This is a delightful trip down the unlikeliest of rabbit holes: the contranymic nature of the word “no.”
Occasionally, however, a contranym arises through a process called amelioration, whereby a normally negative word develops a secondary, positive meaning. This phenomenon is particularly common in slang: “bad” becomes good, “wicked” becomes awesome, and “sick” and “ill” become wonderful. (They have been ameliorated: made better.) The use of “no” to mean “yes” appears to be an example of amelioration, but with one important distinction: “no” can’t mean “yes” on its own.
Okay, so “delightful” might be something of a stretch for most of you. Still, it’s an interesting read.
