - "Dude!?" = why'd you sleep with my sister?! - "Dude" = hey Steve - "Dude." = not cool bro - "Dude!!!" = you're not gonna believe th…

Is that north American wide or just certain groups in certain states though?

The same thing could me applied to man, bro, bra (bro with an a sound), or bruh depending on your location or background.

Re: Is “Ass” the Most Complicated Word in English?

#33

Post by chapium »

senorjazz wrote: post #10
ryanmercer wrote: post #3

I would think "dude" would be more confusing. - "Dude" = cool - "Dude" = come on man, really? - "Dude!" = WTF man, I should punch you in the face - "Dude!" = holy crap, I just got that girl's number! - "Dude?" = who's there, is there a killer in my house? - "Dude?" = no shit, for real? - "Dude!?" = why'd you sleep with my sister?! - "Dude" = hey Steve - "Dude." = not cool bro - "Dude!!!" = you're not gonna believe th…

Is that north American wide or just certain groups in certain states though?

Pretty sure this one is pretty widely used in the states. I cannot speak for Canada.

Re: Is “Ass” the Most Complicated Word in English?

#34

Post by Roonerelli »

School-Cotton wrote: post #27
Roonerelli wrote: post #21

Micky Flannigan, a uk comedian, does a great routine about when he lived in America and people confused his cockney pronunciation of "house" with the American pronunciation of "Ass". So at the end of a date he's on the doorstep with a girl and they are saying goodbye: He says: I'd like to come in your house She looks shocked. So he says: I won't try to kiss you, I just want to come in your house

Link: https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=share&v=fNzuOxJ3iS8

thanks - I didnt want to search for that from my work PC :)

Re: Is “Ass” the Most Complicated Word in English?

#35

Post by LanceH »

gonmad wrote: post #29
TomNomNom wrote: post #16

The word that surprised me the most when flipping through a dictionary as a child was probably 'set': https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/set

In a way it may be the same as the fictionnal word Kree from Stargate. One meaning a lot. https://stargate.fandom.com/wiki/Kree

Like, grok smurf, dude.

Re: Is “Ass” the Most Complicated Word in English?

#36

Post by AaronNewcomer »

josefresco wrote: post #9

I'll just leave this here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igh9iO5BxBo&feature=youtu.be He also does a "clean" version for television, and I think he's done a version for "ass" as well. This was my favorite.

and I think he's done a version for "ass" as well

That's literally what the whole article is about.

Re: Is “Ass” the Most Complicated Word in English?

#37

Post by grawprog »

Shaanie wrote: post #28
lostgame wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Spiritual ‘Guru’ Osho has an amazing breakdown of all the types of expression ‘fuck’ has: Ignorance: Fucked if I know. Trouble: I guess I am fucked now! Fraud: I got fucked at the used car lot. Aggression: Fuck you! Displeasure: What the fuck is going on here? Difficulty: I can’t understand this fucking job. Incompetence: He is a fuck-off. Suspicion: What the fuck are you doing? Enjoyment: I had a fucking good time.…

In many of those it's just used as an amplifier. If you can remove the "fuck" and the sentence still makes sense, then it's not really doing anything.

But you can make a grammaticaly correct sentence using almost nothing but fuck.

Those fucked fucking fuckers fucked fucked the fucker.

Re: Is “Ass” the Most Complicated Word in English?

#38

Post by umvi »

wil421 wrote: post #30
umvi wrote: post #22

Basically any vulgar word ends up being overused by the (uneducated) masses by the definition of the word vulgar. I'm not sure why, probably because they don't have the vocabulary to precisely express their thoughts and end up reusing the handful of strong words they do know in new ways and contexts. Like how a chef who only knows about cayenne and salt wouldn't be using subtle spices like paprika. He's just going to…

If everyone else is using the word in a new way then who is wrong? The small minority or the masses who are evolving a language?

Well, "history is written by the victors", I suppose, but that doesn't make the masses who are "evolving" the language "right". Unless you think it's "right" for the ignorant to redefine words like "literally" and "nonplussed" to mean the exact opposite of their original meanings or to make "could of" a valid grammatical construct.

Re: Is “Ass” the Most Complicated Word in English?

#39

Post by michael_j_ward »

AaronNewcomer wrote: post #36
josefresco wrote: post #9

I'll just leave this here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igh9iO5BxBo&feature=youtu.be He also does a "clean" version for television, and I think he's done a version for "ass" as well. This was my favorite.

and I think he's done a version for "ass" as well That's literally what the whole article is about.

The article contains clips of the "Ass" version. For those that want a link to the whole thing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAGcDi0DRtU
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