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Loaded Words Part Deux: Two Words That Together Make One Load

A list of 55 words by chained_bear.

About

See also the list Loaded Words (wordnik.com/lists/loaded-words). Two ordinary words (i.e. not proper nouns--Berlin wall or Utah beach wouldn't fit here) that not only combine to make a third concept or object, but that concept or object is "loaded" with additional meaning beyond the literal due to some historical context.

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  • chained_bear It's just as well I don't usually interact with those folks, then. :) Jan 20, 2013

  • ry As you will. I was thinking that for some people it is very loaded—terror, hate, betrayal...say it to a military history buff, political partisan, or 9/11 conspiracy theorist and you will definitely get a reaction. Jan 17, 2013

  • chained_bear Hm. I see how that means something, but the additional concept isn't particularly "loaded" with additional meaning. I did add a couple other suggestions, though. Jan 17, 2013

  • ry false flag Jan 17, 2013

  • gulyasrobi Great list! My list Figuratively used compounds http://www.wordnik.com/lists/figuratively-used-compounds follows a very similar line, only the words are written together. Check it out if you like.
    Jan 17, 2013

  • bilby I came across explosive diarrhea when reading about the clinical presentation of dumping syndrome yesterday. Jan 16, 2013

  • ruzuzu Wait. Doesn't moonlight and magnolias have three words? Jan 16, 2013

  • chained_bear Actually, Boss Tweed is particularly interesting, since it's a proper name in this case, but technically both are also common words... I'm adding it. And Dust Bowl is absolutely perfect. Thanks! Feb 24, 2009

  • sionnach So many near-misses for this list.
    boss tweed. tippy canoe. spud nick. teapot dome. remember ptomaine. Hiya Watha. Dust bowl. grassy knoll. OK corral. SaintValentinesDay massacre. My lie. lost colony. radical chic. klondike bar. plausible deniability. lunar module. Must stop. Thatz enuf. No more. HelpI'm stuck... Cant goon. Must goon. Awaiting Godot. existential terror. jeez louise. nixon agonistes. Feb 24, 2009

  • rolig From the 60s and 70s:

    protest movement
    flower power
    me generation
    generation gap
    moral majority
    enemies list
    saturday night massacre
    october surprise

    And from the Cold War:
    star wars
    red scare
    Feb 23, 2009

  • chained_bear I'll decline blue state and shovel ready, because they seem more politically than historically oriented. But thanks! Feb 23, 2009

  • sionnach Shovel ready
    blue state
    red menace
    fireside chat
    shuttle diplomacy
    salt talks
    domino theory
    toxic debt
    water boarding
    Feb 23, 2009

  • sionnach Concertina wire tapping.
    Cotton gin rummy.
    Sloe gin fizz.
    Reese tee shirt.
    Oops!

    Wrong thread needle street. Feb 23, 2009

  • reesetee I do!

    Wait...I already voted. Feb 23, 2009

  • chained_bear Really? Well... that would be a fairly specific historical context. I'll take a poll: Does anyone else associate the phrase concertina wire with a specific time/place in history? Feb 23, 2009

  • reesetee Oh, I don't know. I'd say it fits. The phrase does carry meaning beyond the two separate words--for me, it conjures up military and WWII images. Feb 21, 2009

  • chained_bear Concertina wire is an interesting phrase. It doesn't actually fit on my list, but I like it. Feb 20, 2009

  • chained_bear Thank you both for many great suggestions. I'll take the ones that have specific historical context! :) Nov 8, 2008

  • dontcry golden handcuffs
    gold parachute
    soft market
    trophy wife

    Nov 8, 2008

  • sionnach acid rain
    iron curtain
    banana republic
    iron maiden
    yellow peril
    nanny society

    and of course, the long-established code phrases

    pro-life
    pro-choice

    nuclear winter


    Nov 7, 2008

  • chained_bear Those are all excellent additions, thank you both! I'm declining the use of "fair and balanced," however, because it's more than two words.

    Also it's hard to identify the specifically historical context for some of them--e.g. bear market, or bull market for that matter--they don't belong specifically to one period but recur. Electric chair has the same problem, though it does evoke the time period when it was invented.

    And I'm not saying these terms aren't loaded--they all are--just that the additional meaning is not always a specific historical context. Nov 7, 2008

  • Prolagus How about white collar (or white-collar)? Nov 7, 2008

  • sionnach fair and balanced
    sleeper cell
    crack house
    gutter press
    fat man
    little boy
    brown nose
    electric chair
    bear market
    silent spring
    friendly fire



    Nov 7, 2008

  • chained_bear I'm not politically fraught, nor am I double-barrelled, but nice try. Nov 7, 2008

  • bilby How about chained bear? Nov 7, 2008

  • chained_bear Those are good suggestions for terms that have a different meaning in combination than either word does apart, but the resulting combination isn't particularly loaded in any way. But I like them! Thanks! Oct 2, 2008

  • fbharjo or "big top"
    Oct 2, 2008

  • fbharjo how about "blue tooth" Oct 2, 2008

  • chained_bear Well, it could be a good thing that there aren't that many of them. I could've put them on the Loaded Words list but it didn't seem fair to put double-barrelled words (phrases) there... Oct 2, 2008

  • reesetee Ooh, this is a great idea. Now, if I could only think of something to contribute.... Sep 26, 2008