Is it just me, or does anyone else get annoyed when people add "-oholic" to the end of words, thinking it means "affected by or addicted to"? Probably the most frequent example is the use of the quasi-word "chocoholic". I'm sorry to be the one to inform you, but a "chocoholic" would be someone who is affected by chocohol. Can anyone tell me what on earth is chocohol? I can't find a dictionary entry for chocohol.
Now I can find an entry for the siffix "-ic" in the dictionary. If you check the noun form of the definition in Merriam-Webster, one meaning is "one exhibiting or affected by". Which makes perfect sense given the word "alcoholic" -- one who is affected by alcohol. It therefore follows that a Chocoholic would then have to be someone who is affected by chocohol.
Now, you are probably thinking, "Nick, what would you rather I say? Something ridiculous like, 'Chocolatic'?" Yes. Absolutely. And it's not ridiculous. One who is affected by or exhibiting issues related to Chocolate would indeed be a '"chocolatic", NOT a "chocoholic".
As I type this entry, I am finding that the good people who put together the spell checker for blogger decided that they would give in to the popular, albeit incorrect, belief that the word "chocoholic" is a valid word and "chocolatic" isn't. What is the world coming to? Who will stand by me in my battle against error, for truth, accuracy, and the chocolate addict's way? If you truly are a fan of any form of chocolate, you will.
7 years ago
3 comments:
Nick, that's it... you are out of control! What's next, making fun of the word "workaholic"? This has gone too far...
Nick, I love your rants. I still think of you every single time I see a spork. Oh, and I still will never grind wheat. It's ok that you do, though. We can still be friends.
This is great! I admit that I did not know that the suffix was simply "-ic". Thank you for the education and the good chuckle!
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