Dave, 

Great list.   Here is my favorite to add:

Incredible: now is "good", "very good"; was: "unsubstantiated", "suspect".  
Ditto unbelievable.  

See also adverbial forms, incredibly and unbelievably which have come to mean 
"very".  

Nick 



Nicholas Thompson
Emeritus Professor of Ethology and Psychology
Clark University
[email protected]
https://wordpress.clarku.edu/nthompson/
 


-----Original Message-----
From: Friam <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Prof David West
Sent: Thursday, August 20, 2020 5:15 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [FRIAM] words for Nick

    Wit — now: fun, funny, humorous; then: clever, apt humor, intelligence, 
acumen, thinker

    Fizzle — now: to fail, failure; then: to fart quietly

    Buxom — now: large-breasted; then: compliant or obedient

    Fantastic — now: unbelievable, superlative, excellent; then: based on 
fantasy or imagination, of fantasy

    Girl — now: young female; then: young person of any gender

    Backlog — now: pending work; then: largest log (literally!)

    Prestigious — now: honored; then: trickery, illusion, conjuring

    Bully — now: to be cruel, insulting, or threatening; then: a sweetheart, a 
fine chap

    Cute — now: attractive; then: clever, shrewd

    Meat — now: animal flesh for food; then: all foods

    Myriad — now: a great number; then: referred to the number 10,000 in 
ancient Greece

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