Hello, hi, hey, howdy, greetings — take your pick.
English is strange.
For instance, every English-speaking parent has to teach their child that the “hey” sound is what you say as a welcome and it’s how you say a big ball of dried grass rolled up in a field. Like sushi made of straw.
And the “hi” sound is a welcome or something that is tall or a side effect of drug usage.
English hates clarity.
We’re spoiled that most of us learned English in the years of our lives when we don’t remember the pain of contradictions.
But much of the world has to wrestle with Webster to make sense of global communication.
So, to help stretch your empathy muscles for those learning English, here are my top two words that prove it’s the weirdest language out there:
Awful
Some awe is awesome. But full of awe is bad.
I guess all things in moderation 🤷
Heroin
The highly addictive drug that ruins lives sounds the exact same as a woman hero.
Even Google has to provide this disclaimer:
I have no idea why feminists aren’t talking about this more. They should be leading the charge on a rebranding of the morphine derivative.
A group of guys had to sit around a table, brainstorm a name for the narcotic, and name it something.
They thought of the word “heroin.”
And then, like any decent namer, checked if it was already taken.
They had to flip through a dictionary, see “heroine”, and think, “Hmm it’s not a big deal if we ruin this word forever like Hitler did for the toothbrush mustache.”
Shame on them.
That’s just awful.
What English word baffles you?
I’ll share my favorite in next week’s newsletter.
But until then, seek out the awesome heroines!
✌️
Luke
Suite and Sweet, one means something a man wears while the other can mean something tastes sugary OR a phrase that could mean "cool or awesome"
Strange is a weird one, it's not someone who is strange, it's someone who you don't know.
English is wild (no not untamed, just crazy ;) )