This is my facebook conversation while at work.
I replaced all names of all participants for privacy purposes.


[SIZE=13px]"My co-workers think that words cruel and mean are synonyms. They are wrong. It's important."[/SIZE]

Dispatcher: Im going to send you on useless calls to occupy your time....
2 hours ago · Unlike · 1

Wife: I agree with (me), the meanings of these words are different indeed. And yes, this difference IS important.
2 hours ago via mobile · Like

Wife: As in this article..... http://www.healthguidance.org/entry/1550...Cruel.html the context in which the words mean and cruel were brought up....they are used synonymously along side of each other.

What Makes a Person Mean and Cruel?
www.healthguidance.org
What Makes a Person Mean and Cruel?
2 hours ago · Like · Remove Preview

Me: They can stand together, but they are still not synonyms.
about an hour ago · Like

Me: As for "send you on useless calls"... When an actor has money he doesn't send letters, he sends telegrams. A. Chekhov. In my case, 4G on campus works just fine=)
about an hour ago · Like

Dispatcher: A synonym is a word having the same or nearly the same meaning as another word or other words in a language....therefore standing by each other and having nearly the same meaning makes "mean" and "cruel" synonyms....maybe not in Russian, but in English they are synonyms.
about an hour ago · Like · 1

Supervisor: We're ALL wrong?
about an hour ago · Unlike · 2

Dispatcher: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/synonym

synonym
www.thefreedictionary.com
Definition of synonym by TheFreeDictionary.com
about an hour ago · Like · Remove Preview

Dispatcher: (me) just got slapped with a dictionary and thesaurus..... LOL
about an hour ago · Unlike · 2

Me: http://thesaurus.com/browse/cruel Synonyms - atrocious, barbarous, bestial, bitter, bloodthirsty, brutal, brutish, callous, cold-blooded, degenerate, demoniac, depraved, evil, excruciating, ferocious, fierce, flinty, hard, hard-hearted, harsh, hateful,...See More

the synonyms of cruel
thesaurus.com
Synonyms for cruel at Thesaurus.com with free online thesaurus, antonyms, and definitions. Dictionary and Word of the Day.
about an hour ago · Like · Remove Preview

Dispatcher: I cant remember the last time I called someone a "niggard" for being mean or a jerk to someone or "flinty" for abusing an animal....ha ha in REAL everyday american language ANYONE would synonymously use mean or cruel. When I said foley was "cruel"....b...See More
about an hour ago · Like · 1

Me: Yeah Foley was cruel and mean, I agree. What if the food is spicy and sweet, does it make spicy and sweet synonyms? For the most part my English sucks, but I know what word recidivist mean=) Does it sound cruel or mean? lol
about an hour ago · Like

Dispatcher: T14O CCB TV room for flagship.....then go C6A UDB and DCPS, after youre done with those, you can FP the whole campus ......its windy, and freezing.....should remind you of the Mother Land. LOL
about an hour ago · Like

Me: In Mother Russia dispatchers do foot patrols!
about an hour ago · Like

Dispatcher: I would be happy to take a nice walk and do foot patrols.....you can lock yourself up in the "fishtank" and be responsible for tracking, organizing, delegating and logging the herd of " Americans who dont know the English language" whom you are forced to work with LOL
about an hour ago · Like

Me: "Whom I am pleased to work with." I like the idea of getting behind the wheel for every stunt Dispatcher. It's not so windy, and freezing.
38 minutes ago · Edited · Like

Wife: Mean (by thefreedictionary.com) - Selfish in a petty way; unkind. Cruel (by thefreedictionary.com) - 1. Disposed to inflict pain or suffering. 2. Causing suffering; painful.
30 minutes ago · Unlike · 1

Me: My lovely wife just threw a little fuel...
26 minutes ago · Like · 1

Wife: As you can see the meanings of these 2 words are different, having "mean" stand for something more mental - like psychological abuse and cruel - for physical. MOSTLY. Synonyms are words that you can replace with each other - NOT PUT TOGETHER IN A SENTENCE! REPLACE! Thus "mean" would not replace "cruel" (most of the times), BUT could accompany it and complete the intended meaning.
24 minutes ago · Edited · Like

