What would you say if I told you that go means both proceed and stop? You’d probably think I’ve lost my mind. Then you’d probably go tell everyone you’ve met a weird person.

The English language is so wonderfully chaotic that its actually beautiful. After all, what other language contains so many words that mean two entirely different things?

English is trolling itself – and boy, is it fun to watch.

Terrific

This word didn’t initially mean what it does now. We used to call things that induced terror and fear ‘terrific’.

Today, ‘terrific’ – just like ‘awesome’ which used to mean inspiring fear and awe – has lost its majesty and has become an exaggerated intensifier.

We use ‘terrific’ daily to refer to both trivial and uneventful activities and events. (So when your boss tells you, “You’ve done a terrific job!” you might want to think about whether he’s messing with you.)

Apology

Apart from its most popular meaning, which is to express one’s regret for doing or saying something bad, apology has another meaning.

It also refers to the defense of oneself against others’ accusations. So to give an apology can go two ways: the modest one where you acknowledge your failure or mistake, or the one in which you defend your integrity.

First Degree

There are two ways to use this phrase. If you say, ‘I’m lucky I only got a first degree burn,”  that’s a good thing. The redness and irritation is superficial and you will heal soon. But if someone is charged with a first degree murder, things won’t be going very well in the near future for them.

A first degree burn is minor, a first degree murder is a premeditated homicide.

Reservation

You might have a reservation for the finest new Chinese restaurant in town, or have your reservations about whether the wait will be too long if you just walk in.

Reservation can either mean making a commitment to a task, or expressing your hesitation or reluctance over something or someone.

Tremendous

Here’s another word like ‘terrific’ to add to your list.  We call things or events ‘tremendous’ and ‘tremendously good’ to signify just how positive or super they are. However, just like ‘terrific’, tremendous’ used to mean terrifying and fearful.

Smart

In Shakespeare’s time if someone referred to you as ‘smart’ they were explaining how much pain you cause them.

In Old English, smart described things that caused people pain, like a weapon or a nail. It was gradually imbued with subtly similar connotations like sharpness and quickness, Mental Floss’ Arika Okrent explains, only to end up being a synonym for someone that’s fashionable and witty.

Top

This word means either to put something on top of something else, or to remove the top of something. Confused? Here are two usage examples:

She topped the tree to boost its growth.

Marvel’s new superhero movie topped the box office rankings.

Facetious

Once upon a time, facetious meant having grace and elegance. A facetious person was someone witty, humorous or amusing. While it is still used to refer to such people, it’s most predominant meaning is now a negative one.

Today, a facetious person is someone who’s being humorous in an annoying or trivial manner.

Variety

Amusingly enough (or maybe not, depending on where you stand on words having the same definition as their opposites) variety can mean an assortment of different things – as well as one thing only. Let me explain with an example:

Our organic chocolate store has a variety of sugar-free chocolates, but only one variety is made with stevia.

Egregious

A few years ago if someone characterized you as ‘egregious’ they extolled your virtues. Today, if someone thinks you’re egregious they’re emphasizing just how extraordinarily shocking, outrageous, or disgusting your actions are in one way or another.

Cull

Cull means either to select the best out of a set or to take out the inferior or bad ones. For example, you cull the best works of an author for an anthology you plan to publish. But you also cull the bad apples from the harvest, and throw them away.

Secrete

When a flower secretes aromas, pleasant smells fill the air; these aromas manifest themselves. But when a treasure is secreted then it is hidden or concealed.

When you think about it, English is a very convenient language – you get two meanings for each of these words. A language bargain!

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