Examples:

"Were you drunk last night?" "Drunk? I was bloody nozzled!"

"I nozzled my girlfriend last night..."

"I'm Warnin' Ya,' try that again and I'LL NOZZLE YOU!"

"Smacked 'im right in the nozzle I did."

"Not sure what's up, get this burning pain in my nozzle when I pee."

"Saw you two nozzling at the movies the other night." (Just kissing, not the... other thing)

"I heard that the prosecutor nozzled the evidence that would have exonerated the defendant."

Etc. (examples 2, 3, 4 by Ray)

I like the idea of it being used to mean exact opposites, which I think is only done with one word now, "shit" as in "the shit" for good and "shit" for bad.

That might be a bit tricky though.

I could picture a day when the original meaning of the term draws laughter. The old grey haired science teacher explaining hydronics: "Then you grab your nozzle and twist it vigorously... what's everybody giggling at?"
-- doctorremulac3, Jan 14 2023

Zach's take https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/mean
[pertinax, Oct 11 2023]

The Nozzle https://youtu.be/H8...si=3URkPct0NSTS7ZbN
This TV show clip from "The Venture Bros" is just one of many examples of an existing, fixed meaning for the word "nozzle" [sninctown, Oct 20 2023]

This is a good set that you've set us here. But from the outset, it was never set to be the world's first. If it had been you'd be all set. I hope you're not upset
-- pertinax, Jan 14 2023


Copy that.

"First" - Changed to "Most"
-- doctorremulac3, Jan 14 2023


Contronyms, or Janus words, are the bane of communication and all use of them should be deprecated.
-- Loris, Jan 14 2023


Anyway, main point is a word that is completely generic. Let my guard down with the exact opposite thing, but that's not the idea.
-- doctorremulac3, Jan 14 2023


//Anyway, main point is a word that is completely generic.//

But we've got that ready, it's 'fuck'.
-- Loris, Jan 14 2023


I think "fuck" has it's limitations.

(hits the idea's chest with the paddles one last time, glances as the flat line on the IECG, (idea electrocardiogram))

Okay, let's call it. Time of death: 11:41.
-- doctorremulac3, Jan 14 2023


This idea is
-- pocmloc, Jan 14 2023


...nozzled.

Ironically.
-- doctorremulac3, Jan 14 2023


//Contronyms// are vital to understanding the development of human thinking over time.

Take "fast": the real meaning of "fast" is something like "fully committed". That's what running fast and standing fast have in common. So long as we remember that, we have some hope of avoiding ridiculous mouthfuls like "fully committed" when expressing this very important concept.
-- pertinax, Jan 22 2023


Ah'm fast nozzled an its generic!
-- pocmloc, Jan 22 2023


////Contronyms// are vital to understanding the development of human thinking over time.
Take "fast": the real meaning of "fast" is something like "fully committed". That's what running fast and standing fast have in common. So long as we remember that, we have some hope of avoiding ridiculous mouthfuls like "fully committed" when expressing this very important concept.//

So what you're saying is that contranyms could be useful for linguistic scholars, who have access to a mythical dictionary with the "real meaning" of words, for some esoteric conception.
And all we have to pay for that is the occasional disastrous misunderstanding due to an accidental ambiguity?

I disagree.
-- Loris, Jan 22 2023


You're fast, I'll say that for you.
-- pertinax, Jan 23 2023


Not to be a nozzle, but this idea probably got nozzled the minute I nozzled it. Some bakers have nozzled it into different directions which is great, but nozzle this, sometimes you can’t nozzle something that was already nozzled before it was even nozzled.
-- doctorremulac3, Jan 23 2023


Wait till you hear about noxxled.
-- pocmloc, Jan 23 2023


I forgot about this, really like it. The fact that nobody would ever ask what "nozzled" was after hearing it in context is kind of a little study in language.

Be fun to make a video study of people using it on test subjects watching how they just absorbed this word they'd never heard used like that without betting an eyelash.

We've all heard slang expressions for the first time without saying "Hammered? What's hammered? We were talking about drinking and suddenly you're talking about carpentry?"

We all get slang, that's why we're the most beautiful animal on Earth. Not like those stupid partridges or lemurs.
-- doctorremulac3, Feb 22 2024



random, halfbakery