1 thought on “What Boneheaded Thing Have You Said Or Done?”

  1. Hoo boy.

    I’m a big fan of the word “penultimate” (meaning: next-to-last). I learned it from reading comic books when I was just a young kid, and knowing it has always made me feel just a little smarter than I was before. It is one of those words that, once you know it, you can find lots of uses for it it everywhere.

    One day, I was traveling with a friend via the subway in Boston. As we entered the station, I suggested that we should get in the penultimate subway car, as I knew that, at our destination, the last car would not let us out right at the exit to the station, while the next-to-last one would.

    As I was thinking about it, I said casually to my friend, “You know, the word ‘penultimate’ is such a handy word, and I use it all the time. In fact, I think it would be just as handy to make up a word that meant, ‘next-to-the-front’. I bet I would use that word all the time!”

    My friend replied, “You mean, ‘second’?”

    I fell into stunned silence. What a bonehead I am!

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