"Comfortability" is a nonsense word

5/27/2025 1:35pm

Deeg's said he knows Pala like the back of his head. I wish I knew what the back of my head looked like.

16
Falcon
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5/27/2025 4:31pm
TheMilkman wrote:
The new trend I’m hearing lately is never using the word “good” and always replacing it with “well”. There are some occurrences when “well” should be...

The new trend I’m hearing lately is never using the word “good” and always replacing it with “well”. There are some occurrences when “well” should be used instead of “good”. Example “I am riding really well this week.” However, it’s like some speaking coach told these guys to replace good with well in all instances. “He looks really well on the bike.” “His finishes have been well lately.” 

Sorry for my rant. I hear it on nearly every moto podcast and in a ton of interviews. Never hear it anywhere else. 

I hear the same thing with "may" instead of "can." In many cases, "may" is the correct term. However, you'd never say, "May you send me the paperwork?" (Well, unless you were asking if someone else had to give permission for the person you are querying.) "Can" or "will" are the proper terms in this instance; "can" meaning "able," and "will" meaning "willing" or "inclined."  

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38special
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5/27/2025 4:46pm
TheMilkman wrote:
The new trend I’m hearing lately is never using the word “good” and always replacing it with “well”. There are some occurrences when “well” should be...

The new trend I’m hearing lately is never using the word “good” and always replacing it with “well”. There are some occurrences when “well” should be used instead of “good”. Example “I am riding really well this week.” However, it’s like some speaking coach told these guys to replace good with well in all instances. “He looks really well on the bike.” “His finishes have been well lately.” 

Sorry for my rant. I hear it on nearly every moto podcast and in a ton of interviews. Never hear it anywhere else. 

I noticed this most with Stanton in the 89-92 area. He did that a lot.
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OldTech
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5/27/2025 4:50pm

We have some 23-year-old girl working in shipping and I hear this word SUS, what does that mean?

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The Shop

Chris_Buehler
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5/27/2025 4:56pm
OldTech wrote:

We have some 23-year-old girl working in shipping and I hear this word SUS, what does that mean?

LoL! My gf's 11yr old daughter uses that. Sus=suspect. I think thats what it means 

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5/27/2025 5:06pm
OldTech wrote:

We have some 23-year-old girl working in shipping and I hear this word SUS, what does that mean?

LoL! My gf's 11yr old daughter uses that. Sus=suspect. I think thats what it means 

At least that is shortening the word. The substitutes that don’t shorten the words stress my brain. 😆

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gerg
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5/27/2025 5:40pm Edited Date/Time 5/27/2025 5:42pm
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sumdood
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5/27/2025 5:50pm
MPJC wrote:
Related to the above, I remember when my son was 2 or 3 using the word "sidewards". I told him it was "sideways". He objected by...

Related to the above, I remember when my son was 2 or 3 using the word "sidewards". I told him it was "sideways". He objected by saying "but it's frontwards and backwards". Makes perfect sense, but it's wrong. 

I think your sons right and everyone else is wrong. Sideways means two things, you can move sideways or something could be standing up sideways. Sidewards would indicate direction of travel just like backwards and forwards, versus sideways like stack them sideways or parked sideways. I like it ! What’s Falcon say ?

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number six
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5/27/2025 6:20pm

Pretenders come & go .. & while it's only natural to be infatuated with the latest perceived moto faux pas of the (sic) language, there still remains but one & only one to rule them all.  

It's been a few years years now but 'Outstandable' maintains it's place as the pinnacle of the genre.   

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inflammable
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5/27/2025 7:12pm
number six wrote:
Pretenders come & go .. & while it's only natural to be infatuated with the latest perceived moto faux pas of the (sic) language, there still...

Pretenders come & go .. & while it's only natural to be infatuated with the latest perceived moto faux pas of the (sic) language, there still remains but one & only one to rule them all.  

It's been a few years years now but 'Outstandable' maintains it's place as the pinnacle of the genre.   

..moto fox paws...

Sorry, had to do it 😀😀

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davis224
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5/27/2025 7:48pm
If something has the ability to be comfortable, why exactly is "comfortability" causing you such linguistic distress? Consider this: if something can flex, we call it...

If something has the ability to be comfortable, why exactly is "comfortability" causing you such linguistic distress? Consider this: if something can flex, we call it "flexibility"; if something can adapt, it possesses "adaptability." So when a physical object can literally possess the ability to offer comfort during a regular moto sesh with the bros, guess what... that's "comfortability."

Case closed.

You've mastered case closability here with this. My impressibility is piqued, and my comfortability with your grammaribility is sky high!

8
PNWMXer
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5/27/2025 7:55pm
number six wrote:
Pretenders come & go .. & while it's only natural to be infatuated with the latest perceived moto faux pas of the (sic) language, there still...

Pretenders come & go .. & while it's only natural to be infatuated with the latest perceived moto faux pas of the (sic) language, there still remains but one & only one to rule them all.  

It's been a few years years now but 'Outstandable' maintains it's place as the pinnacle of the genre.   

