Words you can't use any more

[CoalTit]

I know language evolves and all that. I accepted that "nonplussed" is now an unusable word because so many people take it to mean its opposite. I didn't really have much occasion to use it anyway. But now it turns out that "lame" and "literally' have suffered the same fate.

I've hurt my foot. I tried to explain to a friend on WhatsApp that I won't be going dancing this week, by writing: "I'm literally, technically lame". I got a long voice message in return expressing sympathy for my lack of confidence, saying how intimidating the dance scene can be.
So I tried, "No, lame, like a horse" and that seemed to work.
Then I messaged my upstairs neighbour to say I can't help her with her work in the light well today because I'm lame. I hurt my foot helping her so I thought she'd understand.
She replied asking me to get up the ladder so she can pass things down to me. I tried " I can't help you today; I can barely walk", and she seemed to understand.

I thought I could use "lame" to save myself typing out "I hurt my foot; it's badly swollen and I can barely walk". I thought I could use "literally" to make it clear, but no.

Probably, and I’d guess that’s where its newer derogatory meaning arose from. ‘You’re so lame….’

You also need to read properly, I’m not blaming the fact I’ve just woken up. I admitted I made a mistake and unlike the other poster I’m not trying to make excuses for it.
I don’t understand why you’ve highlighted woken up? Woke up is not incorrect.

I’m from a different country and a lot of my English used to be American English. I was extremely nonplussed when chatting online to now DH and he said he was going for a fag.

The video of Dire Straits performing Money for Nothing live pointedly hurling out alternatives to ‘faggot’ (eg ‘mother’ as in motherfucker which imo is much worse if you think about it) is quite funny.

In that article it says there is evidence that the word was used to mean killing 1:10 soldiers and also to mean a tax of 10%. It doesn't say the word was never used with its original meaning. I think the Latin decimare means 'to take a tenth'.

I'm not arguing with the common usage of 'decimate'; more lamenting that it would be useful to have a word that means 'reduce by 10%'.

At risk IMO is the word 'fraction' which people seem to use as if it means a small proportion, without using an adjective to indicate the size. For example saying 'I can remember only a fraction of the science I learned at school'!

Just say you’ve hurt your foot and can’t put weight on it.

Even Merriam-Webster lists the correct definition first
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nonplussed

I was too scared to even type that word the reaction it got!!! I genuinely meant meatballs

Nonplussed and disinterested are used incorrectly to mean unbothered and uninterested respectively at least twice a week on this site.

My manager in work has recently started telling us to “read the verbatim”. I am working to to telling him.

I've never heard of that word being used to mean meatballs😅Maybe it's just a U.K. thing?

Really pisses me off that they've removed it from Fairytale of New York though!

Disinterested has been misused for a long time by people thinking they’re being clever. The same people who use infer for imply and myself for me.

"I woke up" is fine. But it's "I have woken up"

Like...
I drove / I have driven...
I went / I have gone
I ate / I have eaten

First, that’s a lot of words to say « I’ve hurt my foot », second, I’m not surprised it led to confusion as yes, lame is mostly used for horses when calling out the vet!

Finally, I must be queer because I say, and write « nonplussed » quite often, and literally nobody has used it incorrectly in my presence.

I just don’t know why you’d put either of the qualifiers « literally » or « technically » in front of the word « lame » unless you’re expecting to be misunderstood. Out of interest, is « limping » no good (if you really didn’t want to say you’d hurt your foot)?

You "can't" use? Fat and ugly was my first thought. However, I can still think it. 😂
As a PP said, is it about words not being commonly in use anymore? Because I say "quarrel" quite a lot.
Another thing - I was a bit puzzled when a bunch of young black ladies referred to each other as the N - bitch in conversation.

Gay used to mean joyful/happy.

Me too.

I’m a pedant. I always use disinterested and uninterested and literally correctly. But I haven’t used lame except about a horse in my long life!

But sometimes I don’t mind telling people to shut up!!!

I wish I knew what it means!

And where did you come across these “young black ladies”?

I think we should stop using the word awful… meaning bad. Awful means full of awe i.e. full of wonder, wonderful. Or am i wrong?

I'm in my 50s and I would never use lame about a person, only an animal. If someone used lame about a person I would think it showed lazy disinterest in what their actual injury or disability was.

I do appreciate you are using it about yourself here, so I think you were angling for 'oh, poor you, what have you done replies' and didn't get them.

I think I've mostly heard or used nonplussed as "a bit / rather/ a little nonplussed" so it changing to mean unbothered doesn't quite work there.

Agree, I'd only use lame about myself if I was trying to be funny and only with people I knew well.

Also stop using nice to mean pleasant when it actually means foolish.