Society keeps changing the definition of normal words
(midwest.social)
VetOfTheSeas
People TwitterI would feel bad for arsenal supporters but they've always been a bunch of wankers.
Australians think “rooting around” means something very different so you have to be careful not to use it in a work context.
"Gimme the good old days when a pair of boobs were a couple of dumb guys." - Sheriff Buford T. Justice
Edited to fix attribution. I was sure it was Dangerfield, but DDG says otherwise.
I miss when gay means happy.
Okay I'm not that old but i had a boss who said he's old enough to remember when gay literally means happy.
For me, my little pet peeve is when society changed the meaning of ironic to mean joking or satirical.
Relevant sketch from A Bit of Fry & Laurie from ~30 years ago.
For me, my little pet peeve is when society changed the meaning of ironic to mean joking or satirical.
Did they 'literally' changed it?
Perhaps not officially but i can see scholars eventually yielding to equate irony to mean satire.
I remember growing up when the word ultimate is used everywhere and being equated to "super duper". I later learned it ultimately (no pun intended) means final. I guess the same will happen to the word irony now also to mean satire.
That's literally insane
What does it mean now? This is the only definition I know.
Masturbate
Ahh.. Its the new 'baitin
go away. baitin'.
Ironically (given the original name of this community), the ancient Chinese had entire discourses on the idea that in order for society to function correctly, people needed to be able to agree what words meant.
A superior man, in regard to what he does not know, shows a cautious reserve. If names be not correct, language is not in accordance with the truth of things. If language be not in accordance with the truth of things, affairs cannot be carried on to success. When affairs cannot be carried on to success, proprieties and music will not flourish. When proprieties and music do not flourish, punishments will not be properly awarded. When punishments are not properly awarded, the people do not know how to move hand or foot. Therefore a superior man considers it necessary that the names he uses may be spoken appropriately, and also that what he speaks may be carried out appropriately. What the superior man requires is just that in his words there may be nothing incorrect.
--Master Kong (AKA Confucius)
https://ctext.org/analects/zi-lu
The established names of the later kings: penal and legal terms followed those of Shang, noble titles followed those of Zhou, literary titles followed those of Li. As for miscellaneous names applied to all things, they conformed to the established customs and conventions of Zhuxia; in distant regions with different local customs, these were adapted accordingly for general understanding.
As for miscellaneous names applied to people: the inherent nature that causes a person to be what he is called "xing." The harmony of xing gives rise to refined interactions and responsive 感应; when things occur effortlessly and naturally without deliberate action, this is called xing. The inclinations of xing—liking, disliking, joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness—are called qing. When the emotions arise and the mind makes choices in response, this is called lü (deliberation). When the mind deliberates and is thus able to act intentionally, this is called wei. When deliberation accumulates and becomes habitual, and only then achieves formation, it is called wei. Acting in accordance with what is righteous and beneficial is called shi (affairs or actions). Acting in accordance with righteousness is called xing (conduct or behavior). The capacity for knowledge within a person is called zhi. When knowledge aligns with something, it is called zhi (wisdom). The capacity for action within a person is called neng. When ability aligns with something, it is also called neng (capability). When xing is harmed, it is called bing (illness or affliction). A person's encounter with measured circumstances is called ming (fate or destiny): these are the miscellaneous names applied to people, and they represent the established terms of later kings.
Therefore, when a sovereign establishes names, once names are fixed and realities distinguished, the Way is put into practice and aspirations become clear; thus, he carefully leads the people toward unity. Therefore, to split words and arbitrarily create names in order to confuse established terms, causing the people to be doubtful and leading to frequent disputes among them, is called a great jian (great villain or great wrongdoer). Their crime is still akin to that of falsifying tokens, seals, and measurements. Therefore, the people dare not fabricate strange words to confuse established names; thus, their people are sincere and upright. Sincerity makes them easy to lead, and being easy to lead leads to public harmony. The people dare not fabricate strange terms to confuse established names, so they remain unified in the Way and law, and are careful to follow commands. If this is done, then their legacy will be enduring. An enduring legacy and accomplished achievements represent the highest attainment of governance. This is the achievement of carefully upholding the conventions of names. Now that the sage kings have passed away, the guardianship of names has become lax; strange terms arise, and the correspondence between names and realities becomes confused. When the forms of right and wrong are unclear, even those officials who uphold the law and Confucian scholars who recite canonical texts also fall into disorder. If a sovereign were to arise, he would surely follow established names while also creating new ones as needed. Therefore, the reasons for having names, the basis on which things are deemed the same or different, and the essential principles of establishing names must not be overlooked.