Damn, beat me to it 😂

StillSmokin
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5/27/2025 8:16pm

My favorite thing is when RC asked himself a question and then answered it every week during SX. 

”Sexton has to watch out for those ruts on the faces. Why do I say that? Well because those ruts can make you crash”. Thanks RC 🫡

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brocster
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5/27/2025 8:43pm Edited Date/Time 5/30/2025 8:35pm
PRM31 wrote:

Weege went with the 'must' this weekend. At that moment I knew all was lost.

He can deny it all he wants but Weedge reads and I wholeheartedly believe he does this to Fuq with us.  Just like he and GL would play word games with the broadcast to see if they could squeeze random words into it. Hence “crown molding” that James brought back this weekend.  The little dirt devil even used “rolling” this past weekend. 

Always chuckled at the use of the word Comfortability on a dirtbike broadcast, but if the shoe fits put it on for its wearability to see if the wheelbarrow has pushability. 

Think I heard JT call Jett, Jennifer Lawrence early in the broadcast but that’s for another thread. 

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Gravel
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5/27/2025 8:45pm

Compliancey is way too common, and wrong. Also dampening when used to describe suspension. Compliance and damping are way more corrector..

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OwenJakes
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5/27/2025 8:56pm

At Ironman 2022 someone in the booth referred to a pass made as “sexton squirting up the inside of Tomac”. 
That was my last day. 

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Herr Lich
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5/27/2025 9:06pm
My favorite thing is when RC asked himself a question and then answered it every week during SX. ”Sexton has to watch out for those ruts on...

My favorite thing is when RC asked himself a question and then answered it every week during SX. 

”Sexton has to watch out for those ruts on the faces. Why do I say that? Well because those ruts can make you crash”. Thanks RC 🫡

My feeling is that RC does that as a technique. I'm sure he's been told by a commentary coach to use the phrase as a way to help with his own clarity. However, RC has not learnt to get rid of the crutch.  It's the same with 'and the reason I say that is'. As in: 'Tomac likes that inside line, and the reason I say that is because, it's faster than the outside line' (that's a good example of the sophistication of RC's analysis).  I'm not sure if RC realises 'because' by itself covers the rest of the second clause of the sentence. 

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5/27/2025 9:08pm
OwenJakes wrote:

At Ironman 2022 someone in the booth referred to a pass made as “sexton squirting up the inside of Tomac”. 
That was my last day. 

Ralph must have been back in the booth for the day. 

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2
5/28/2025 7:16am
If something has the ability to be comfortable, why exactly is "comfortability" causing you such linguistic distress? Consider this: if something can flex, we call it...

If something has the ability to be comfortable, why exactly is "comfortability" causing you such linguistic distress? Consider this: if something can flex, we call it "flexibility"; if something can adapt, it possesses "adaptability." So when a physical object can literally possess the ability to offer comfort during a regular moto sesh with the bros, guess what... that's "comfortability."

Case closed.

That isn't how the word is being used. It is being used identically to the word "comfort." A thing that has comfort is comfortable. It isn't a word. It isn't needed at all. We aren't a bunch of Shakespeares creating new-but-necessary words. We are just repeating things made up out of ignorance. 

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5/28/2025 7:18am

Deeg's said he knows Pala like the back of his head. I wish I knew what the back of my head looked like.

I heard it too! I just about lost it. Mixed metaphors and malapropisms abound. The next will be something like, "It's just dirtbikes. It isn't rocket surgery." 

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5/28/2025 7:20am
"Comfort" is a real word and has the same meaning. The monkey-hear, monkey-say culture of Motocross is hitting its peak. I'm pretty sure the Suzuki commercial...

"Comfort" is a real word and has the same meaning. The monkey-hear, monkey-say culture of Motocross is hitting its peak. I'm pretty sure the Suzuki commercial around 2005-2006 where RC said "I take it serious," really got the ball rolling on the masses repeating poor grammar without question.

Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk. 

P.s. "Tear jerper" is acceptable. 

What do you expect from a media (in all areas, not just moto or sports) that in recent years seems to have become unaware that there...

What do you expect from a media (in all areas, not just moto or sports) that in recent years seems to have become unaware that there is the sufix "-er" in the English language?

Everytihng is "more big, more wide, more thin" etc.

I'm truly waiting for one of these talking heads to use the phrase, "the more less of two evils". 😄

They also don't seem to know about adverbs and the "ly" suffix...

5/28/2025 7:21am
OldTech wrote:

We have some 23-year-old girl working in shipping and I hear this word SUS, what does that mean?

You're sus for not knowing. 

Falcon
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5/30/2025 9:21am Edited Date/Time 5/30/2025 9:29am
MPJC wrote:
Related to the above, I remember when my son was 2 or 3 using the word "sidewards". I told him it was "sideways". He objected by...

Related to the above, I remember when my son was 2 or 3 using the word "sidewards". I told him it was "sideways". He objected by saying "but it's frontwards and backwards". Makes perfect sense, but it's wrong. 

sumdood wrote:
I think your sons right and everyone else is wrong. Sideways means two things, you can move sideways or something could be standing up sideways. Sidewards...

