This is a little idea I actually came up with more than 6 years ago. I coined the term back then and never returned to it, so I figured I'd share it with the world by archiving it here, seeing how "well" Reddit has been doing lately.
Cryptosynonyms are pairs of words that would normally mean opposite things, but they can have a synonymous meaning in some contexts. Examples I came up with in English are mostly this way because of slang:
- hot and cool mean opposite things when it comes to temperature, but when it comes to trends they can be synonymous.
- "This sucks!" and "This blows!" are phrases that can mean the same thing ("This is bad!"), despite the fact that suck and blow are antonyms.
I do want to have some cryptosynonyms in my conlangs, but for now this is it. I have some ideas for conlangs that I'm toying around in my head with, but so far most of them are too raw to really share here. Just as a teaser, they are languages for dwarven workers, some goblins, and for elves from some region I have yet to figure out.
Until then, though, I would like to wish you all a great day!
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