The first time it appeared in an email, I had to look it up

Somehow it never showed up in any of my business or personnal emails back in France. I sure felt stupid at the time!

I have had this happen before. People either use words without knowing the true meaning or make new ones up as they go along. I don't mind abbreviations, but cant stand when people try to apply a new style of talking, as if we don't already have difficulty understanding most teenagers.

Yes on both counts.

I usually try to determine the entymology of a word before or shortly after I start using it.  I dont know the tool one.  I have never used it!

I'm with you JillUser - tool = dick. That's the only way I've heard it used as a slang term. Brad's version is for those who speak English right proper.

I always get irked by people who use words like irregardless, that sound good but aren't actually words. The public service is full of it.

Brad is more diplomatic.

Or "I could care less" - they do not realize what they are saying!

Or "same difference" when comparing 2 things!  Duh!  You need 3 for that to work!

I'm with Brad on this one..... and that's the only definition I've ever heard of. 

I use all sorts of wacky slang definitions and phrases and my kids laugh at me about it all the time.  I don't know where they've come from, they just shoot out of my mouth at the opportune moment.  I guess I've picked up stuff from the old timers over the years.  Heck, I think I've become an old timer. 

I remember telling someone that my dog was "dumber than the day is long,"  and my son almost fell off his chair laughing.  He said, where do you get all these sayings? He had never heard that before.  

probably by "hook or by crook" or maybe in China as in comparing anything to  "the price of rice in China."   LOL (laughing out loud). 

Yeah, I'm pretty aware of my terms.  I'll look'em up if they don't make sense the first time around...if all else fails, then I use context clues and get a general idea.

I can be quite anal about words too.   Well, in English anyway.  My Spanish probably comes off a little weird at times- not fluent, unfortunately.

~Zoo

I think it's funny when people misuse phrases or misspell things they've only ever heard and never seen written (I notice Charles does this a lot, haha...he butchers colloquialisms).  I won't get too high and mighty, though, because I'm guilty too.

I know what "tool" means, though, and I'm surprised some people might not know.  Seems pretty obvious to me!  RSVP I don't remember but I have looked it up before out of curiosity.

I can overlook the occasional misspeilling, unless it's some jerk who misspells something while calling me out on a typo. I once had some dolt misspell the word "misspell" in one of those instances. LOL

I've always been something of a word geek so I always know the true meaning, root, and slang meaning of any words I choose to use. Despite what many who read my blog may think I do actually put thought into my writing and I carefully choose my words so as to express exactly what I intend to say (and often hide jokes inside them by choose words with more than one meaning although few actual catch them).

I am often quite amused when someone tries to correct something I have written when it is they who simply don't really understand the words I have used. That doesn't happen often here at JU but does happen quite a lot on other sites. I get more than a modicum of pleasure from showing them to be the fools they are.

Yeah, I'm a tool.

How about "I have to dethaw (or unthaw) the fridge"

or

FYI which where I came from meant F--- you idiot.

or

the christian lady client i say who said she felt her child was under a demolic influence.

LOL (take it how you like) but seriously, we do use words differently and I believe in order for true communication to occur we have to take time (sometimes) to define what we mean.

JOA

An Alcoholic demon?

Like here?

Sorry Mason, just couldn't resist. I know I am the last person to be correcting spelling mistakes here, even my spell check fails me quite often.