Several years ago, when it was published, there appeared a "Far Side" comic
in which a youngster is pictured stretching up towards an item on a high,
out-of-reach shelf. [Of course it appeared when it was published. Like Yogi
Berra's observation on seeing a Steve McQueen movie: "He must have made that
before he died."] The caption for that comic read simply "Inconvenience
stores." Along that line of thinking, I've compiled a few more such terms.
I have no idea what value they have, except to possibly conjure up some strange
images.
- Anti-social worker
- Anti-socialite
- The Anti-Socialist Party
- Inhospitality suite
- Unpopularity contest
- Anti-septic tank [So clean you can eat out of it!]
- Uncordial liqueur
- Un-Cool Whip
- The Inhumane Society
- Unsanitary napkins
- Bacterial soap
- Dishonorable mention
- Impersonal computer
- Inaction figure
- The Office of Homeland Insecurity
- Social Insecurity (or how about the double-negative Anti-social Insecurity?)
- Unfriendly's Restaurants
- Disorganized crime
- Unprofessional society
- Dissatisfaction guaranteed
- Unintelligentsia
- Illiterati
- Unreal estate (an occasional category on "Jeopardy!")
- Uneasy Street
- Uncultured pearls
- Habitat for Inhumanity [I got this one from a humorous piece about Attila the Hun by Tom Chaffin in the
March 2001 issue of Smithsonian magazine.]
- The Museum of Unnatural History [There's a book, "The Museum of Unnatural History: A Pop-Up Book"
by Kees Moerbeek, et al.
Also, "Trapped in the Museum of Unnatural History" by Dan Greenburg and Jack E. Davis (Illustrator).]
- Unlucky Charms cereal
- Misfortune teller [see "One Big Happy" of January 9, 2003 below]
- Law and disorder
- Affirmative inaction
- Unnatural gas
- The Unusual Suspects [the title of a short piece by Sarah Simpson in the June 2003 issue of Scientific American]
- Unpopular Mechanics [a category on the November 7, 2003 Jeopardy!]
- Soldier of Misfortune [ditto]
- Infrequent flier miles
- Dishonor Roll [front-page headline of the February 13, 2004 issue of Newsday]
- Disinformation technology [see "Speed Bump" of March 23, 2004 below]
- Decent exposure
- Double Your Displeasure [the title of an item about how the Olsen Twins don't like to be called the Olsen Twins,
in the April 9, 2004 issue of the New York Daily News]
- Uncommon-law marriage
- Discourtesy call
- User-unfriendly
- Disobedience school
- Inhuman resources
- Unfair catch
- The Declaration of Dependence
- Insensitivity training
- Risk mismanagement
- Discomfort food
- The Coalition of the Unwilling
- Unlimited-edition
- Artist's misconception
- Unhappy Meal
- 99 44/100% impure
Lastly, I remember a bit from stand-up comedian David Brenner in which he comments on the term "decent burial."
He asks the audience rhetorically, "Is there such a thing as an indecent burial?"