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I can't count the number of times in a public conversation I've heard people say, "well maybe I'm just being anal." Gah. That isn't a homonym people. You are li
by ryandvm 11y ago
I can't count the number of times in a public conversation I've heard people say, "well maybe I'm just being anal." Gah. That isn't a homonym people. You are literally referring to your asshole - or more precisely, a post-infantile stage of your development in which you developed a predilection for holding your shit in because you experienced conflict during toilet training. Which, for the record, has pretty firmly been debunked as some of Freud's more ridiculous "pop" science.
It drives me nuts, but I'm well aware of how deeply that idiom has sunk its fangs into the English language. So I subconsciously roll my eyes and make a little wish that we could come up with a better idiom for describing fastidiousness and move on. Some things in life are not worth protesting...
- dragonwriter 11y ago> I can't count the number of times in a public conversation I've heard people say, "well maybe I'm just being anal." Gah. That isn't a homonym people. You are literally referring to [...] Er, no. I'm pretty sure most people using that phrase are not using it literally, and I don't think any honest listener ever confuses the usage for a literal one.
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- exodust 11y agoWhile not a homonym, it's still an effective word because of it's less than tasteful association. I don't think it's used often, but when it is, everyone knows what is meant. Perhaps the distastefulness of the word might even encourage us to improve upon the character traits of "anal", so that we may avoid hearing the word. It's an ugly word. But that's the point. The behaviour it refers to is ugly.