Not so much metaphorical,
Willem, as ironical, I would say. Except for "awful", which looks
like a folk-etymological spelling of "offal", in metaphorical use.
Americans today pronounce "offal" and "awful" pretty much the
same.
Irony seems to be quite a common occurrence in the
speech of all languages, in my personal (purely amateur) observation, and used
by all classes of society. Metaphor is less common: not restricted to the
more educated, but maybe more common there than elsewhere. Or, more
elaborate, at least. What do you think?
Do you suppose the expression "old whore" derives
from the proposition that an old whore might be more likely to keep her clients
amused by conversation than a young one, the former having rather less else to
offer in the way of diversion? It's certainly an entertaining
term!
Gordon Barlow
Message:
8
Date: Sun, 29
May 2005 01:48:15 -0000
From: "C. Darwin Goranson" <cdog_squirrel@...>
I've noticed an odd pattern on Modern English. Words that are
adapted
to mean "bad" (such as "sick" and "sh*t") have switched meaning
to
mean "good" (i.e. "That is SICK" and "give me some of that
sh*t").
Contrariwise, the word "awful" switched meaning (albeit earlier)
from
"full of awe" and "wonderful" to "terrible."
Why do these shifts
occur?
>Because metaphorical use of meanings is always possible and
usually
more expressive than appropriate use.
>In Dutch
the collocation meaning 'old whore, aged prostitute' can be
used
metaphorically in the meaning 'person who talks too much'.
>Willem