Curious Words We use language to tell jokes.  But sometimes the joke is in the language.  Here’s another set of words that makes you wonder.  (See Wonder Words.) afterlife — Wouldn’t “after death” be exactly the same thing? airshow — Is this a display of atmosphere? alimony — Shouldn’t there be an “e” after the “n” in the word? amends — How come you can’t make just one? annals — Wouldn’t be nice to be mentioned in even one? big — Why is this word littler than little, small and tiny? building — If it’s completed, shouldn’t it be called a built? catwalk — Did you ever see a cat walk on one? customers — Are they now called guests to avoid giving them custom service? demote — Shouldn’t the word be remote; to make small again? denote — Why isn’t this the opposite of note? detective — Does a person in this job do mostly detecting? escalator, elevator — Are these working improperly when going down? exterminate — Shouldn’t this mean the opposite of terminate? extraordinary — Is this a lot more ordinary than usual? goods — Can you buy just one? goods — How come it’s bad when somebody has them on you? governmental — Is this a bureaucratic state of mind? haphazard — Does this mean lack of order is dangerous? homo sapiens — Aren’t most of us hetero sapiens? hummingbird — Is this a parrot that forgot the words to the song? indisposed — Like two minuses, don’t “in” and “dis” cancel each other, yielding just “posed?” inexpensive — Since in- and ex- are opposites, shouldn’t it be just plain pensive? inkling — If you have lots, are you a genius? invalid — Does a physical handicap make a person illegitimate? kilter — If being out of this is bad, where do you get more? misrepresent — Is this when you accidentally sent something before again? mushroom — Is this a place where they practice dog-sledding? offspring — Is that like a dried up fountain? pants, trousers, drawers, slacks — How is it you can wear a pair but not one? pathetic, apathetic — Aren’t you pathetic if you’re apathetic about everything? premeditated — Could this mean you did it before you thought about it? preposterous — Doesn’t this really amount to “before” + “after” + “erous”? skinny — Since fat people are bigger, aren’t they more skinny than thin people? slaughter — Isn’t it macabre that it’s mostly laughter? stalemate — Does this have something to do with the seven year itch? suitcase — Would this be legal mumbo-jumbo? ulterior — Have you ever heard this word without the word “motive” after it? uncooked — How do you uncook something? wonderful — Is this what you are when you wonder a lot? This entertaining page is just one of the many humorous pages showing how English language words can be fun, often being the center of jokes, witticisms, puns, and jest and bringing smiles if not laughter to the comedian in each of us.