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[joli-toc]

[su_dropcap style=”flat”]T[/su_dropcap]he use of the pseudo-suffix “-aholic” is an example of a rather un-intelligent use of language, as it is taken from the word “Alcoholic” — commonly used to refer to a person who is addicted to drinking alcohol.

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[su_dropcap style=”flat”]H[/su_dropcap]owever, this is also wrong.  This is because — by definition (and I don’t mean the one in the dictionaries), the word “Alcoholic” describes a person’s physical condition rather than that person’s addiction.

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Why?

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[su_dropcap style=”flat”]T[/su_dropcap]he suffix “-ic” added to the word “alcohol” (or any word for that matter) describes:  “Having The Condition and/or Qualities Of That Thing” — or to be “Under The Influence Of That Thing”.  So a person who is “Alcoholic” (not “AN” alcoholic) is a person who is saturated with and, therefore, suffering from the effects of alcohol.

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[su_dropcap style=”flat”]H[/su_dropcap]owever — despite the rather simple & logical deduction from taking the meaning of the root-word (“Alcohol”), and adding to it the meaning and/or usage of the suffix (“-ic”) — the colloquial usage of describing the “person”, rather than the “condition” has stuck.
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[su_dropcap style=”flat”]B[/su_dropcap]ut that mis-usage and mis-interpretation of the word is still FAR better than the terrible and stupid practice of using the second half of the word “Alcoholic” as a suffix in words like “Shopaholic”, “Workaholic”, and “Chocoholic”.
.

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“-aholic” & “-oholic” Are NOT Suffixes

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[su_dropcap style=”flat”]B[/su_dropcap]ecause many so-called “Native Speakers” of English do not actually think about the words that they use — and they also RARELY use a dictionary — it is very common for people to mistake the usage of a word for its meaning.  In this case, it is not the word itself, but the pseudo-suffix.
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[su_dropcap style=”flat”]T[/su_dropcap]hroughout the years, the use of stupid terms like:  “Chocoholic”, “Shopaholic”, and “Workaholic” has become so common — that now, “-aholic” (or “oholic”) has become widely accepted as a suffix used to mean: “An Addiction To…”.

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“Chocoholic”

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[su_dropcap style=”flat”]T[/su_dropcap]his was probably the first of these stupid terms to be used.  And this one is used to refer to people who claim to be addicted to eating chocolate.  By doing this, they then have a lame excuse that (in their mind) relieves them from taking responsibility for having little or no control over themselves.
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[su_dropcap style=”flat”]B[/su_dropcap]esides sugar — there is nothing addictive about chocolate.  (Nothing exclusive to chocolate alone — excluding other sugary foods.  But these people claim only to be addicted to chocolate; not sugar).  What they may be addicted to is the feeling that they get from eating chocolate.  And this is because of some other emotional issue that they are not dealing with.

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“Workaholic”

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[su_dropcap style=”flat”]T[/su_dropcap]his was probably the second of these stupid terms that became popular in the 1980s — used to refer to a person who is (supposed) addicted to working.  However, this is not true.
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[su_dropcap style=”flat”]N[/su_dropcap]obody is actually “addicted” to working.  Most people who are referred to as “Workaholics” are simply people who work a lot harder and a lot more than the average person.  But this is most-likely because these people do not want to be “average” like all the rest.  😎

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“Shopaholic”

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[su_dropcap style=”flat”]T[/su_dropcap]his is definitely the stupidest of all of these stupid terms — and hopefully will be the last of people using the stupid pseudo-suffix “-aholic” to refer to an addiction.  This is because NO ONE is actually addicted to shopping.
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[su_dropcap style=”flat”]T[/su_dropcap]hey are addicted to the feeling they get when they buy new things — because they have some other mental and/or emotional issues about “power” which they are not addressing.

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Conclusion…

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SUCK!!!

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(Okay Gary, calm down… it’s not that bad.  But…)

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[su_dropcap style=”flat”]I[/su_dropcap]f you want to use English in a way that shows that you are actually an intelligence person —  then do not use these stupid terms.

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[su_dropcap style=”flat”]B[/su_dropcap]esides the grammatical error of these phrases — they also assign a condition to a person’s identity, rather than simply making a statement about that person’s behavior.  Something which only shows that people who use phrases like there are not-yet very evolved…  So, just don’t do it.

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[su_dropcap style=”flat”]I[/su_dropcap] hope that this first installment of “Yer Ing-Glish Sux!!!” has helped.  Let me know if you have any questions about this or any other strange, weird, or illogical bits of English that don’t seem to make any sense.  It may be that they suck too.  And if-so…  I’ll add them here.

😎

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Have An Excellent Day!

😉

 

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