(Ex.: Anyone who says they're 'hip to the jive' is definitely not hip to any jive whatsoever.) This list is by no means conclusive or blindingly accurate, just weird and funny.

And of course, slang can quickly become really uncool, especially if your old man used to it. The thing about slang is that it oozes over from generation to generation, occasionally changing spellings or meanings ('hep' used to mean 'hip,' until 'hep' wasn't hip anymore). As you might expect, Prohibition slang is overflowing with references to speakeasies, flapper babes, and cocktails - not to mention about a million ways to say 'I'm drunk.' Marijuana references become more and more popular once the hippies burst onto the scene, '80s slang is as cheesy as aerobic-wear, and '90s slang borrows heavily from hip hop ( bling-bling, homie, dawg). Like fashion or music or poor Congressional choices, slang is a fantastic way to get a sense of another era. The English language is filled with words with unexpected meanings.Writers need slang like bearcats need giggle water, know what I mean? Sure, you could spend the rest of your writing life using pristine, multi-syllabic words from the 16th century that have been honed into Latinate diamonds by the passage of time - or you could give in to the joy of juice joints, Shebas, and spliffication, and have yourself a grand old time frolicking through the hilarious world of American slang. But since 'begone' is actually an old word for being within something, it turns out that woebegone is actually one of the funniest words for being in a sad state. In English, it evolved from “a place where meat is sold” to “slaughterhouse” to “a place of butchery,” and finally in 1901, it was considered “confusion or mess.” If you know that 'woe' is a word for sadness, then it might seem like woebegone is a term for wanting sadness to go away. ”Īccording to the Online Etymology Dictionary, shambles was derived from the Latin scamillus meaning “low stool a little bench” on which meat is sold. Later on in the 17th century, peculiar evolved to mean “a rich person who has a lot of property alongside some unusual characteristics. It comes from the Latin word peculiaris, which means “belonging exclusively to one person.” Peculiaris was derived from peculium, which refers to private property or, more specifically, property in cattle. You might encounter some of these funny Japanese words on the internet as slang, in YouTube videos, or anime. This is why the English word candid means “truthful, straightforward, or frank.

” Back in Ancient Rome, Roman politicians would wear pristine white togas when speaking to the public to show how trustworthy they were. If we have the Latin word for left, we also need the Latin word for right.Īccording to the Online Etymology Dictionary, dexterity is derived from dexteritatem, which means “readiness, skillfulness, prosperity.” The word dexter means both “skillful” and “right (hand).” A little biased against lefties, don’t you think?Īccording to Rob Kyff, aka The Word Guy, the Latin root word of these words is candidus, meaning “bright white ” or “very clean. The official definition from Merriam-Webster is shining brilliantly: characterized by a glowing splendor. Hence, the double meaning survives in the English word sinister. Many French, Italian, Spanish, and even German words have Latin roots.Ĭurious to know which common English words have a Latin origin? Here are some interesting ones.Īccording to English Language and Usage, the Latin word sinistra means “left.” Back in the old ages, the left side and left-handedness were seen as unlucky or evil. Have you ever wondered about the origin of some words you use every day? Are they Old French, Old English, Germanic, or better yet Latin? A lot of the words we use today trace their meanings back to Latin, and this doesn’t just apply to English.

Weird funny words