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The ordinary-sized words are for everyone, but the big ones are especially for children.



Sunday 12 April 2015

Sunday Rest: offendrons.

Offendron is, clearly, a ghastly word only suitable to describe a race of shadowy power-freaks intent on manipulating (if they have hands,* though I imagine them as sort of ghostish) every facet of people's lives, and exterminating those who step out of line.

And, actually, that's more or less what offendrons are.

Offendrons are people who get offended. You often (oh, how often!) find them on social media and comments boards.

They're the professional victims, the ones determined that every story should be about them - and the way they bid for attention is to broadcast their sensitivities far and wide.

The offending remark may only exist because of deliberately provocative editing; it may be the result of a local use of language; quite often it's caused by something someone didn't say; but the offendrons, in their desperate clamour for notice, will happily sacrifice someone else's career, relationships, reputation, or even life, for the sake of their own egoistical needs.


The concept of the offendron is something we've been needing for a long time, and I salute the genius who invented it.

And I'm even glad it's such a horrible word, too.

Word Not To Use Today Unless You Come Across One: offendron. Even Google doesn't seem to know much about this word, but it's clearly based on offend, and that word comes from the Old French offendre, to strike against, from Latin offendere, from fendere, to strike.

The ron bit is presumably an analogy with various non-human baddies such as myrmidons and Mysterons.

*Manipulate: from the Latin manipulus, handful.


4 comments:

  1. I had never heard of this word. What a good idea indeed.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, Adele: isn't it brilliant how knowing a word can present you with a concept? Offendrons beware from now on!

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  2. If I were an offendron, I would think this post was aimed at me.

    And I'd be right for once, wouldn't I?

    Great post as always.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks so much, Anonymous, that's very kind indeed. Yes, I suppose that offendrons do present a sort of diffused paranoia...and often a synthetic diffused paranoia, which is even worse.

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