So (not) offensive

What did you say?!?

You'll notice I've been a bit cranky lately, what with all that troll-baiting and bear-poking. Severe chocolate deficits will do that. It doesn't help matters that I've been cruising chocolatiers' websites for a Mother's Day gift. Pardon my drool, please.

After receiving something from a frequent correspondent, though, I thought it was time to get back to my word-nerdiness.

The subject line was intriguing enough to start me giggling in anticipation: "Another word you can't use in a classroom of 8th-graders." Having grown up with three brothers, I know where those minds go, so I knew it would be good.

The word?

Formication (form-eh-KEY-shehn) (noun)--The sensation of ants crawling over the skin.

"I don't know their effect on others but I suffer formication just thinking about oysters."

My answer: "Especially if you want to talk about how ants masticate!" (Ba-dum-bum ... and I completely agree about the oysters.)

I've talked before about words that sound dirty or rude, but aren't. Perfectly good words lie fallow in the English language simply because they sound similar to other words that may be offensive to someone.

"Niggardly," for instance, means stingy, but for the uninformed sounds too much like that certain word which only rarely is printed in this newspaper, and only when integral to a story.

Because of that pronunciation, it's ripe for people mishearing it and becoming offended, though it predates the other word by a few hundred years. The adverb form is believed to have been formed in the 16th Century from the noun form (meaning miser) that had existed since at least the 14th Century. Its origin is a bit of a mystery, however; World Wide Words notes that it likely has Scandinavian parentage as there are similar words in several Germanic languages. The misunderstanding of the word isn't new, as the site found an exchange (perhaps in a short story; it's unclear) in 1924 in McClure's Magazine.

One of the more famous instances of controversy came in 1999, courtesy of David Howard of the District of Columbia mayor's office. In a conversation with two staff members, Howard used the word in talking about how best to handle a tight budget, but one misunderstood him and thought he'd used the racial epithet. After an uproar arose, Howard resigned, but was later rehired after the mayor was schooled in usage of the word.

In 2012, Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown found himself at the center of another to-do, having called his colleagues niggardly when it comes to spending money for veterans. More than a few Web posts called Brown a racist for having used the word.

With every well-publicized incident, you'll find countless people making much ado over very little, and often a lot of misunderstandings (including false histories of the word), especially on partisan comment boards. Logophiles and etymologists apparently are in short supply in those places ... not that I blame them; I feel dirty and frustrated after just a few minutes of reading some of that stuff. One more time: Niggardly is not racist ... unless you consider skinflints a race.

In 2002, John Derbyshire of the National Review was able to make light of the (non)scandals that had broken out:

"The word's new lease of life is probably among manufacturers and retailers of sophomoric humor. I bet that even as I write, some adolescent boys, in the stairwell of some high school somewhere in America, are accusing each other of being niggardly, and sniggering at their own outrageous wit. I bet ... Wait a minute. Sniggering? Oh, my God ..."

I think I know those boys ... I'm pretty sure I heard them chortling over the words for a bundle of kindling (fagot) and a large, territorial bird of the Otididae family (bustard). Say the word "masticate" to them and they're pretty much done for the day.

Just a few reminders about letters: The more complex and data-heavy a letter is, the longer it takes to go through since it has to be fact-checked. It also takes longer if you fail to include good contact information (your phone number, email address if sent through the Voices form, etc.) since we then have to search for that data.

Sometimes, even letters that have been approved by the writer and edited never make it in; news events or an objection from another editor (such as if it states inaccurate information about a story in the paper) might scuttle the letter. It's also a bad idea to demand that your letter be printed (you ask, not demand). As I've said before, harassment only puts you further down the list.

And for those wondering about my status post-stroke, I'm fine, though still annoyed that I tire so easily. Gardening is helping with my stress level, as is the flow of humor from friends and letter-writers. I still don't know what caused the stroke, but I have an appointment next week with another specialist. Thank you so much for your concern. Thank you even more for the laughs.

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Assistant Editor Brenda Looper is editor of the Voices page. Read her blog at blooper0223.wordpress.com.

Editorial on 04/29/2015

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