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My favourites are words that mean the opposite in different Englishes. For example * to table: postpone (US English) vs put forward for consideration (British
by genmon 7y ago
My favourites are words that mean the opposite in different Englishes. For example
* to table: postpone (US English) vs put forward for consideration (British English)
* to (take a) punt: give up (US) vs go ahead (British)
What could we call these... Alter-Anglo-Auto-Antonyms?
- vumgl 7y agoAlso, this used to cause trouble with phone operators connecting phone calls between USA and England: "are you through?" could mean either "are you connected?" or "are you done with the conversation?"
- ScottBurson 7y agoPunt is an interesting one. I think the original meaning was "offer". I've seen it used this way in the British press: The company is punting a new product. This could have been the original meaning in American football: to punt the ball is to offer it to the opponents. But since a team punts when they have given up on making a first down, the meaning of punt shifted to "give up".