Words Are

Their Own Opposites

I have taken the liberty to share some of these interesting tidbits for Words Are Their Own Opposites and picked a few to write on for my own amusement.

This is the first paragraph of the article.

Here’s an ambiguous sentence for you: “Because of the agency’s oversight, the corporation’s behavior was sanctioned.” Does that mean, ‘Because the agency oversaw the company’s behavior, they imposed a penalty for some transgression’ or does it mean, ‘Because the agency was inattentive, they overlooked the misbehavior and gave it their approval by default’? We’ve stumbled into the looking-glass world of “contronyms”—words that are their own antonyms.

 Sanction (via French, from Latin sanctio(n-), from sancire ‘ratify,’) can mean ‘give official permission or approval for (an action)’ or conversely, ‘impose a penalty on.’

Given permission for what now is done
Good idea at the time now find rather dumb
Did not work out quite as planned
Find in hindsight should have thought out beforehand
My boss is a idiot, now the company fined a hefty sum

Help means ‘assist,’ unless you can’t help doing something, when it means ‘prevent.’

Called my lawyer, he said plead the fifth
The decision made wanted no part with
Tried to convince the judge was not involved
In the end my problem was not resolved
He found me just as guilty, his decision made swift

Bitch, as reader Shawn Ravenfire pointed out, can derisively refer to a woman who is considered overly aggressive or domineering, or it can refer to someone passive or submissive.

So here I sit in my little jail cell
My roomie now calls me tinker bell
Just my luck in here with my boss
No matter what I am at a loss
Next ten years will be living in hell

Continue usually means to persist in doing something, but as a legal term it means stop a proceeding temporarily.

As the days go on I have to resist
Little voice in my head is starting to insist
Waiting for the time I believe when take no more
Turn the tables and slam him down to the floor
His name will be cupcake, he will need the proctologist

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In some jobs you usually end up getting screwed either way.

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From one of my favorite sites http://mentalfloss.com/

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