I’m gobsmacked by how often the word “obtuse” is misused, and misused with great flamboyance. “Obtuse”, people, means nothing more complicated or intense than “a lack of intelligence or sensitivity”. So stop referring to the work of your favourite writers or poets (or your own work for that matter) as obtuse. You’re probably thinking of something midway between “obscure” and “abstruse” (both of which are slightly more dashing words and indicate something that’s enigmatic or difficult to understand, which is the meaning you’re likely looking for).
When you preen and tell me that you are stimulated by “obtuse writing”, I begin to suspect that maybe you really are.
Also, “loath” and “loathe” are different words, with separate meanings. Look them up. One is an adjective, the other a verb. The correct phrase is “I am loath to do this”, not “I am loathe ...”. (It is of course possible that you really, really, really hate [i.e. “loathe”] doing something, but don’t say “I am loathe to do it” - it’s ungrammatical.)
Special note to the children working on the entertainment beats in Delhi Times, HT City, etc: Avoid using “prequel” if you don’t know what it means. Don’t use it interchangeably with “predecessor”. Like a sequel, a prequel is produced/published after a pre-existing work; the only difference is that it deals with events that occurred at an earlier time. Harry Potter 2 is a sequel to Harry Potter 1, but this does not mean Harry Potter 1 was the prequel to Harry Potter 2.
(For more on prequels, with examples, see this.)
And yes, all this comes from someone who promptly tossed his Wren & Martin into the fire the day his parents told him he was now old enough to destroy books. But I’m allowed to be pedantic once a year.
The easiest way to think of "obtuse" is as the opposite to "acute".
ReplyDeleteSuch lovely venom:)...I feel the same way when after six weeks of thankless discussions, my students want to know, "So what exactly is flexible about flexible capital?"
ReplyDeleteJabber,
ReplyDeleteI love it when you get pedantic! Please be so more often. But one thing to add: many would wonder whether the irritating word "prequel" itself has much real utility outside the world of hype marketing. The proper test case for this word would be a film I like very much, Back to The Future II: is it prequel, postquel, simulquel or overkill?
I once invented the word 'obstrusive' -- probably a combination of obstructive and intrusive -- and refused to believe when told that it didn't exist. It seemed like a grand word, and I still use it sometimes.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Most people make stupid mistakes like that. Indians, we all, love to adapt and morph words together to form our own hybrids.
ReplyDeleteYour take on "prequel" reminds me of another. Did you know there isnt any such word as 'prepone'? Its either postpone or advance. Although prepone sounds very convenient, its not a proper word.
Bagchi: I used to be fascinated by the words that began with "ob" - invented many new ones as a child though I’ve forgotten most of them by now. "Obviate" and "Oblivion" would somehow mate with "alleviate" to form "obliviate" (which I believe is a term in the Harry Potter books now). "Obstinate" and "obstreperous" would make "obstinerous".
ReplyDeleteC&B: Define "proper word". I don’t know that the idea of "there’s no such word" is valid anymore, given the rate at which new words are entering the dictionary. I think "prepone" is a legitimate neologism (as is "prequel" for that matter).
Matto: I vote for the creation of a new word to describe "lovely venom"!
Equivocal: Yes, the Back to the Future films are a real mindf#$! So is the Star Wars prequel trilogy, where Episode 3 is a prequel to Episode 4 but not to Episodes 2 and 1!
Cheshire cat: geometry, aarggh!
The moment someone says obtuse, I am reminded of Andy Dufresne. Most of our vocabulary is imbibed by common usage and to most non native speakers, that would mean movies. Unless, the parents happen to speak to their kids in English -- at the expense of both the languages.
ReplyDeleteooohh.. we need more of these! BTW prepone is a word that is now included in dictionaries and has been given an origin of Indian English. Its been added last year but am unable to locate the link for that article.
ReplyDeleteHow about 'anyways' ? One of the most annoying sign-offs and that too does not exist!
HAHAHAHA -
ReplyDeleteChildren at HT!!! man... dude, that's funny.
lolololol. a illiterate surd discussing grammar. THAT is priceless :)
ReplyDeletejust found a new website to pick stuff from?
You rant about loath/loathe whilst some of your readers can't even get their Indefinite Articles right. Now THAT is priceless! :)
ReplyDeleteSo how did this post come about?
ReplyDeleteYou mean someone came up to you and said, 'I don't know what to make of this guy Naipaul (to pick a name at random)--he's so obtuse.'
And naturally that would be annoying...
