Fun With Spelling

A local radio station keeps advertising an upcoming concert at a venue near Denver. The venue has been renamed, and the DJ said, "at the Odium."

I was all, "WHA??" Why would you name an event center "The Odium"??? That means something horrible, and hated, and dreaded! That doesn't make any sense at all. If it were some kind of heavy metal club or a Goth parlor or something, it would make sense. But this place has concerts and horse shows and UFC MMA events.

*** just a quick aside to mention an episode of The Simpsons that I saw last night, in which Marge objects to MMA fighting and says, "Just because this isn't my taste, I think no one should be able to enjoy it." And then she and some other meddlers picket outside the arena and my favorite picket sign said, "UNMIX the Martial Arts!" ***

Anyway, I confirmed my definition, and sure enough, "Odium" comes from Latin and refers to something that is hated, detested, and makes people angry.

Then I thought: I'd better just double-check.

So I looked up the word Odium AND the city name, and guess what. It's spelled ODEUM, which comes from Greek and means a theater or concert hall.

Now THAT makes sense.

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