Words That Aren't What They Seem

Sometimes it’s difficult to express what you want to say, either because you can’t think of precisely the right word, or because the right word doesn’t exist. You have to make do with several words, each supplying greater and greater nuance. That’s life. You manage.

Sometimes, however, the English language seems to conspire against you by offering you words that sound like the right words—but instead mean something totally different. “Unfair!” you say? Life, as you already have learned, is unfair. That said, Ms. Picky will do her best to equip you with the knowledge that will help you to handle the linguistic curves life throws you.

The four words we are going to discuss today are noisome, fulsome, and grandiose, and enormity. Do you think you know what they mean? Well, maybe you do—and maybe you don’t. Here’s the story.

Noisome

Noisome sounds as if it means noisy, doesn’t it? But it relates to your olfactory sense, not your auditory sense. Noisome means foul- or bad-smelling, or, by metaphorical extension, disgusting, unpleasant, or disagreeable.

Examples:

At the fair, we enjoyed the bake-competition tent, but we skipped the noisome animal stalls.

The swamp gave off a noisome gas.

He considered the whole affair to be noisome and completely unethical.

Fulsome

Fulsome, in the thirteenth century, when its use was first noted, meant “abundant.” Over the centuries, however, the word began to be used differently, and today the correct meaning is excessively complimentary, or flattering, and therein lies the rub. The word sounds as if it means abundant and “full,” but now it actually describes false or insincere praise. So, if you use fulsome when you mean to be complimentary, you are actually being insulting. This one is not just a matter of the wrong meaning; it’s the opposite meaning.

Example:

Is it worse to “damn with faint praise” or to offer fulsome compliments?

If Abercrombie—when he has bought what he thinks is an undiscovered masterpiece at auction—asks what you think of his painting, if you answer, in a flat voice, “It’s very nice,” you would be “damning it with faint praise.”*

But, if you say to Abercrombie, “I don’t know how you did it; it’s quite probably an undiscovered Matisse. Your artistic judgment is impeccable, as always, and whoever doesn’t realize that is a fool!” that would be a fulsome response.

Grandiose

 

We’ve talked about this one before, but it’s worth mentioning again. Grandiose does not mean grand. Instead, it means “over-the-top,” showy, and in bad taste.

Example:

That woman has more money than taste; her entire house is decorated in the most ostentatious and grandiose style!

Enormity

Enormity does not mean enormousness; the word has nothing to do with size. Instead, it means a quality of outrageousness, evil, or a moral outrage.

The school seemed oblivious to the enormity of what he had done to the boy.

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*“Damning with faint praise” is an expression for which the first known use is Alexander Pope’s 1734 poem “Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot:

“Damn with faint praise, assent with civil leer,

And without sneering, teach the rest to sneer;

Willing to wound, and yet afraid to strike,

Just hint a fault, and hesitate dislike.”

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Bulletin Board

After the foregoing portion of this posting was published, reader Lawrence Hochheiser wrote to suggest that “simplistic” be added to the category of “Words That Aren’t What They Seem.” Lawrence is absolutely on target; “simplistic” fits this category perfectly, and so Ms. Picky has, instead of leaving Lawrence’s suggestion only in the “Comments” section, republished the posting, adding “simplistic” in the “Bulletin Board” section. Here it is—thanks to Lawrence.

Simplistic

Simplistic does not mean “simple.” Rather, it means oversimplifying complex problems, making unrealistically simple judgments, or naïve.

Example:

The U.S. began the war with a "frighteningly simplistic" view of Afghanistan, said retired general Stanley McChrystal.

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