Roger LevyDec 26, 2022
Wendy Palmer

“Booty call” and “butt dial” has been offered up as an example of where the literal meaning of two phrases is the same but the implied meaning is very different (denotative vs connotative meanings).

Today a coffee mug gave me another example: “dad bod” and “father figure”

#linguistics #wordplay

Dec 25, 2022 at 11:45pmWeb
Show threadBrandon WallaceDec 25, 2022
@wendypalmer can’t wait to see what else you post. This one grabbed my attention for sure.
Show threadEH LuptonDec 26, 2022
@wendypalmer a friend suggests "Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned" vs "Sorry, Daddy, I've been bad."
Show threadnigelsezyarrDec 26, 2022
@pretensesoup @wendypalmer Ha! That's genius 😃
Show threadRoy the "Popular" Dec 26, 2022
@pretensesoup @wendypalmer GOSH DANG IT, I WAS GONNA SUGGEST THIS ONE! XD
Show threadMrs Mouse at workDec 26, 2022
@pretensesoup @wendypalmer
I always heard it as "Sorry Daddy! I've be naughty!,... but its one of my favorite examples of this
Show threadWizarthDec 27, 2022
@pretensesoup Came here to say this.
Show threadLīgaDec 26, 2022
@wendypalmer
Neat.
Show threadBob D PhotographyDec 26, 2022
@wendypalmer
Show threadPavel A. SamsonovDec 26, 2022
@wendypalmer "very ok" and "mighty fine"
Show threadLiam Dec 26, 2022
@wendypalmer see also ‘whatever it takes’ (Graham Richardson, expressing amoral cynicism in politics) vs ‘by any means necessary’ (Malcolm X, expressing militancy)
Show threadS Bodzin, Real American 🇺🇸Dec 26, 2022
@wendypalmer Nice! One classic is "yes, correct" vs "yeah, right"
Show threadUli Kusterer (Not a kitteh)Dec 26, 2022
@wendypalmer "Forgive me father, for I have sinned," and "Sorry daddy, I've been a naughty girl." work similarly.
Show threadEquationeerDec 26, 2022
@wendypalmer I'm so going to tell my girlfriend about this, she's a linguist.
Show threadGriff FerrellDec 26, 2022
@wendypalmer Dad bod. Father figure. There's a lot going on there in my mind.

How we perceive a father, a dad, pop, the old man, etc et al ad nauseam ad infinitem. Insight to our father, our father's father, and our view as our sons become fathers
Show threadDaniel DurransDec 26, 2022

@wendypalmer One of my colleagues keeps butt dialling me. I will now start referring to this as him bootycalling me.

In other news, I have booked my own appointment with HR.