I think your sons right and everyone else is wrong. Sideways means two things, you can move sideways or something could be standing up sideways. Sidewards would indicate direction of travel just like backwards and forwards, versus sideways like stack them sideways or parked sideways. I like it ! What’s Falcon say ?

I believe the proper usage would be sideward, without the "s" at the end. Like toward, forward, or backward. 
EDIT: Yes, it means "in the direction of." That's what the suffix "-ward" means. You can insert virtually any word that has a direction involved before it. Here are some I can think of: windward, leeward, toward, backward, forward, upward, downward, rearward, northward, southward...

Also, I'm not 100% convinced by the AI responses above about "comfortability." I don't see it in any of the dictionaries I use. "Comfort" or "comfortable" work just fine in any usage I can imagine for the term. 

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MOTO13
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5/30/2025 10:01am

If you guys raced, practiced and sacrificed for the sport half as much as you bitched, you might be a pro too. As in FKNG also. 

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husqvarnaUSA
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5/30/2025 1:30pm

Deeg's said he knows Pala like the back of his head. I wish I knew what the back of my head looked like.

Hahah I caught that.. and Chase said the team threw the kitchen sink at his bike 😄 

5/30/2025 1:49pm
"flex" and "adapt" are verbs. add the "-able" suffix to get an adjective, and from there you get the "-ability" suffix to get a noun. three...

"flex" and "adapt" are verbs. add the "-able" suffix to get an adjective, and from there you get the "-ability" suffix to get a noun. three suffixes for three distinct forms of the same root word. but "comfort" in this context is a noun already. add "-able" to get "comfortable," an adjective, but add "-ability" to get...the same noun? it's redundant.

thank god you aren't my lawyer. the case would be cooked

You’re assuming redundancy based purely on grammatical convenience, but language isn’t that tidy. “Comfort” (the noun) is simply the state itself, and “comfortable” (the adjective) describes something possessing that quality. But “comfortability” specifically describes the capacity or potential to provide comfort, emphasizing not just that comfort exists, but how effectively it can be delivered or experienced.

Think of it like this: “comfort” is a destination, “comfortable” describes being there, but “comfortability” is about the ease of getting to that destination. No redundancy, just nuance you’re missing by oversimplifying grammar.


 

aeffertz
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5/30/2025 2:38pm
TheMilkman wrote:
The new trend I’m hearing lately is never using the word “good” and always replacing it with “well”. There are some occurrences when “well” should be...

The new trend I’m hearing lately is never using the word “good” and always replacing it with “well”. There are some occurrences when “well” should be used instead of “good”. Example “I am riding really well this week.” However, it’s like some speaking coach told these guys to replace good with well in all instances. “He looks really well on the bike.” “His finishes have been well lately.” 

Sorry for my rant. I hear it on nearly every moto podcast and in a ton of interviews. Never hear it anywhere else. 

You’re not alone Grinning

IMG 1085 3.jpeg?VersionId=G536DvpMqBIjTL
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EVH4Ever
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5/30/2025 2:42pm
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motoman154__
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5/30/2025 2:43pm
You’re assuming redundancy based purely on grammatical convenience, but language isn’t that tidy. “Comfort” (the noun) is simply the state itself, and “comfortable” (the adjective) describes...

You’re assuming redundancy based purely on grammatical convenience, but language isn’t that tidy. “Comfort” (the noun) is simply the state itself, and “comfortable” (the adjective) describes something possessing that quality. But “comfortability” specifically describes the capacity or potential to provide comfort, emphasizing not just that comfort exists, but how effectively it can be delivered or experienced.

Think of it like this: “comfort” is a destination, “comfortable” describes being there, but “comfortability” is about the ease of getting to that destination. No redundancy, just nuance you’re missing by oversimplifying grammar.


 

very good point. i yearn for simplicity, but you're correct -- language cannot always be simple.

5/30/2025 2:51pm Edited Date/Time 5/30/2025 3:44pm
TheMilkman wrote:
The new trend I’m hearing lately is never using the word “good” and always replacing it with “well”. There are some occurrences when “well” should be...

The new trend I’m hearing lately is never using the word “good” and always replacing it with “well”. There are some occurrences when “well” should be used instead of “good”. Example “I am riding really well this week.” However, it’s like some speaking coach told these guys to replace good with well in all instances. “He looks really well on the bike.” “His finishes have been well lately.” 

Sorry for my rant. I hear it on nearly every moto podcast and in a ton of interviews. Never hear it anywhere else. 

aeffertz wrote:
You’re not alone :lol:

You’re not alone Grinning

IMG 1085 3.jpeg?VersionId=G536DvpMqBIjTL

That is definitely an overcorrection where somebody has pointed out their incorrect (but very common) usage of "good" as an adverb:

"He's riding good today"

"You mean he's riding well."

But they weren't detailed to the usage of parts of speech, so have veered into the exact opposite, but far less common (and therefore, more awkward) misuse of the modifiers.

 

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