Discussion Forum—A Way with Words, a fun radio show and podcast about language

The dark side of wordplay? Here's a cautionary tale that may make you think twice about your next clever coining, turning, or smithing. And I don't mean metal stamping, woodwork, or metalwork.

Who among us didn't celebrate the the wit of the word three-peat? We hoped it would catch on, just as we hoped for Tevye's first daughter, Tzeitel. We didn't see what was to come. How could we know? Now four-peat appears in Merriam-Webster online ( four-peat). And we find five-peat only occasionally, a mercifully rare occurrence. A little off, but still, we could do worse, right?

Now, finally, the disaster fully realized, two-peat ( USA Today), so common an occurrence that there has been a word for it since the late 14th century, has shown us the error of our ways.

It makes me nostalgic for the days before three-peat.