I learned today that both "goofy" and "silly" are insults but very mild. I have always thought they aren't insults at all. Goofy is even a Disney character. Anyway, if that's true tell me examples of "silly" and "goofy" as insults and not insuls and more imporantly, what is the major difference between them? What kind of context "must be" so that they are either insults or friendly/playful thing?

Question

velo35 · Answer

silly is more like trivial, while goofy is more like odd or funny. So neither is really insulting. They're more just statements about reality. That guy is really goofy - He's really odd. You capricious changes in mood are silly - Your mood swings are petty and are wearing on me.

scoups0frice · Answer

@Babbaaabaa

if something is meant to be silly or goofy, it’s not an insult to call it such. But if someone is talking about something they take seriously, and you call it silly or goofy, it’s like calling it nonsense/stupid which can rightfully offend them. Sometimes there’s a fine line that, like with many other things, you just have to be aware of how close you two are and if they’d know you’re joking.

“Silly” is funny, stupid, not serious or meaningful. 
“Goofy” is funny, weird, awkward, not serious or meaningful.

In a good way:

“Look at this meme!”
“Haha! That’s so silly.”
“I know right.”

“Don’t be silly, you’ll do fine!” (encouraging)

“I just felt kinda goofy being there because they were all just talking about math.”

“Watch me do this!” (wants to be funny)
“You look goofy, get down from there quick.” (embarrassed)

In a bad way:

“What do you think of this song I like?”
“I think the lyrics are kinda silly.”
“…”

“Don’t be silly. You’ll do fine.” (ignoring other person’s concerns)

“How do I look?” (serious)
“You look goofy, wear something else.” (rude ass)

scoups0frice · Answer

@Babbaaabaa 😂 they’re mainly funny insults, but with enough anger and sincerity you can really turn anything into a true insult. My dad uses “goofball” a lot when he’s angry which I wouldn’t say is common to use that way, but English isn’t his first language so maybe that’s why.

scoups0frice · Answer

@Babbaaabaa it’s supposed to be funny. So:

“Asshole” is a real insult
“Donkey’s asshole” can be a funny insult because it’s more descriptive and embarrassing

Sure, ask away!

scoups0frice · Answer

@Babbaaabaa 
ahhh so dictionaries only really consider the original meaning of the word, and insults are mainly officially to be rude, but in real life we can use these words towards people we’re so close to that it doesn’t really feel like an insult. So “big baby” means “childish, whiny or cowardly” and you’re closeness to the person and tone of voice determines what level of insult it really is. But the default, original meaning is insultive and derogatory. The dictionary just uses “deragatory” to signal that it’s not just a neutral word.

scoups0frice · Answer

@Babbaaabaa yes they can soften speech. It’s interesting that using an insult, because you’re so close, makes it clearer that you’re not too serious. I wouldn’t say dictionaries are incorrect, because we still classify them as insults. We just use derogatory language with people we’re close with to show our closeness or just to be funny, because we’re so close that’s it’s impossible for it to be taken seriously. In Swedish do you not jokingly insult your close friends and family to tease them and show how close you are?

scoups0frice · Answer

It’s just because of the intent behind the person who spoke and the relationship between them. Tadashi is speaking with his little brother, so he can use this mild name-calling to express his disapproval of Hiro’s actions, and it’s obvious from Hiro’s reaction that they’re close enough that Tadashi isn’t trying to be mean but he’s just scolding. To contrast, Gogo has a rough personality, and we know she has a tom & jerry friendship with Fred, so from her tone of voice we can tell she’s being a bit meaner. But that’s just their friendship, so Fred doesn’t react, similar to Hiro.

scoups0frice · Answer

@Babbaaabaa yep I’ve seen the movie many times lol it’s one of my faves, the thing about name-calling among family is that if you’re so close, it would be ridiculous to seriously try and name-call them using milder words, so this ridiculousness turns into a softening of your words to show your family member you’re not that serious. If you use harsher/profane words, this is where you could actually offend anyone including family, but it heavily depends on how much you curse in your everyday speech.

When a dictionary uses “derogatory,” it’s probably accounting for the worst case scenario, like if you said that to a stranger.

I tried making a table, hope it helps!

scoups0frice · Answer

@Babbaaabaa yes he was softening his speech, and yes nitwit’s a funny word so even though she said it roughly it’s still a funny scold/insult. I gave some examples at the bottom of common name calling.

scoups0frice · Answer

@Babbaaabaa you can see that using “bonehead” even though he was scolding, it was a milder/softened scold. And it’s not like these are 100% concrete categories I made, so some people might find bonehead to be funnier than others which makes it even less harsh.

So scolding is for the purpose of telling the person they did something wrong and that you didn’t like it, and insulting is to make the person feel bad about themselves.

To soften an insult, you can add “cute, little, my, etc” to an insult to make it affectionate at the same time. You can only really do this with level 1 words.

scoups0frice · Answer

@Babbaaabaa ah sorry! I thought I already replied to this lol.

