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Sunday 8 January 2017

Sunday Rest: anticipointment. Word Not To Use Today.

Look, if you must shove two words together to make a new one, then at least don't hack them about in such a way that you mislead everybody.

Yes, anticipointment, I'm looking at you.

So what might an intelligent person imagine anticipointment means? 

No, no, no, that's all wrong. All wrong. I can see why you thought that, but really, it's all wrong. The anti is nothing to do with against, and any link between pointment and appointment was left behind centuries ago.

Anticipointment is the feeling you get when something cultural like a film or a book is praised to the stars but then fails to be at all enchanting when you get to experience it.

So...

...hey, that's really just the same as disappointment. Isn't it.

Word Not To Use Today: anticipointment. This word is a mix of anticipation, which comes from the Latin anticipāre, to realise beforehand, from ante, previous to, plus capere to take; and disappointment, which originally meant to remove from office and comes from the Old French disapointier, from dis- apart, plus apointer to put into a good state.






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