Arataniello Posted March 28, 2013 Share Posted March 28, 2013 I like the word silly. It sounds nice. :leaving:THAT is the dumbest adjective in th English language right there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckwheat Posted March 28, 2013 Share Posted March 28, 2013 THAT is the dumbest adjective in th English language right there.:o Next thing you will be banning the words lovely and pretty too? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arataniello Posted March 28, 2013 Share Posted March 28, 2013 "nice" is such a lazy adjective to use. "this is a nice cup of tea""nice weather today"etcetcI have nothing against the words "lovely" or "pretty". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckwheat Posted March 28, 2013 Share Posted March 28, 2013 Naw, I like "nice". It is very simple.But I am not a native English speaker, so what do I know. :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eyron Posted March 28, 2013 Share Posted March 28, 2013 British use of 'silly' is a bit different than the American isn't it? Since I am not either of, I'm not completely sure, but I have heard it in England and I thought it was sometimes used as a positive, like 'funny' which can be used both for something/someone fun and/or weird. What Paddington says basically. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baelor Swyft Posted March 28, 2013 Share Posted March 28, 2013 I find this thread rather ironic. To hate a word so strongly is utterly silly, and for someone to have such visceral feelings for the word "silly" must require their life to have such a vast. impenetrable dearth of sorely-needed silliness. A silly person would never make such a thread, unless they did so facetiously just because of how silly of thing it is to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sun Posted March 28, 2013 Share Posted March 28, 2013 Silly is one of my favourite adjectives, it's multipurpose nature is part of its appeal. It's condescending without being rude, dismissive without being hostile. when used in the negative it has a certain halcyon aroma that somehow sweetens its bite. When used in the positive, the word contain a mirthful flavour that is very affecting, and not easily found in any other single word. It's an elegant clotheshorse of a word, that can take on whatever colour and weight implied by the context and project it with subtle force.Twee is another favourite word of mine, though utterly unrelated, and for completely different reasons to silly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ormond Posted March 28, 2013 Share Posted March 28, 2013 I have no problems with "silly" myself.What does surprise me about this thread is to see Americans using the word "cheeky". Until recently this was purely a British word. One of the personality trait tests I give to my students in psychology classes was developed in England and has a question with the word "cheeky" in it, and I still have to explain what that means to my students in Nebraska.P.S. On the other hand, come to think of it, I'm not sure "cheeky" is really being used here exactly as it is in England. The question on the test I use is "As a child were you ever cheeky to your parents?", which means did you ever talk back to them in an insolent way, as I understand it. I'm not quite sure how that meaning goes along with the phrase "cheeky and fun." I can see how something could be considered insolent and "funny" at the same time, but "fun" and "funny" themselves don't have quite the same meaning for me in this context, and it's hard for me to see cheekiness as being "fun". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brAnthelAstgreenseer Posted March 28, 2013 Share Posted March 28, 2013 Silly is mostly used when someone is pointing out someones mistake.The teacher told the boy's parents "Your boy is talented but makes silly mistakes in exams".As opposed to saying what dumb mistake your chilld makes in exams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaxom 1974 Posted March 28, 2013 Share Posted March 28, 2013 Silly is closer enough to my last name, it's as though you all are trying to year me down personally... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitestripe Posted March 28, 2013 Share Posted March 28, 2013 It's far more jokey and playful than any of the others.When something is silly it's not really bad, or stupid its just funny in a sort of childish giggly sort of way. When I refer to some one as being or doing something silly, I mostly expect them to grin along with me.This. In my mind, silly means "goofy," as in the behavior of my hell-spawn when they are doing something to get a laugh out of their parents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mlle. Zabzie Posted March 28, 2013 Share Posted March 28, 2013 it's a good pejorative for a three-year old to learn, as it does not necessarily imply discrimination against persons born with a mere two standard deviations or less above the mean on wechsler.My 3-year olds are quite fond of the word. I believe they use it appropriately.This. In my mind, silly means "goofy," as in the behavior of my hell-spawn when they are doing something to get a laugh out of their parents.Well, exactly. Or our behavior when we are trying to get our 3-year olds to laugh (that usually ends with them saying "Mama, you're silly". True. Whatever I was doing was entirely silly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hereward Posted March 28, 2013 Share Posted March 28, 2013 Cheeky is a word that has changed meaning over the course of my lifetime and is now multipurpose. When I was young, giving your parents cheek, or being cheeky, was indeed being insolent and was a serious charge. But over time it came to be used more to mean slightly, but not excessively, irreverent in a funny way. It is also used to describe, jokingly, relatively inexpensive, but surprisingly tasty, wine. :dunno: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paddington Posted March 28, 2013 Share Posted March 28, 2013 I've never really heard goofy used in that sense, outside of American TV. I'd did hear it used alot in childhood as a unpleasent taunt towards people with over-bites. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eyron Posted March 28, 2013 Share Posted March 28, 2013 This. In my mind, silly means "goofy," as in the behavior of my hell-spawn when they are doing something to get a laugh out of their parents.Goofy is the equivalent I was thinking of too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ormond Posted March 28, 2013 Share Posted March 28, 2013 Cheeky is a word that has changed meaning over the course of my lifetime and is now multipurpose. When I was young, giving your parents cheek, or being cheeky, was indeed being insolent and was a serious charge. But over time it came to be used more to mean slightly, but not excessively, irreverent in a funny way. It is also used to describe, jokingly, relatively inexpensive, but surprisingly tasty, wine. :dunno:Thanks a lot for the explanation! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MercenaryChef Posted March 28, 2013 Share Posted March 28, 2013 I use silly at times, but it means playful and whimsical when I use it.I love the word nice. I use it a hundred or so times a day on the job. 'make it nice' is a personal mantra. I tell my chefs, cooks and sometimes even my spouse that whenever I am in the kitchen. It means 'give it your everything. Give me perfection. Let the ingredients be respected and loved. Don't fuck this up. Don't fail me.' Make it nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljkeane Posted March 28, 2013 Share Posted March 28, 2013 Cheeky is a word that has changed meaning over the course of my lifetime and is now multipurpose. When I was young, giving your parents cheek, or being cheeky, was indeed being insolent and was a serious charge. But over time it came to be used more to mean slightly, but not excessively, irreverent in a funny way. It is also used to describe, jokingly, relatively inexpensive, but surprisingly tasty, wine. :dunno:I think it means pretty much the same thing, doing something impertinent. It's just that there's more tolerance for things that are mildly bad manners than there used to be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trebla Posted March 28, 2013 Share Posted March 28, 2013 Goofy is the equivalent I was thinking of too. Me three. When my daughter was a toddler, I used to refer to her as "my little silly". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paddington Posted March 28, 2013 Share Posted March 28, 2013 I think the problem with nice in the UK is that it's seen as a filler and not a real commitment type word.Nice could mean, good/bad/indifferent. It's used alot when you are not complaining, so a nice cup of tea really means it's not a good cup of tea. It's distinctly average cup of tea, or I am trying not to be rude.edit:- Or maybe I am not trying to embrass my host with being over complementary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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