Wasband

Hello, you have A Way with Words.

Hello, this is Kahani Skydance.

I’m calling from Arcata, California.

Aha.

Far northern California, about an hour from the Oregon border.

Yeah, KHSU.

KHSU, right.

Welcome to the show. How can we help?

Almost 40 years ago, I got a divorce, and I did not want to call my husband my ex-husband because I always thought that sounded mean and choppy and didn’t dislike the man.

So I made up the word wasband, W-A-S-B-A-N-D. And that’s what I always use for an ex-husband, although he’s my only one.

And what did he think of that?

I don’t know if he’s even aware of it, to tell you the truth.

Oh, no kidding.

Wasband, W-A-S-B-A-N-D. And that has a better sound to you than ex-husband?

It does, yes.

Not to you, though, huh?

The X sounds like striking someone from the list, right?

Yes, it does.

Yeah, it almost sounds like axe.

Oh, yeah.

Yes, exactly.

That’s why I say me and choppy.

Yeah, choppy.

There we go.

Okay, very good.

Yeah.

This word has been coined numerous times over at least the last 20 years.

I can find uses of was-been going back to 1993, as a matter of fact.

Well, this was 1975.

Oh, there we go.

So that’s the earliest citation that I know of then.

But it’s been coined and recoined because it’s kind of a lot of people have the same problem that you have with ex-husband.

It just there’s something wrong with it.

Even it might just be long or awkward to say.

Interestingly, in the 1993 use of the word that I found, the fellow by the name of Ronan Conroy, I believe his name is, or Conroy, wrote a word for the ex-wife as well.

I was just going to ask.

Yeah, he proposed wauf.

I tried to come up with something for that, just on principle.

He wrote that he and his wife use that.

And he says that wasband and walf are the past tense of the nouns, as if nouns can actually have a past tense.

I love it.

But walf to me is not quite as successful as wasband.

Well, I don’t know what you would use, though.

Welf sounds like a, I don’t know, reminds me of wound or I don’t know.

Yeah, it’s not as kind, I think.

It sounds like a dog.

Yeah.

Welf?

Yes.

I do like the way some people think about their exes.

Yeah, he didn’t explain why he chose W-O-U-F-E.

I don’t know, just an alternate vowel sound maybe.

So if you’re married to somebody currently, does that make him your isbind?

Good question. I’m not married to someone currently, so I haven’t married.

Okay, or some people call their partner their future ex, right?

Oh my goodness. I would never go into anything but that in mind.

That’s very cynical.

That’s wise.

Well, Kahana, thank you very much for your contribution. Thank you for sharing this word with us.

Well, it was a pleasure. I enjoy your show so very much.

Thank you very much.

We appreciate your calling.

Take care now.

You too. Bye-bye.

Bye-bye.

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