Word salad

A cloth embroidered by a person with schizophrenia

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“”The film is nothing more than the cart issues, wishes ramp and that lashbone, be hydrodash-tower, and cramp seven lash. Milbord zakt feebled-seven, tilsubatidemisemistupan.

—Terry Bruge-Hiplo, Movie Reviews

Word salad is a term applied to rants that completely fly off the rails of normal grammar and meaning.

Not your typical deli salad

The most obvious example, of course, is the Time Cube website. Many other people manage to diverge into what "looks like" a human language, but on deeper exploration (called "reading") proves to be utter nonsense.

Someone's rant may be called "word salad" if their beliefs are so extreme that their screed appears nonsensical to the average person. Incels and members of the autistic dark web are examples of people whose manifestos may be dubbed word salad.

Mental disorders

If a usually coherent person begins speaking in word salad, this is usually a sign they need to see a doctor, sometimes urgently. Word salad (schizophasia) can be a sign of:

• An oncoming stroke (Call emergency services immediately)
• Schizophrenia
• Psychosis
• Brain damage
• Aphasia
• Another potentially serious condition

Toxic word salads

"Word salad" can also colloquially refer to a type of gaslighting in which an abuser jumps rapidly from one topic to the next, making many accusations and moving on before the target can defend themselves. The goal is to deflect, confuse, and silence. While this is frequently described as an issue in abusers who have narcissistic personality disorder, any abuser (regardless of diagnosis) is capable of doing this.

This is different from typical word salad because the abuser's misuse of language is strategic. They are using it to browbeat someone, not attempting to earnestly express themselves (or just goof off).

Just having fun

Word salad generators are sometimes written by beginning programmers for the sake of amusement.

Examples

• The prepossessing janitors swirl prepossessing telephones
• Her ineffective blasphemers detect beloved beaks
• My organic cheeses obliterate raging mittens
• His rhyming philanthropists neuter cut-rate steak dinners
• Their belittling hot dogs pander trashy dominos

See also

• Argument by gibberish
• Bullshit
• Dennis Markuze
• Dr. Bronner's Soap
• Argumentum ad tl;dr
• Green ink
• Management speak
• Speaking in tongues

External links

• Philosopher Pulls a Sokal on Theology Conferences — Two theology conferences mistook this intentional word salad for serious theology, see duping theologians. For the meaning behind "pulling a Sokal", see our article on the Sokal affair.

References

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