To have misunderstood the meaning of this word my whole life?

[Lemonsaretheonlyfruit]

Salubrious.

I always thought it meant luxurious. Turns out it means healthy or health giving. (My 10 year old DS asked me this morning so I looked it up just to double check I was giving him the correct definition!)

Who knew? (Probably everyone apart from me). Any more of these to share?

A lot of people say 'tender hooks' when they mean 'tenter hooks' because when you are anxious it is as though you are stretched taut on a tenter frame.

[quote mocktail]@AHFemaleim informal English a couple also means "an indefinite small number" [/quote]
When I was a child I was very confused whether couple meant just two or any number more than two and what the difference was with a few. But I was too embarrassed to ever ask. And now to confuse the young or even the old even more the 'throuple' has been introduced. I mean where are we going with that?

There’s a seriously annoying thread at the moment where many posters seem to think “elderly” means “ancient and decrepit” rather than “getting on a bit”. For example, at 67 I’m elderly - by virtue of my years - but I’m generally fit and healthy, in fact considerably more so than some work colleagues 20-30 years younger. So people are saying their parents are in their 70s but “not elderly”. I’m getting unreasonably irritated about it, but that’s because I’m old and pedantic.

I read some of that thread. Do you mean you don't mind the word 'elderly' borntobequiet? I am younger than you (63) but probably much less fit and certainly fatter so would maybe be more defined as elderly in terms of not youthful physically - somewhat old. I have taken to describing myself as old and would prefer to also use the word fat rather than any euphimism.

Maybe I just have a penchant for 3 letter words or am no longer up to full-strength 4 letter words as also discussed in detail on another thread. I think it is a sign you are getting truly old when you really don't care and don't want to use expressions as '60 years young!' Obligatory cheery exclamation point!

I have also come to think I now understand the metaphorical expression 'crossing the bar' which I heard for many years without understanding. I think it means you have passed a certain point of no return like a ship setting out to sea.

‘Crossing the bar’ refers to a boat passing a sand bar (at high tide) and passing out to sea. The sand bar, at lower tides, being a barrier to re-entry to the harbour. The metaphorical use possibly comes from Tennyson’s poem Crossing The Bar. In this case - the barrier between life and death. Lovely poem.

cnutier..its loke cnut..but some mumsnet responses exceed all know levels of cnutier

Yes , I appreciate that ManicDreamPixie, I was thinking that when I first heard of the expression in my twenties it had no metaphorical meaning to me personally. Now I feel it does. I was going to add that I think in woman's life passing through menopause and leaving any possibility of fertility behind does give that sense of closure and barrier to youth. So if your lucky you are then faced with old age.

I have always heard some people saying 'OH, I still feel like a teenager inside'. Well I certainly don't feel that and do not wish to. I was a miserable teenager, and twenty and thirty and forty year old. Maybe I would feel different if I had had a 'normal' life but I didn't and now I feel I have crossed something and maybe gained a simple feeling of contentment. Undergone a sea change to continue the marine metaphor.

Of course I know , everyone is different and some even want to carry on with fertility etc so would not want to use words such as old or elderly. I don't like 'elderly' because while' elder' in itself sounds dignified, adding the 'ly' makes it mealy-mouthed and coy.

I'd say 'canal' with an AL at the end, and 'banal' with an 'arl' at the end so I think they don't rhyme

Correct. They do not rhyme. CanAL and banAHL/ banARL. And it's nothing to do with regional accents.

It's funny that 'cleave' can mean opposite things

• to stick together and to be split apart

@ShowOfHands

Very few people use ambivalent correctly.

Imply and infer are often mixed up.

Yes! Imply and infer make me inwardly cringe a bit.

Same as when people say they are going to ‘lay down’. What are you going to lay down? A carpet??