--Master Xun
https://ctext.org/xunzi/zheng-ming
Of course, there are also plenty of modern examples of how unclear communication can cause catastrophe.
Yeah the prescriptivism vs descriptivism debate still rages in linguistics. The prescriptivists have been losing for decades but arguments still abound in the academics.
And just because "goon" has changed meanings doesn't mean we don't lean on some prescriptivism. We still agree on singular definitions for lots of words (or at least contextual definitions for words with lots of different meanings).
I find it interesting how obsessed the Chinese are with the quality of Chinese spoken someone speaks and also how people who can pun super hard are absolutely hilarious.
I wonder if it's because the Chinese language (and I'm assuming we're talking about Mandarin because there are many Chinese languages) is tonal based. The same word could mean differently based on the pronunciation so there are people who could be stickler for rules.
I like gooning for the family
And grok used to mean "understand", not "nazi shithead propaganda machine".
TIL grok is an actual word.
I recommend Stranger In A Strange Land by Robert Heinlein. It's a pretty influential work of early science fiction.
Mind you, it's been like 30 years since I read any Heinlein. Not sure I'd feel the same way about his stuff now as late teen me did, but the many books of his I read definitely shaped a lot of my philosophy.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grok
And meme used to refer to a unit of cultural information that spreads by imitation, not a funny picture on social media.
In fairness to memes, that definition is still largely true, its just that the common usage tends to refer to this specific form of meme. Like with squares and rectangles, not all anthropological memes are image macros, but all image macro memes are a subset of anthropological memes
It was one of my favorite words.
Such is life
From Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein. I wonder if the estate could sue for damages.
We still have extortion
The X makes it cool 😎
Yeah no sorry the origin was always gross. Stranger in a strange land is just heinlein's weird fetish porn where he justifies old men sleeping with young girls (sound familiar?)
And grok was always a term used by weirdos who thought the book was deep for some crazy reason and wanted to sound like they were part of this insider intellectuals club
That's a rather puritan and skewed perspective. Afaik Stranger in a Strange Land is a very weird book but very tame and not pornographic at all. And it was an important artwork that explored the themes of the 60s sexual revolution. A time where people knew very little about sex and gender and questioned everything.
Please don't interpret this as a defense of Robert Heinlein's books as it has been decades since I read them and it sounds like you might be more familiar with them. But weren't all the women in Stranger in a Strange Land older than Michael Valentine Smith?
Are you confusing the character with Lazarus Long from Time Enough for Love, et al? I think he was thousands of years older than some of his (adult) love interests...
I dunno. I only ever used it as shorthand for being able to understand the basics of something. Also, words can change for the better. So in this case it went gross -> fine -> gross.
Grok was also a support character in the game Paladins.
I'm going to keep using it as a verb. If people are dumb enough to assume I'm dumb enough to use xai, that's not my problem.
People keep on using "glaze" to mean to excessively praise somebody, but I'm pretty sure it means to give a wet sloppy blowjob, so it's pretty weird hearing it used otherwise.
No glazing is what you do to their face after they've given you a wet sloppy blowjob. Thats where it gets its more conversational definition of showing excessive praise to someone.
YES!! My wife was talking to our kids about glazing someone - I almost had a heart attack! They all knew the new term, I only knew the older!
I thought it was what you do to donuts..
Its derived from that yes
Yeah, and flexing.. At least in my language they try to use it as "showing off".. Well, kinda, I guess it can be showing off to show much can fit up your ass.
I used to be with it. Then they changed what it was.
Now what I'm with isn't it
Now what I'm with isn't 'it' anymore and what's 'it' seems weird and scary to me.
It'll happen to YOU!
Stop it! You're scaring me from 20 years ago!
goon ≠ gooner
schooner and scone are two different things two. sound similar though
confusing them is very bad.
Goon > gooner
They aren't mutually exclusive, goons can goon.
Is a goon gooning still a goon or have they become a gooner
Gives all new meaning to David Bowie's song Fashion.
We are the goon squad and we're coming to town, beep beep!
Or he's just a time traveler and knew exactly what he was doing...
Or he was David Bowie and was fucking weird
The Goonies would never work in these times. Kinda glad I grew up when I did.
It could work as an adult film
Down here, it's our time. It's our time down here. That's all over the second we ride up Troy's bucket.
That's my mom's favorite part!
Go on
For real, why can't these people just make up their own words?
They're just not bumpenis enough
what a bunch of saltydongs
Truly unpruliferus people
Buncha Croffans.
'Goon' still means Henchman.
