>> ZG·Lingua >  >> Applied Linguistics >> Psycholinguistics

What are examples of misnomers?

Examples of Misnomers:

Animal Kingdom:

* Sea Horse: Not a horse, but a fish with a horse-like head.

* Jellyfish: Not a fish, but a marine invertebrate.

* Guinea Pig: Not from Guinea, nor a pig, but a rodent from the Andes.

* Prairie Dog: Not a dog, but a rodent with a dog-like bark.

* Starfish: Not a fish, but an echinoderm with a star-shaped body.

Food and Drink:

* French Fries: Often made with potatoes from Idaho, not France.

* Swiss Cheese: Not from Switzerland, but originally from the Netherlands.

* English Muffins: Not a muffin, but a bread, and not from England.

* German Chocolate Cake: Not from Germany, and does not contain chocolate.

Places and Things:

* The Middle East: Not in the middle of anything geographically.

* The West Indies: Not in the West Indies, but located in the Caribbean.

* White House: Not actually white, but painted white.

* Dead Sea: Not actually dead, but has a very high salt concentration.

Other:

* Guinea Worm: Not a worm, but a parasitic nematode.

* Silly Putty: Not actually putty, but a silicone polymer.

* Blind Date: Not necessarily blind, as participants may have seen a photo.

* Secondhand Smoke: Not second-hand, but the direct consequence of someone else's smoking.

Funny Examples:

* The Green Bay Packers: Not from Green Bay, Wisconsin, but play there.

* The San Francisco Giants: Not giants, but a baseball team.

* The Boston Red Sox: Not red, but often wear red uniforms.

These are just a few examples. Misnomers are everywhere, often reflecting historical reasons, cultural influences, or simply funny coincidences.

Copyright © www.zgghmh.com ZG·Lingua All rights reserved.