You Keep Using That Word: Difference between revisions

{{tropeUseful Notes}}

{{quote|''"[[Trope Namer|You keep using that word]]. I do not think it means what you think it means."''|'''[[My Name Is Inigo Montoya|Inigo Montoya]]''', ''[[The Princess Bride (Film)|The Princess Bride]]'', after one "[[This Cannot Be|Inconceivable!]]" too many from Vizzini.}}

Language evolves. Over time, as people speak a language, some of its words take on new meanings, and the old meanings may fall into disuse. Sometimes the new usages become mainstream; when was the last time you heard someone (who wasn't trying to be funny -- andfunny—and likely failing) use "[[Have a Gay Old Time|gay]]" to mean anything other than "homosexual" or as a disparaging term?<ref>([[Irony|Ironically]], this usage of the word is better known by many as "ghey")</ref> Sometimes, things are more... contentious.

This trope covers those words that writers, and indeed people in general, are frequently accused of misusing, although given the continual evolution of any spoken language, exactly what constitutes a "misuse" is [[Flame Bait|hotly contested]]. The most common examples can be sorted into categories of varying pedantry. The more pedantic ones may rely on obscure usages or represent a vain attempt by [[Grammar Nazi|linguistic purists]] to turn back the clock on the evolution of language (sometimes to a [[Nostalgia Filter|supposed past state that never actually existed]]), often accompanied by the belief that [[They Changed It, Now It Sucks|linguistic evolution is always "degradation."]]

This isn't a general style guide; these are specifically words that have commonly contested usages. Homophones, humorous misspellings and bizarre malapropisms belong in [[The Big List of Booboos and Blunders]] or [[Rouge Angles of Satin]]. For errors of punctuation rather than usage, see [[Wanton Cruelty to Thethe Common Comma]].

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* '''[[The Princess Bride (Filmfilm)|Inconceivable]]'''. It means that something is impossible even to imagine (or, depending on usage, to conceive in a biological sense, such as an inter-species crossbreed), although there is some variability to this. Anything that is truly and utterly inconceivable would by definition [[You Cannot Grasp the True Form|be unimaginable in any way, shape or form by our minds (including the mere concept), as they simply weren’t designed to conjure up such information]]. In any case, it does not mean "impossible", "highly unlikely", or "unfortunate". (It should be noted that this may not be a valid definition, but it's perfectly valid ''as hyperbole''.) The closest synonym would probably be "incomprehensible". For example, a triangle appearing floating in midair above your head is unlikely, while the mathematical construct of the triangle existing in the real world is impossible. The triangle being four-sided is inconceivable.

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