Don't let the vapid famewhore influencerati dictate language changes. Laugh at their obvious inability and keep being you.
I guess we can still use 'mooks' for that.
Vapid famewhore influencerati
Are you trying to dictate language changes? I laugh at your obvious inability
Wtf are you talking about? Also, language is a social construct and words change meaning all the time. They can also mean more than one thing...
Hogwash! (I meant that as in I agree)
I miss when people correctly capitalised the word I
| It kinda looks like you put your sentence between vertical bars |
I did kind of do that, didn't I
That's a type of punctuation in Hindi
when was that precisely?
It was a time long ago, before social media was a thing, and when people learned how to spell by reading books.
It will always mean bags of wine to me
I hate having to explain "goon of fortune" now...
I occasionally throw it in like that to keep things fun at work.
If they don't deliver the server I think we should send hired goons over.
Don't worry, just send that to the goons in implementation.
what's a goon to a Goblin?
Depends on what he's goblin.
It's a psy-op to protect the goons that are detaining innocents on American streets.
hello I do data entry in the mafia
I actually lol'd
What does it mean now?
From what I gather, it seems to mean something similar to what we civilized folk once called edging
I'm pretty sure that gooning doesn't refer to edging but simply to masturbaiting to completion, often multiple times a day
So... Normal behaviour?
Oh. Well then I stand corrected. Shows you how much I know about it...
Actually that guy is more wrong than you were. "Gooning" is the act of edging multiple times in a single long session such that your body is pumped so full of sexual endorphins that you essentially become an accessory to your groin. No longer a person with a penis, but simply a rock hard cock with a human attached to it who's sole purpose is providing sexual gratification. This is the "goon state". The term "gooning" does derive from its previous usage as the gooner becomes a simpleton, brainless idiot, etc.
Gooners typically also use multiple screens in a dark room with their porn of choice on each screen to maximize sexual stimulation, essentially entering into their own pocket dimension where there exists only porn and their throbbing shaft.
Source: Me. I once hit the ceiling with my load after a 5 hour goon session.
You heard it here, folks, straight from the horse's mouth
Like landscaping?
Thats what edging is for me. Still not sure what this new definition is.
That’s part of it for some people.
Hmmm. Sure.
It means all the above shit in this thread including the one that started it. Words can have more than one meaning. I think the argument is what the connotation has become.
Goon means wine in a bag.
I'm also pretty amused my the new meaning though. Eg. When Keir Starmer elated himself a gooner.
Ahh when goon was short for flagon or flagoon! Cheap wine was the go!
Or Sean William Scott.
Yup, “Goon” will always mean hockey enforcer to me. If they want a name for jacking it, that would be “Goon 2”
The Last Enforcer
What if they used jacking off? Or something like beating it? I bet there's a hundred ways to flog the dolphin.
As a Gen-Xer I can attest that up until two weeks ago I was very much so misunderstanding "gooning". Once again, porn saves the day.
Does it tho?
Hired goons?
20 new words a year from people that barely read books. No wonder they think they are inventing lingo.
The Goonies should own that word
Ive got 4 definitions... Making it extra confusing.
- The one from the post.
- The new zoomer definition.
- A member of the EvE Online alliance "Goonswarm Federation" (an army of 10k angry nerds).
- A member of the security team at DefCon.
Both 3 and 4 predate 2 by well more than 15 years, this is one of those zoomer additions to the common lexicon I would prefer reverted to the old definitions.
Aren't 3 and 4 just derivatives of 1?
Eh... No
One is a notorious guild in an online video game that has been around in some form or another since the early 2ks. The latter is a security conference thats been held since the early 90s. (Although it used to be a lot rougher than it currently is, its a lot more corporate and safer now)
Both are obviously named after the crinimal goons.
Was it not just an collaboration of SomethingAwful forumites that founded Goonswarm?
Where do you think the something awful form got the name?
the goonswarm is just the something awful faction of eve. they've been called goons since forever. they had one in wow as well, "ye olde goon squad", or yogs. some of those members started a podcast and that just snowballed.
Gooning gooner gooning goons
We've got a town in NZ called Rangiora, but it's pretty ubiquitously known as "Goon" to locals.
My theory is "Rangiora" -> "Rangoon" -> "Goon".
We also call the inner bag removed from boxed wine a "goon sack", though that one is borrowed from the Aussies.
How do you feel about Stifler being the main actor in a franchise called Goon?
Not exactly news that words often change meanings over time.
Literally
I’ve been attending STLV which is at the Rio in Las Vegas. Past two years Defcon has been there. I guess attendees for that convention get labels. I see lots of people which patches that say they are goons.