Wife: Here are some Oxford Dictionary links for people who still see these 2 words as synonyms: http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition...sh/mean--2 and http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/cruel

Definition of mean - district (British & World English)
oxforddictionaries.com
mean definition and meaning from district topic by Oxford University Press (British & World English)
22 minutes ago · Like · Remove Preview

Dispatcher: Again.....A synonym is a word having the same or nearly the same meaning as another word. It says nothing about replacing another word. Synonymous....SIMILAR IN MEANING. Were alllllll wrong guys, were all wrong. Supervisor, can we go over some of (Me)' reports now? lol Sigh.....I need a code 7 before I injure N2.
21 minutes ago · Unlike · 1

Wife: Dispatcher proof?
20 minutes ago · Like

Wife: Dispatcher Here are some Oxford Dictionary links for people who still see these 2 words as synonyms: http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition...sh/mean--2 and http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/cruel

Definition of mean - district (British & World English)
oxforddictionaries.com
mean definition and meaning from district topic by Oxford University Press (British & World English)
19 minutes ago · Like · Remove Preview

Me: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/synonym This is the source she used.

synonym
www.thefreedictionary.com
Definition of synonym by TheFreeDictionary.com
18 minutes ago · Edited · Like · Remove Preview

Wife: Dispatcher and also: when the meanings are the same, or nearly the same, we can replace one word with another (since they mean the same thing), can't we? In the case with "mean" and "cruel" this is not always correct.
15 minutes ago · Edited · Like

Dispatcher: According to the definition your husband just reposted: syn·o·nym
1. A word having the same or nearly the same meaning as another word or other words in a language.
2. A word or an expression that serves as a figurative or symbolic substitute for another.
14 minutes ago · Like · 1

Wife: Dispatcher this doesn't change the way the words "mean" and "cruel" relate to each other)))
11 minutes ago · Like

Wife: Dispatcher you just said that yourself: "A word or an expression that serves as a figurative or symbolic substitute for another")) doesn't "substitute" mean "replace" in this case?)))))))))
10 minutes ago · Like

Dispatcher: Very simply in the most benign use of these words.....If you hit, deprive, abuse an animal in any way, you can be called the words mean and/or cruel. It implies mental as well as physical abuse with either word. They can be substituted for eachother they are similar in meaning, and put across the same point.
9 minutes ago · Edited · Like

Wife: Dispatcher sure, but we are talking LIMITED use here, that depends on the CONTEXT. This is the exception of the rule, according to which these two words have DIFFERENT meanings.
4 minutes ago · Edited · Like

Dispatcher: Another example....in a school setting, a child bullied by another child could say "Billy is mean to me" covering a multitude of actions. A parent reporting a child bullying another child uses a more grown up word conveying the SAME thought by saying "...See More
4 minutes ago · Like

Wife: Dispatcher and again, this is all CONTEXT. Without it these two words have DIFFERENT meanings. If you like examples, you could call a serial killer "cruel" or "violent", but calling him "mean" would be a joke))
3 minutes ago · Like

Wife: And thus "cruel" is a waaayyyyy more serious conviction than "mean" LOL

Yeah, they're not synonyms.

[Spartacus]

http://www.macmillandictionary.com/thesa...an/mean_35

Synonyms are words with the same or similar meanings.

cruel and mean aren't the same for sure.

The degree of its negative effect differs(like your wife said), but it still are negative adjectives of a personal trait. Similar meaning, only cruel>>>>>mean.

Anyway, reading the context of that conversation, I think he went overboard by calling Foley or whoever cruel. You just can't call anyone cruel unless you meant to tease him/her.





and i am not using my last day of 2012 effectively.

She, dispatcher, called Foley(random co-worker) cruel, she was teasing him. I asked her what she said, and she said: "cruel, mean, you know..." I said: "cruel and mean are not synonyms..." and there is all started =)

I can't believe no one has mentioned this yet but cruel and mean are merely alternative spellings to the British word cream, which itself is a subtle scrambling of the infamously cruel and mean baron "Macer" who haunted John Lackland's dreams.