Terrific?

September 17, 2001 9:29 AM from

This weekend, while watching the news, this funny anomaly in the English language occured to me:

"Horror" --> "Horrible" --> "Horrific"
"Terror" --> "Terrible" --> "Terrific"

Funny, isn't it? Can somebody explain to me again how this language works?

2,894 views 5 replies

Reply #1 September 17, 2001 9:48 AM from

WinCustomize Forums Top

Grampa crae speaks:

Terrific is one of those words that has shifted meaning over the years. It used to mean something was bad, but nowadays it's the opposite. It's similar to the words "wicked" and "bad", which can be either bad or good, depending on context. "Terrific" has past this ambiguous state.

Reply #2 September 17, 2001 9:51 AM from

WinCustomize Forums Top

*grumbles* past --> passed (why the hell is it written as "passed" and pronounced "past" and not "pas sed"?)

Reply #3 September 17, 2001 10:05 AM from

WinCustomize Forums Top

I know, I understand that some words don't pass the test of time and sometimes end up with totally different meanings, but this particular case just bust me up. One would tend to thing that terrorists don't exactly do terrific acts...

Reply #4 September 17, 2001 10:05 AM from

WinCustomize Forums Top

hum... that should be "tend to think"

Reply #5 September 17, 2001 9:45 PM from

WinCustomize Forums Top

The shift of meaning for 'terrific' is not all that old. Relatively modern literature will still use its original 'correct' meaning...

Welcome Guest! Please take the time to register with us.

Richer content, access to many features that are disabled for guests like commenting and posting on the forums.
Access to a great community, with a massive database of many, many areas of interest.
Access to contests & subscription offers like exclusive emails.
It's simple, and FREE!