Flammable or Inflammable? And Other Word Pairs That Share a Root

[usonian]

Non-Inflammable?

https://wordsmarts.com/flammable-inflammable/

Ever wonder how English ended up with near-twin words like “inquire” and “enquire,” or “flammable” and “inflammable”? These “etymological twins” — words with shared roots but divergent paths — reveal surprising histories behind some of our most familiar terms.

Learn from this, but always eschew obfuscation.

[Igel]

1. We have a few self-opposing words.

"Ravel" can mean to braid together or "unravel."

"Dusting your house" is rather the opposite of "dusting your crops"--a self-contained pun that the Adams Family tv show made use of a time or three. There are a few more verbs like that.

I rather like "moot", as well.

Subject to debate; arguable or unsettled.
Of no practical importance; irrelevant.

Not presenting an open legal question, as a result of the occurrence of some event definitively resolving the issue,

or the absence of a genuine case or controversy

And the US/British divide on "to table" in a meeting amuses:'

Chiefly U.S. to lay aside (a proposal, resolution, etc.) for future discussion, usually with a view to postponing or shelving the matter indefinitely.

British. to present (a proposal, resolution, etc.) for discussion.

So in Britain, if you table something it's on the agenda, in the US if you table something it's off the agenda.

And how "all in" has changed in my lifetime: now it's "showing a lot of determination" and/or commitment; but when I was a kid it was chiefly used to mean "completely exhausted". Now that's considered chiefly British and a bit old fashioned.

[usonian]

2. Nice late reply!

You had me at ravel.



I remember when "ripped" had nothing to do with musculature.

Thanks for the reply. Appreciated.

Have a



day!

OK, French version. My French teacher was a wise-ass.

He went on about jeux de mots laids, versus jeux de mollets.

Word jokes versus "calf game" (1)

Or pecheur versus pecheresse
FIsherman versus sinner, though one could be both, I suppose.

(1) What is the calf game?

The calf game is one of those activities that tests the newlyweds to see if they know each other inside and out, in the same way as the famous "He and She" game or the adjective game. Here, the idea is to offer a challenge to the bride.

She will have to find her husband blindfolded, with the only clue being the ability to touch the calves of several men. She will have to find her partner among them. The duration of this game is estimated at approximately 15 minutes.