Words Nice Enough to Leave Scars

Johnson's Dictionary Online (thanks @yellowbelliedtoad!) – 1755 and 1773

Green's Dictionary of Slang – 1300s to today

A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue – 1788

- is it true?

- good fantasy

- memories of butter

- sick little games

- rock bottom

- salient point

- halcyon days

- salad days

- 5g tower

- mental health crisis

- symbiotic

- tech bro

- anguished

- auraphobic

- discourse

- HR department

- ROI

- one second

- instrument of god

- false flag

- research chemical

Wake up babe, new octopus just dropped

For one, in some cultures asking an obvious question is just a polite way of acknowledging the situation. So for example, if you just put your jacket on and start clocking out, a co-worker asking "oh, you done for the day and heading out now?" doesn't deserve you sneering at them like an idiot, scoffing, and saying "uh duh, just like I do every day at this time" when it's likely they knew the answer, but were just asking as a polite way of acknowledging the situation.

But even if they were genuinely unsure that you're leaving even though it seems obvious to you from context clues, so what? What does being rude and condescending to them achieve? Maybe they couldn't sleep last night so they're really out of it today, maybe they're dissociating, maybe they're about to pass out from low blood sugar, maybe some other employees sometimes put on their jacket and only clock out briefly but come back.

“Oh, are you cooking?” asks person who thought you were going out tonight.

“Are you leaving?” asks time-blind person who’s surprised it’s 5:00.

“Are you going to lunch?” asks person who remembers there’s a meeting in 30 minutes.

asks person who thought you were

going out tonight.