Two examples from my own speech of how words can be misinterpreted.
About 45 years ago I made a friend (he’s still a very close friend) who complained that in high school his mom made him wear “dickey work shirts”.
For the next 44 years, I thought that ’dickey’ was a word meaning ’goofy’ or ’totally uncool’ or ’out of style’ or ’makes me look like a dork’.
A few months ago I was talking to someone and noticed the word “Dickey” on their shirt. I then realized that it was a brand name. Now, do I discard my “new word” or keep it and perhaps, via my great influence on the world through my blog, disseminate to all?
Another example was talking to my son the computer genius on the phone one day and he kept telling me I needed a “scuzzy interface” for my computer. After reiterations of this, I lost my patience I complained, “Why does it have to be a scuzzy one? Why can’t I just buy a new one?”
“Da-a-a-a-a-d,” he patiently explained, “it’s a brand name, SCUZI, an acronym.”
“Oh,” I replied.