# Author's Note: Bad, Bad Word

**URL:** <https://eldraeverse.discourse.group/t/authors-note-bad-bad-word/2076>\
**Category:** General\
**Created:** [November 7, 2024, 5:25am UTC](https://eldraeverse.discourse.group/t/authors-note-bad-bad-word/2076 "2024-11-07T05:25:28Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 5

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**Author:** ![january1may](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/0ea827/32.png) [@january1may](https://eldraeverse.discourse.group/u/january1may)\
**Post date:** [January 20, 2025, 10:10am UTC](https://eldraeverse.discourse.group/t/authors-note-bad-bad-word/2076/5 "2025-01-20T10:10:34Z")

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> [@avatar](#):
>
> That’s right up there with “Defaulter”

…the eldrae are gonna be a bit angry at the English language (with corresponding implications for what its speakers must be like) for using the same word for “the standard action” and “breaking a contract”.

(This was a half-dream thought that I decided might be kinda important for [Earth Fanfic](https://eldraeverse.discourse.group/t/earth-fanfic-post-contact-hilarity-ii/1244/1) but might be more relevantly discussed here first.)  
(Apparently the semantic pathway is [something to the effect of] “breaking a contract” → “not doing the contract” → “not doing anything” → “what happens when you don’t do anything” → “what happens without specific action otherwise” → “the standard action, absent deviations”, with most of the previous steps still somewhat extant in the language. This makes it _slightly_ more reasonable, though the first and last are probably still the most salient meanings.)

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