Words that lose all meaning if you think too much about them

cleremy jarkson · 17-11-2010 01:47PM #1

I was looking at an advertisement for prize bonds earlier when I found myself staring at the word "prize". I read it a few times and considered all the letters and how unusual a word it is. When looked at out of context and not in a sentence, it seems strange. It then momentarily lost all meaning to me and became absurd.

Has anybody ever experienced this and if you did, what words has it happened with?

Brendog · 17-11-2010 01:49PM

Christianity....

bonerm · 17-11-2010 01:49PM

"free"

eg "free samsung phone for every reader" which I saw on the front page of the Irish Indo. The word has lost so much meaning that I didn't even bother to enquire further.

MIRMIR82 · 17-11-2010 01:51PM

bonerm wrote: »

"free"

eg "free samsung phone for every reader" which I saw on the front page of the Irish Indo. The word has lost so much meaning that I didn't even bother to enquire further.

OH my god - that is so true!!

JJayoo · 17-11-2010 01:55PM

yup happens to me sometimes

Duggy747 · 17-11-2010 01:55PM

"Budget Deficit"

This was all Cowen kept repeating yesterday during his announcement to the Dail. I thought to myself: "Jesus, if he says it one more time!..." and surely he blurted out "Budget Deficit" again.

So I finished up at work and walked home, 10 minutes into my journey I decide to pop into the shop which had the radio on.......

The first words I hear on the radio?

Budget Deficit

cleremy jarkson · 17-11-2010 01:56PM

bonerm wrote: »

"free"

eg "free samsung phone for every reader" which I saw on the front page of the Irish Indo. The word has lost so much meaning that I didn't even bother to enquire further.

Do you mean it has for some reason or another lost it's impact on you? If so, this isn't what I'm talking about.

It's hard to describe, but it feels like if you probe certain individual words too deeply you end up feeling like the word is meaningless or something.

Pyr0 · 17-11-2010 02:03PM

Spar. The name makes no sense at all after saying it over and over.

AnonoBoy · 17-11-2010 02:04PM

Embiggen.

bonerm · 17-11-2010 02:08PM

If you feel that way about certain words then why not just about all words?

Danbo! · 17-11-2010 02:09PM

Tartlets.

Dean820 · 17-11-2010 02:09PM

'the'

Dublin_Gunner · 17-11-2010 02:11PM

Hatchet

IMO the strangest word. Even in context it has very little meaning as you never hear the word mentioned these days.

Just keep saying it over and over to yourself, it makes very strange sounds!

bonerm · 17-11-2010 02:11PM

Pyr0 wrote: »

Spar. The name makes no sense at all after saying it over and over.

Spar is German. It roughly translates as "crappy overpriced convenience store"

cleremy jarkson · 17-11-2010 02:15PM

bonerm wrote: »

If you feel that way about certain words then why not just about all words?

I suppose if you thought about any word enough it would happen, but with some words it just happens more quickly. In fact quick is one of those words for me.

quick

say it few times to yourself and just consider how strange it is!

Max Power1 · 17-11-2010 02:15PM

Hip

It kinda rolls off the tongue

Hip... Hip...

Meh.. the word has lost all meaning

/red forman

ascanbe · 17-11-2010 02:48PM

Happened me not so long ago with the word 'trailer', for whatever reason.
Found myself fixating on it and it was like it became unleashed from its moorings and became nothing more than a garbled sound; actually found myself temporarily wondering if it actually meant/represented anything.
Kind of a discomfiting feeling.
Think it's just happens if you fixate on something; words, in and of themselves, have no meaning beyond that we assign to the them, so if you think about one to much, the actual sound can temporarily supersede the assigned meaning.

mojesius · 17-11-2010 03:00PM

'Disappointment/ disappointed'. It never really made sense to me. You never hear, when people are content or satisfied with something, how 'appointed' they are.

Duggy747 · 17-11-2010 03:01PM

Max Power1 wrote: »

Hip

It kinda rolls off the tongue

Hip... Hip...

Meh.. the word has lost all meaning

/red forman

Hoppin' down the bunny trail, hippity hoppity Easter's on it's way!!

Whyner · 17-11-2010 03:07PM

cleremy jarkson wrote: »

I suppose if you thought about any word enough it would happen, but with some words it just happens more quickly. In fact quick is one of those words for me.

quick

say it few times to yourself and just consider how strange it is!

I know what you mean. I can't remember what words they were. It is a very strange feeling, you say it out loud once it makes no sense in your mind, then you are afraid to use it in text/conversation as you think the word doesn't exist

The more you say it the more convinced you are that it's doesn't exist.

17-11-2010 03:10PM

Happens with any word if you're just in such a mood, I think

Rowley Birkin QC · 17-11-2010 03:15PM

Banana.

Banana.

Ba na na.

Ba.

Na.

Na.

wonderfulname · 17-11-2010 03:16PM

Whyner wrote: »

I know what you mean. I can't remember what words they were. It is a very strange feeling, you say it out loud once it makes no sense in your mind, then you are afraid to use it in text/conversation as you think the word doesn't exist

The more you say it the more convinced you are that it's doesn't exist.

ascanbe wrote: »

Happened me not so long ago with the word 'trailer', for whatever reason.
Found myself fixating on it and it was like it became unleashed from its moorings and became nothing more than a garbled sound; actually found myself temporarily wondering if it actually meant/represented anything.
Kind of a discomfiting feeling.
Think it's just happens if you fixate on something; words, in and of themselves, have no meaning beyond that we assign to the them, so if you think about one to much, the actual sound can temporarily supersede the assigned meaning.

cleremy jarkson wrote: »

I was looking at an advertisement for prize bonds earlier when I found myself staring at the word "prize". I read it a few times and considered all the letters and how unusual a word it is. When looked at out of context and not in a sentence, it seems strange. It then momentarily lost all meaning to me and became absurd.

Has anybody ever experienced this and if you did, what words has it happened with?

I know the answer, too much spliff.

df1985 · 17-11-2010 03:16PM

happens to me with brandnames or the names of stores.

Apple......they dont sell apples, not even remotely close.
Boots....nope, no boots for sale!
brown thomas.....bit racist on poor thomas??
woodies
tesco
gap etc etc......could go on and on.

beefjerky · 17-11-2010 03:18PM

Fork, Fork, Fork, Fork, Fork, Fork, Fork, Fork, Fork, Fork, Fork, Fork, Fork, Fork, Fork, Fork, Fork, Fork, Fork, Fork, Fork, Fork, Fork, Fork, Fork, Fork, Fork, Fork, Fork, Fork, Fork, Fork, Fork, Fork, Fork, Fork, Fork, Fork, Fork, Fork, Fork, Fork, Fork, Fork, Fork, Fork, Fork.

cleremy jarkson · 17-11-2010 03:23PM

wonderfulname wrote: »

I know the answer, too much spliff.

Don't take any drugs apart from imbibing the odd alcoholic beverage.

Irish Guitarist · 17-11-2010 03:43PM

"Dog" sounds kind of weird when you think about it (or at least when I think about it). A lot of names for bodily parts sound weird too, for instance "ear".