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> HMS Terrible https://www.dictionary.com/browse/terrible https://www.dictionary.com/browse/terrible 3. exciting terror, awe, or great fear; dreadful; awful.

by nkrisc 1y ago

> HMS Terrible https://www.dictionary.com/browse/terrible https://www.dictionary.com/browse/terrible 3. exciting terror, awe, or great fear; dreadful; awful. 4. formidably great. I think it's a perfectly suitable name for a warship. The notion of "terrible" describing the inferior quality of something is a much more recent meaning, I believe.

HeyLaughingBoy 1y ago
Yeah, but compare "HMS Fanny" to "HMS Indefatigable." Especially considering the British colloquial usage of "fanny" I think someone was in a particularly good mood that day.
- nkrisc 1y ago
  That one I have no explanation for.