words with contradictory meanings

what does that even mean

man-flu is the flu that only men get.

if you're male then it's an extra bad case of the flu, worse than normal flu.
if you're female then it means a cold with exaggerated symptoms.

???

man-flu not a universal concept then. http://www.manflu.info/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_flu

anyway, look, up there, 'carbuncle'.

go on...

ah i guess you mean an abscess larger than a boil, usually with one or more openings draining pus onto the skin, vs. a deep-red cabochon cut gemstone usually garnet, specifically almandine.

Thought it might be the shorthand name for an intercontinental derby between Manchester United and Fluminense.

prince charles famously called some extension or other a carbuncle on the face of an old friend. meaning an ugly thing. cf gemstone, a thing generally prized for its beauty.

some extension or other

http://www.ribapix.com/image.php?i=17036&r=2&t=4&x=1

(national gallery) (london) (uk)

That'd be an Art Carbuncle then.

you're here all week i trust

I'm sorry! Speaking of which, what about 'gag'?

moot

yeah moot works i think

kick

secure

terminator

pious

"moot" is perfect

suspicious?

maybe not self-contradictory but consider:

those men look suspicious.

vs.

i'm suspicious of those men.

i was coming here to suggest that one!

along with perennial favourite 'curious'

Update!

SUBMIT

"Drift" as targeted deliberate movement, being formerly part of the verb "drive", vs "drift" i.e. meander aimlessly

(having crossed over via magic quantum superposition e.g. snowdrifts and drifting at sea where you're meandering because something else is driving you)

admittedly I'm struggling to think of a particularly convincing surviving example of the former - OED says "(do you get my) drift" = "what I am driving at", but for me that also works as a sarcastic suggestion that you are leaving it as a gentle undercurrent for the more astute listener, rather than actively shoving in that direction

I have been incoherent here and will be zung if anyone can be bothered, must be hometime

"Trailer" = something that comes before (eg a film) or after (eg a car)

suspicious?

maybe not self-contradictory but consider:

those men look suspicious.

vs.

i'm suspicious of those men.

― tangelo amour (elmo argonaut), Wednesday, 1 September 2010 15:21 (Yesterday)

I suspect 'those men look suspicious' is actually a misuse of the word that has become so common as to be accepted.

Like 'suspicious behaviour' should probably be 'behaviour arousing suspicion'.

cf. sceptical/dubious - "I am sceptical, that is dubious", not "I am dubious".

sus·pi·cious

1 : tending to arouse suspicion : questionable <suspicious characters>
2 : disposed to suspect : distrustful <suspicious of strangers>
3 : expressing or indicative of suspicion <a suspicious glance>

suspicious
"deserving of or exciting suspicion," mid-14c., from O.Fr. suspecious, from L. suspiciosus "exciting suspicion". Meaning "full of or inclined to feel suspicion" is attested from c.1400. Edgar Allan Poe (c.1845) proposed suspectful to take one of the two conflicting senses.

overlook!

Specifically:
1.
a. To look over or at from a higher place.
b. To rise above, especially so as to afford a view over: The tower overlooks the sea.

2.
a. To fail to notice or consider; miss.
b. To ignore deliberately or indulgently; disregard.

3. To look over; examine.

4. To watch over; oversee. See Synonyms at supervise.

ay, that's a good one

behaviour.

graft

dense

"he could not understand the dense text because he was too dense"

mmmm not buying that one - both mean something like "impenetrable"

the buffalo buffalo etc

screen. to show (e.g. a film) & to hide.

good one!

patronise. makes me chuckle whenever it's used in the "get cash from" sense.

literally

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auto-antonym

You're talking about the common misuse of "literally" as "not literally", right? I don't think it officially has contradictory meanings?

let's ask the dictionary tsar

http://img1.etsystatic.com/008/0/8111024/il_570xN.472319187_3qwm.jpg

No-one's said my favourite one – fuse

siren

repress