The Word of the Day for April 4 is:
http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/mwwod.pl
devious \DEE-vee-us\ adjective
*1 : deviating from a straight line : roundabout
2 : behaving wrongly : errant
3 : tricky, cunning; also : deceptive
Read the 1st & 3rd definitions and ponder them. Now maybe it’s me (I am known for having issues, and weird ones at that) but roundabout and deceptive are two words with different connotations. Ponder these sentences: I took a roundabout path there. I took a deceptive path there. I took a devious path there. Roundabout – sounds innocent, like I just got lost or was taking a scenic route? Deceptive – I wasn’t honest in my way there, maybe greased a palm or two. Devious – I’m trying to over throw a country on my way maybe. This is why the English/American language is screwy to people. Each sentence conveys a different meaning, although deceptive and devious are close, way closer than roundabout and devious – but Mr. Webster has the 1st definition marked as the main meaning for devious?!? This is because connotation is where the true meaning is. Why don’t dictionaries capture the connotation of a word and the implied feeling?
1 comment:
Becasue dictionaries are just another case of the MAN trying to keep us down.
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