responding to reader inquiries

we recently received an inquiry* from a devoted reader:

Dear John et al:

Didn't Hypothetical Bias, the finest blog in cyber-space, used to be an "incromulent economics blog"?  Now you are "cromulent".What's up with that?

Edna K.

dear edna:

hypothetical bias is a "cromulent economics blog" (it says so right there at the upper left of this page, and we all know that everything on the internet is true.)  you are correct in your memory.  our devoted readers may know that incromulent is expanded from cromulent.  non-professional linguists have applied our standard english rules and determined that if cromulent means "fine, acceptable",  then incromulent should mean the opposite.  of course, one thing that makes english such a fun language is that such simple rules do not apply universally (e.g. flammable).  so we returned to the use of cromulent. thanks for your inquiry.

* we didn't really get this inquiry.  but if the white house can answer softball questions, then so can we.

Comments

[Bob Berrens]

So, incromulent embiggens cromulent.

[John Whitehead]

From the list of Simpsons' neologisms at Wikipedia:

"Both 'embiggen' and 'cromulent' were quickly adopted and used by Simpsons fans. Cromulent has taken on an ironic meaning, to say that something is not at all legitimate and in fact spurious."

Hence, the prefix "in" in front of cromulent was redundant. I would have known that if I was a serious Simpsons fan, complete with a discussion group membership.