Unthaw

[Dennis Baron]

I believe I once proposed amphibology, but I wasn't particularly
serious.
dennis

On Jul 29, 2004, at 11:57 AM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:

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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at YAHOO.COM>
> Subject:      Re: Unthaw
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>
> They need a name that intro to linguistics students can memorize.
>
> Allow me to suggest "ipsonyms."  Or is that taken?
>
> JL
>
> Dennis Baron <debaron at UIUC.EDU> wrote:
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> Sender: American Dialect Society
> Poster: Dennis Baron
> Subject: Re: Unthaw
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>
> Thaw/unthaw is just one of several words that mean their own opposites
> (sounds like a talk show topic, like planets that eat their own moons.
> Tomorrow, on Oprah, words that mean their own opposites).
>
> These are common enough -- altho there is no technical term for them:
>
> ravel/unravel (knitting up the raveled sleeve of care)
> literally/figuratively (she was literally climbing the walls--literally
> is seldom used literally, whereas figuratively is always used
> literally; go figure)
> unloosen/loosen
> bone/debone
> and of course cleave (which means both cling to and separate, though it
> is really two different words that have become identical)
>
> Dennis (that's me, and so far as I know that's all it means, tho
> sometimes it means Dennis Preston)
>
>
>
>
>
> Dennis Baron office: 217-244-0568
> Professor of English and Linguistics mobile: 217-840-0776
> Department of English fax: 217-333-4321
> University of Illinois https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/debaron/www
> 608 S. Wright St.
> Urbana, IL 61801
> debaron at uiuc.ed
>
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