Yeah so you can use name-calling when your main intent is scolding. “Big baby” is definitely not harsher, I honestly feel it’s a stretch to classify it as derogatory but again, the dictionary is probably taking the worst case scenario into account. And some people might consider bonehead milder than others, I personally just judged the difference between 1 and 2 as 1: something I wouldn’t have much problem with my young kid saying, vs 2: something I would have a problem with (I don’t have a kid, just a scenario).

scoups0frice · Answer

@Babbaaabaa yep you got it. The relationship and obvious intention is what influences the offense of the word. Glad to help!

scoups0frice · Answer

@Babbaaabaa sure! It’s kind of weird to explain, but the words “knucklehead” and “bonehead” are just kind of silly and childish, so adding them to serious-sounding statements “I hope you learned your lesson” and “what were you thinking??” makes it sound less serious. Yes they’re technically insults, but they’re kiddish, so it softens the scolding. And the closer you are to the person, the harsher (but still funny) words you can use to soften the speech. Like if it wasn’t a kid’s movie, Tadashi could’ve said “what were you thinking, dipshit??” and it’s not like he’s being polite or kind, but rather he’s scolding while being funny. Depending on what the person knows are the harsher words you normally say, they’ll know whether you’re being serious or not.

scoups0frice · Answer

@Babbaaabaa no it is softening still, like I said above the closer you are, the harsher words you can use to make your words lighter and funnier, which softens your scolding.

scoups0frice · Answer

@Babbaaabaa so if he was trying to actually insult Hiro, in both real life and a kids movie, he would probably choose a less silly word like “you idiot” or “moron,” with more edge in his voice, and we would see Hiro’s reaction as being offended or hurt.

silly is more like trivial, while goofy is more like odd or funny. So neither is really insulting. They're more just statements about reality. That guy is really goofy - He's really odd. You capricious changes in mood are silly - Your mood swings are petty and are wearing on me.

@velo35 @scoups0frice Okay, thank you. Just tell me this much yet are "knucklehead" and "bonehead" very mild also? According to someone they are and can they also be said just to be funny/endearing? Or do you think they are really insults?

@Babbaaabaa 😂 they’re mainly funny insults, but with enough anger and sincerity you can really turn anything into a true insult. My dad uses “goofball” a lot when he’s angry which I wouldn’t say is common to use that way, but English isn’t his first language so maybe that’s why.

@scoups0frice Okay, thank you. What is a "funny insult"? Is it a "real insult" or meant to tease and a joke and to be funny like the name tells?

And @scoups0frice Can I ask yet one thing?

@Babbaaabaa it’s supposed to be funny. So:

“Asshole” is a real insult
“Donkey’s asshole” can be a funny insult because it’s more descriptive and embarrassing

Sure, ask away!

@Babbaaabaa yep you got it. The relationship and obvious intention is what influences the offense of the word. Glad to help!

@scoups0frice Thank you. I guess I understand now. If I understood right, if Tadashi would have said "What were you thinking, dipshit?", it wouldn't be consider kind and soften the sentence, right? (this is hypothetical speaking, because "shit" is a curse word and Big hero 6 is a kid's movie)

@Babbaaabaa no it is softening still, like I said above the closer you are, the harsher words you can use to make your words lighter and funnier, which softens your scolding.

@Babbaaabaa so if he was trying to actually insult Hiro, in both real life and a kids movie, he would probably choose a less silly word like “you idiot” or “moron,” with more edge in his voice, and we would see Hiro’s reaction as being offended or hurt.

@scoups0frice Okay, thank you. Nice to hear that Tadashi only softens the sentence and was less serious when he added "knucklehead" and "bonehead" :) And nice to hear that they are just childish words.

silly is more like trivial, while goofy is more like odd or funny. So neither is really insulting. They're more just statements about reality. That guy is really goofy - He's really odd. You capricious changes in mood are silly - Your mood swings are petty and are wearing on me.

@velo35 @scoups0frice Okay, thank you. Just tell me this much yet are "knucklehead" and "bonehead" very mild also? According to someone they are and can they also be said just to be funny/endearing? Or do you think they are really insults?

@Babbaaabaa 😂 they’re mainly funny insults, but with enough anger and sincerity you can really turn anything into a true insult. My dad uses “goofball” a lot when he’s angry which I wouldn’t say is common to use that way, but English isn’t his first language so maybe that’s why.

@scoups0frice Okay, thank you. What is a "funny insult"? Is it a "real insult" or meant to tease and a joke and to be funny like the name tells?

And @scoups0frice Can I ask yet one thing?

@Babbaaabaa it’s supposed to be funny. So:“Asshole” is a real insult“Donkey’s asshole” can be a funny insult because it’s more descriptive and embarrassing Sure, ask away!

@Babbaaabaa yep you got it. The relationship and obvious intention is what influences the offense of the word. Glad to help!

@scoups0frice Thank you. I guess I understand now. If I understood right, if Tadashi would have said "What were you thinking, dipshit?", it wouldn't be consider kind and soften the sentence, right? (this is hypothetical speaking, because "shit" is a curse word and Big hero 6 is a kid's movie)

@Babbaaabaa no it is softening still, like I said above the closer you are, the harsher words you can use to make your words lighter and funnier, which softens your scolding.

@Babbaaabaa so if he was trying to actually insult Hiro, in both real life and a kids movie, he would probably choose a less silly word like “you idiot” or “moron,” with more edge in his voice, and we would see Hiro’s reaction as being offended or hurt.

@scoups0frice Okay, thank you. Nice to hear that Tadashi only softens the sentence and was less serious when he added "knucklehead" and "bonehead" :) And nice to hear that they are just childish words.

@Babbaaabaa it’s supposed to be funny. So:

“Asshole” is a real insult
“Donkey’s asshole” can be a funny insult because it’s more descriptive and embarrassing

Sure, ask away!