why does Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia mean the fear of long words??
why do we park in a driveway and drive in a parkway?
why do we call it "dusting" the furniture when it should be called "undusting"?
why is it when products are transported by car, its called a shipment but by ship it's called cargo?
why does a can of mildew remover's directions tell us to use only in a well ventilated area? if the place was well ventilated, you wouldn't have mildew.
why do dogs get mad if you blow in their face but love to stick their faces out of a moving car?
why do we say "buh bye" but never say "huh hi"?
why is intolerance a bad thing but ZERO tolerance a good thing?
why does slow down and slow up mean the same thing?
why do we say "heads up" when an object is heading our way when we should really say heads down?
2006-10-30 07:23:26 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Social Science ➔ Psychology
also, why does fat chance and slim chance mean the same thing??
2006-10-30 07:33:05 · update #1
It is all about Semitics and perception.
If more than one mouse is mice then more than one house would be hice. If more than one ox is oxen, then box should be boxen. And so on...
It can also be explained by the evolution of language...what meant something now didn't mean the same thing long time ago, yet we use to expression anyhow.
It is also be explained that some things are said a certian way becasue of influences of other languages.
Also some of language is ironic. Other things just can't be explained.
Can you imagine how hard it is to learn the english language considering the inconsistancy of words.?
2006-10-30 07:55:38 · answer #1 · answered by clcalifornia 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Maybe I can help you.
1. No such word found in dictionary
2. Parkway often have traffic, so they feel like parking..
Driveway has no traffic, so they feel like driving
3. Ship was invented before cars, that is why the word was taken initially
4. Not sure about this one, I guess, we have to make sure we can breath first
5. Dogs like to do things themselves, that is why they stick out is better being blown at
6. We say buh bye because bye is difficult for ppl to say, saying twice shows more emotion. Saying just hi on the other hand may be talking to a stranger, no need to get emotion
7. Zero tolerance may not be a good thing for many
8. Never heard of slow up phrase
9. It means look up, Up point to the sky means God is watching us, we have to be careful.
10. Fat chance is for people who think they have chance, (optimistic way) slim chance is pessimistic way to say it.
2006-10-30 15:54:23 · answer #2 · answered by YourDreamDoc 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't know, maybe you should ask the smartest person in the world. How did you discover all these things? You're probably the second smartest person in the world. I always thought that most questions that started with "Why...?" have an answer of $$$, but you just wrecked that theory. Congratulations. You just made me stupider.
2006-10-30 15:43:31 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Why do we call the biggest person we know "tiny".I guess the human mind just works in mysterious ways.
2006-10-30 15:29:49 · answer #4 · answered by porkupuss 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Interesting concept! I'd like to know the answers myself!
2006-10-30 15:48:57 · answer #5 · answered by American Wildcat 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