Terrific?
Monday, September 17, 2001 by paxx | Discussion: WinCustomize Talk
This weekend, while watching the news, this funny anomaly in the English language occured to me:
"Horror" --> "Horrible" --> "Horrific"
"Terror" --> "Terrible" --> "Terrific"
Funny, isn't it? Can somebody explain to me again how this language works?
"Horror" --> "Horrible" --> "Horrific"
"Terror" --> "Terrible" --> "Terrific"
Funny, isn't it? Can somebody explain to me again how this language works?
craeonics
Reply #2 Monday, September 17, 2001 9:51 AM
Reply #2 Monday, September 17, 2001 9:51 AM
*grumbles* past --> passed (why the hell is it written as "passed" and pronounced "past" and not "pas sed"?)
paxx
Reply #3 Monday, September 17, 2001 10:05 AM
Reply #3 Monday, September 17, 2001 10:05 AM
I know, I understand that some words don't pass the test of time and sometimes end up with totally different meanings, but this particular case just bust me up. One would tend to thing that terrorists don't exactly do terrific acts...
Jafo
Reply #5 Monday, September 17, 2001 9:45 PM
Reply #5 Monday, September 17, 2001 9:45 PM
The shift of meaning for 'terrific' is not all that old. Relatively modern literature will still use its original 'correct' meaning...
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Reply #1 Monday, September 17, 2001 9:48 AM
Terrific is one of those words that has shifted meaning over the years. It used to mean something was bad, but nowadays it's the opposite. It's similar to the words "wicked" and "bad", which can be either bad or good, depending on context. "Terrific" has past this ambiguous state.