There are many words in our dictionary that have meanings when used as a verb, a noun, an adjective, and no definition is the same. When you talk to a person they can say one word but without the context of the sentence you would never know what it meant. Double Entendres; this is the name of these awful words. A person can say “you are so bright!” and you may think they mean to say you are smart, or you are flashy. The worst example though is the word period. How was your previous period? You should put a period here. You are not allowed and that is final, period. Darn, I just started my period. Four sentences using one word, each with a separate definition. If I had the power, like Tim Tebow, to change the dictionary, I would gladly remove the word “period”.

To begin, this word could be easily replaced. Period is overused, but also used for too many different things. If someone is angry and says “period” it means the end of the discussion, whereas; if a person is editing a paper and says “period” they are referring to punctuation. Double entendres are far worse than homophones. A person can say they want two ducks, or have too many ducks, and you know exactly what they mean because the definitions and spellings are both so extreme. When a person says period, without any context there is no way to tell what they are trying to refer to. Even in its most common tense, the word period has a replacement. When writing a number with decimal, we do not say 4 period 56, but rather 4 point 56. We could translate this over to the English language and begin saying put in a decimal point here. The word period could be replaced in all tenses. How was your previous CLASS? You should put a DECIMAL POINT here. You are not allowed to go and that is final, END OF DISCUSSION. Darn, I just started my CYCLE. The word period is commonly used, but could be avoided all together.

In the end double entendres in general are not beneficial to the English language, but the double entendre, period, is the least bearable. The word period in all tenses should be banished from the language in order to make society function better and less confusing. If I could take one word out of the dictionary right now, I would reach in and pull out the word period and rip it to shreds. Period. End of discussion.