RDP Wednesday: hysterical

Written for RDP, where sgeoil asks us
to get creative with the word “hysterical”.
Thanks, Heather! Here’s my response.

“Hysterical” is a very funny word …. no pun intended.

One of my pedantic friends corrected me one day when I used the word “hysterical” in reference to a movie I thought was very funny. My friend said the correct word was “hilarious”; he went on to explain there was no misunderstanding the meaning of “hilarious” as being “extremely funny”, whereas “hysterical” could and does mean “emotional”, “in a frenzy”, “overwrought”, “in a panic”, and …. my personal favorite …. “out of control!” in addition to meaning “comedic”, “amusing”, “very funny”, “side splitting” or “uproarious” …. in other words, “hilarious”.

To make sure I understood the difference between the two words, my friend gave me an example by using both words in a sentence. For instance, it’s perfectly appropriate to say, ”the woman was ‘hysterical’ after the shooting” as opposed to “the woman was ‘hilarious’ after the shooting”. I really didn’t need the clarification.

Now, whenever my friend is around, I feel “insecure”, “suspicious”, ”paranoid”,”anxious”, and/or“completely irrational” every time I have to choose between “hysterical” or “hilarious”.

Choose your words wisely, my friends; you never know when someone may actually be listening.

This is “Paranoid” by Black Sabbath