Show threadLVN2DRMDec 26, 2022
@danieldurrans @wendypalmer Heeheehee 👇😆
Show threaddemofoxDec 26, 2022
@wendypalmer this is a bit vulgar but an example of the reverse is "the 3 body problem" and "the double slit experiment"
Show threaddas-gDec 26, 2022
@demofox @wendypalmer If we can relate those two, does that mean we finally have a unifying theory of quantum gravity? 🤯
Show threadmistershinsDec 26, 2022
@wendypalmer More evidence that English must be terrible to learn as a second language.
Show threadSue ArcherDec 27, 2022
@jeffmills2 @wendypalmer It's not just English. In Welsh "do his best" means just that, but "to give it his best" means to give up.
Show threadThe Skylark 🏳️‍⚧️Dec 26, 2022
@wendypalmer and of course the classic "forgive me father, for I have sinned" and "sorry daddy, I've been bad"
Show threadDr. Zalka Csenge VirágDec 26, 2022
@wendypalmer I saw a meme that did the same with "horse play" and "pony play" 😄
Show threadI ForgetDec 26, 2022
@wendypalmer Okay now I want George Michael to rise from the grave and sing the Dad Bod version.
Show threadCliffChapmanDec 26, 2022
@wendypalmer "This is shit"/"This is the shit"
Show threadChrisDec 27, 2022
@cliffchapman @wendypalmer "you're shit" / "you're the shit" / "you ain't shit"
Show threadTaco DaveDec 26, 2022
@wendypalmer how about “gay rights” and “happy conservatives”?
Show threadLieschen MüllerDec 26, 2022
@dave @wendypalmer great!
Show threadian carlton musicDec 26, 2022
@dave @wendypalmer hell, those two are mutually exclusive
Show threadRoy the "Popular" Dec 26, 2022
@dave @wendypalmer Ooh, this one's a good one >.>
Show threadRichard HectorDec 26, 2022
@wendypalmer How about in a single word? awful vs awesome? Or, I think, terrible vs terrific ...
Show threaddzrx555Dec 26, 2022
@wendypalmer interesting assessment. Reminds me of the debate I have had with professors and psychologists over the terms "inductive reasoning," and deductive reasoning." Do not they both arrive at the same end game? I had a serious brain injury that altered my functioning processes, later determined to be long term results of trauma.
Show threadokanogen VerminEnemyFromWithinDec 26, 2022
@wendypalmer
Happy Hour
Fun Time
Show threadHarriet Dec 26, 2022
@wendypalmer lol
Show threaddas-gDec 26, 2022
@wendypalmer Now, while „game“ and „play“ aren't exact synonyms in English, for me as a native speaker of German (which translates both as „spielen“ / „Spiel“), they are conceptually closely related. Contrast that to the clear difference between „Game Boy“ and „playboy“/„Playboy“.
Show threadAndrew ElderDec 29, 2022
@das_g @wendypalmer not to mention being a gameplayer
Show threadKvetch & ReleaseDec 26, 2022
@wendypalmer Manual labor and hand job.
Show threadaarondleongDec 26, 2022
@kvetch_release @wendypalmer omg
Show threadFranzDec 26, 2022
@wendypalmer i got my stuff pack back since becoming a dad. nothing I dislike more than the word dad bod. it is putting them blame on a child for one's laziness
Show threadBørgeDec 26, 2022
@wendypalmer This is both fun and interesting! I'd love to see people add more examples here. Also in other languages, if anyone knows any. My mind is trying to figure out if we have any in Norwegian...
Show threadInfrapink (he/his/him)Dec 26, 2022
@wendypalmer There's also the phrases "This shit is dope!" and "This dope is shit!"
Show threadMatt GrandeDec 26, 2022
@wendypalmer See also: "Forgive me father, for I have sinned" vs "Sorry daddy, I've been naughty"
Show threadJens <3Dec 26, 2022
@wendypalmer a friends daughter (she was 7 at the time) thought "booty call" ment you farted.
Show threadruidhDec 26, 2022
@wendypalmer I love to play with my words before I have to eat them.
Show threadrobrykDec 26, 2022

@wendypalmer

Similarly, there's the concept (that's apparent mostly in its falsification) that noun phrases actually refer to objects that can be described by each part of the phrase.

Show threadLadyLDec 26, 2022
@wendypalmer A father's figure is a dad bod. A butt dial could be a serendipitous booty call. #linguistics are fun.
Show threadCantrasDec 26, 2022

@wendypalmer "Tune in and tune out" vs "Netflix and chill."

(My favorite thing that I ever prevented going to print in a newspaper. They meant the former and used the latter to sound modern.)

Show threadJavishDec 26, 2022
@wendypalmer 😆😆😆 brilliant.
Show threadAndy LeeDec 26, 2022
@wendypalmer An example I've noted is "empty calories" and "pure energy". IMO most people don't think through why they think the former means something bad.
Show threadp.a.lapid, phd 👾🇵🇭🇺🇸🇺🇦Dec 26, 2022

@wendypalmer @salonium

where does george michael’s “father figure” fit in here? hee hee

https://youtu.be/m_9hfHvQSNo

George Michael - Father Figure (Official Video)

YouTube
Show threadJohn DarkDec 26, 2022
@wendypalmer Also, "Chrome Dome" and "Mind like a steel trap"
Show threadkaeDec 26, 2022
@wendypalmer “brain dump” versus “shitpost”
Show threadsamDec 26, 2022
@wendypalmer @dave_cochran horseplay and pony play
Show threadDylan BeattieDec 26, 2022
@wendypalmer I’ve always loved the fact that a charley horse and a cocaine mule are completely different things and neither of them has anything to do with horses or mules.
Show threadAggie Branczyk 🦋Dec 26, 2022
@wendypalmer this could become a meme
Show threadMark BurtonDec 26, 2022
@wendypalmer
"You may say that but I couldn't possibly comment" versus "No comment".
Show threadDapper BearDec 26, 2022
@wendypalmer
“Cottage in the forest” vs “cabin in the woods”. One is a cozy get-away and the other means you gonna die.
Show threadTargea Caramar 🇨🇴Dec 26, 2022
@wendypalmer cottage in the forest vs. shack in the woods
Show threadRiley S. FaelanDec 26, 2022
@wendypalmer: Er, but that's not the case. The literal meaning of 'call' involves yelling, and the literal meaning of 'dial' involves rotating a wheel.
Show threadChris BurgessDec 26, 2022
@wendypalmer do "looking awful pretty" and "looking pretty awful" fit here?
Show threadClive PotterDec 26, 2022
@wendypalmer I know the former as a pocket dial. Just saying.