Wednesday 9 November 2011

Daffynitions From the StatsCan Basement

I know at one point I saw an article somewhere, and picked up the notion of daffynitions as a word used for strange or silly (daffy) definitions.

Whether it's due to cleverness or simply mis-spelling or mispronouncing words, my workmates have coined a few new words that are just crying for daffynition status.

Clarification became clarifiction. It sounds like it ought to be something politicians do. Probably a lie told to explain something.

Answer became answear. Given that we are calling people to get Census data, and so are very little above telemarketing and phone surveys, I suspect this would be an appropriate term if some exasperated person replies to your greeting with profanity.

Refusal became refusual. This must be the word to describe what you get when hang-ups or unco-operative people become the norm.

My personal favorite, however, was a verbal rather than a written error. My neighbor was trying to say insecticide, and came out with insexticide. That could go a few ways, but my mental picture was a sort of situation where an insect commits incest and commits suicide by poison. Ancient Greek tragedy as written by don marquis' archy the cockroach.

Yes, my brain does come up with things like that.

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