I have always found it odd that the words shameless and shameful both describe an outpouring of shame, and yet describe deliciously significant variations. One of course being the absence of shame, when shame should be present. And the other having lots of shame, and rightly so. Is it just me or is there something puritanical about making this distinction?
ReplyDeleteSpace Bar: no one incident, there have been many. The best was probably at this literary discussion where one of the panelists, a poet, said his own work was very often obtuse - and his fellow panelists and audience members nodded along solemnly.
ReplyDelete(Have to say, these days if someone called Naipaul obtuse I'd probably give him/her a high-five.)
Sony Pony: have been trying to think of other such words. In one of her "Vox pop" columns for City Limits magazine, Anita Roy had some interesting examples of "pseudo antagonyms" - words like "flammable" and "inflammable", "competent" and "incompetent", which are similar in meaning.
Jai,
ReplyDeleteI was being carefully random. :D Please tell me you were being--er--deliberately obtuse!
Oh, I'm always deliberately obtuse!
ReplyDeleteoh blast...i was returning to tone that down but you got here before me.
ReplyDeleteHey!!! There aren't only children at HT City...
ReplyDeleteHuh? How are competent and incompetent similar in meaning?
ReplyDeleteAww, Colin, no offence meant! *pinches your grown-up cheeks* Was just taking my usual cheap shots at mainstream media. Anyway, HT City's the first thing I read in the morning.
ReplyDeleteFalstaff, that's a competent question! Guess I was being lazy in my earlier comment - what Anita had said was that "competent", by virtue of being such a lukewarm compliment (if one at all), is strongly suggestive of its antonym.
How about a list some time of various words/phrases that make you curse when they're misused? :)
ReplyDeleteGiven that I'm stuck in the 'midwest' of the USA for 8 months a year, I have to put up with plenty of similar (and even worse) instances of the language being mangled. Either it's people using words that they have no idea about, or messes like "should of" and other such phrases.
Oh, and pedantry isn't all bad. If you've ever watched an episode of Yes, Minister or Yes, Prime Minister, Bernard provides enough proof.
You're too verbose, Mr. Picky. Ran an edit on your first paragraph. See if you learn something.
ReplyDeleteI’m gobsmacked by the flamboyant misuse of the "obtuse". "Obtuse," people, means "a lack of intelligence or sensitivity". So stop referring to the work of your favourite writers or poets (or your work for that matter) as obtuse. You’re probably thinking something midway between "obscure" and "abstruse" (both slightly more dashing and indicate something enigmatic or difficult to understand, the meaning you’re likely looking for).
Jabber,
ReplyDelete(With regard to anonymous note above.) Wow, you really make enemies while defending grammar and the lexicon from the forces of darkness. Impressive.
But I have a bone to pick of my own. How could you possibly compare Back to the Future, or the first Star Wars trilogy with the vapid 'prequel trilogy'? That's like the difference between high art and low art!
Equivocal: Ya, that Anonymous has spent "12 years working for a publishing company outside India", and he/she still hasn't gotten over the shock of the experience. I like to keep most of those comments though, they'll come in handy when I'm preparing my next year-end list.
ReplyDeleteI loved Revenge of the Sith btw, thought it was nearly as good as The Empire Strikes Back!
Seen on a train: "Please do not entrain or detrain moving train" (goes perfectly with the Indians love making up words discussion.)
ReplyDeleteWhat about "sexy"? In Bengali and Hindi, it is often used in the sense of somebody with a high libido rather than somebody is carnally attractive.
ReplyDeleteDD
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ReplyDeleteOh dear! That Sith thing is a horror.
ReplyDeleteI shall lavish ridicule upon it by proxy. See http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/
c.cgi?u=episode3.
Star Wars went downhill for me when those ewoks disappeared...I was such a fan!
Liked the language ri-poste, what amuses me is people being obtuse and trying to smuggle in abstruse words into everyday language, which fit into context about as well as an elephant in ballet shoes. I have heard one chappie perservere for weeks on the word effulgent and he is yet to get it right. Bless!
Good morning from England!
ReplyDeleteThanks for clarifying the loath/loathe distinction.
Regards,
John
i read "I'm loathe" in a blog and i got curious. i googled my way to your blog. thanks for clearing that up. :D this was a great help.
ReplyDeleteI cannot believe obstrusive is not a word, but I see now that I was just putting an 's' in obtrusive. The OED doesn't recognize it and neither does spell check, but... a language translator online will translate it to mean 'blocking' and it shows up on yahoo answers being defined as if it were obtrusive!
ReplyDeleteOh, I enjoy being pedantic every now and then.. I just have to be careful, people get offended when I tell them they are wrong! ;)
ReplyDelete