Psychotonic

Each of these tall tales could have been debunked with a glance at a dictionary. Generally the real etymologies are less colourful than the folk ones. Tight means “steadily and securely,” as in sit tight; honeymoon alludes to a metaphorical sweetness that wanes like the moon. But sometimes they are more colorful than anything a lexical counterfeiter could dream up. Speakers have a variety of impromptu ways of retooling their words. These devices can be spotted in any list of new words.