Language

In the world of Inky Mystery, their are a few insults and phrases unique to it. This is the list of all known insults, swears, curses, phrases, exclamations, etc.!

## Phrases and Exclamations

### Common

* Berries! - Attractive or pleasing. Similar in use to bee's knees
* Applesauce - Ridiculous. This is as believable as applesauce is solid
* Horsefeathers - Rubbish or nonsense
* The Surface - A term used by many magical races such as Angels and Demons. Refers to the "ordinary" world where all of the average, non-magical toons live

### Rare

* Flounderdash!- the equivalent of Berries for mermaids
* By Triton's \_\_\_ - Triton is the king of the sea and waters. This phrase is swearing by the sea's royal power and is often used by races such as mermaids
* By the Devils horns! - A Demon phrase. The Devil is the king of Hell and his horns are considered his crown. This phrase thus refers to swearing by the Demon's royal power
* Oh Sweet Celestials - An Angel exclamation referencing the First Tier Angels
* By the Cosmics! - An Angel exclamation referencing the First Tier Angels
* Mercy Help Us - An Angel exclamation referencing the god Mercy
* Order Guide \_\_\_ - An Angel exclamation referencing the god Order (ex- Order guide us, Order guide him, etc...)
* "Hope The Stars Will Light Your Way" + "And May Order Guide Yours" - A polite/formal Angel farewell. The first person says the first half and then the other individual responds with the second half of the phrase
* Exleom - The Demon version of Berries. Means something is awesome or cool.

## Insults and Curses

### Common

* Cuss - The first curse word. Very versatile and usually means something along the line of scum, garbage, dirt, etc Considered one of the foulest words possible
* Dumb Dora - An unintelligent woman
* Sunblazing - Since the sun is supposed to bring light/happiness/life this term refers to the idea of destroying it. Very negative, considered one of the worst curses
* Moonrocks - Lost time and restlessness. The distress of lost peace
* Mook - A stupid or incompetent person
* Palooka - A stupid, clumsy or uncouth person. Also refers to an average or inferior fighter
* Stardust/Starfallen - The absolute destruction of one's dreams and hopes. Their value having lost all meaning. Turned to dust
* Schmuck - A foolish or contemptible person
* Hellspawn- A derogatory term for Demons. A Hellspawn is the lowest of the low. One of the worst possible things to call someone

### Rare

* Featherheads - A Demon's term for foolish Angels. It implies that they are empty minded and foolish
* Stain - A newer word. Used to refer to those suffering Ink Illness, meaning "you are barely more than nothing". Used to insult the sick or imply someone is sick
* Clipped - A derogatory term Angels use to refer to Fallen Angels
* Pitslime - The Demon equivalent of stardust
* Potatorock Business - A Demon term meaning someone is stupid enough to be tricked into thinking rocks are potatoes and buying them.
* Waves Crest! - A mermaid curse referencing the mess thrown to the top of the water by the waves. Refers to negative events coming to light after being buried
* Urchin Cod - A mermaid insult
* Hook That and Leave It Out To Dry! - A mermaid curse
* Son of a Sea Dog - A mermaid curse referring to seals. Seals are known as sea dogs and generally though of as weak prey animals. This compares an individual to a seal, meaning they are weak or pathetic
* --- In The Abyss - A mermaid curse, usually phrased as a question (ex - how in the abyss?). Approximately equivalent to phrases like "how the cuss?"
* Chum Water \_\_\_\_ - Refers to a bait with trap. Usually paired with other insults (ex- chum water traitor, chum water moron, etc....)
* Clam Trap! - A mermaid curse, considered less severe than chum water
* Sun-Struck - An Angel insult equivalent to Sunblazing. Refers to someone losing their mind/going insane
* Chaos's \_\_\_ - An Angel curse considered especially extreme given the fact that Angel society as a whole has aligned themselves with Order, Chaos's direct opposite. Paired with a part of Chaos's body (ex- Chaos's fluffy tail!)
* Wing Clipper - An Angel insult originating from the Angel-Demon War when the enemies of the Angels would aim for their wings
* Rust Ring - An Angel insult implying that someone is an idiot or otherwise fails to live up to Angel ideals. The term implies that their halo is made out of inferior material that could rust or is otherwise a fake halo.
* Demon-Dazzled/Dazzled - An Angel term implying that one is under the influence of a Demon and thus not in their right mind
* Glass Case - A term zanies use to describe non-zany toons. It references the fact that, when compared to zanies, normal toons are much more delicate, almost as if they are made of glass
* High Horns - A term lower class Demons use to describe "uppity high-class Demons"
* Tunnel Crossed - Used by Demons to imply someone is stupid, saying they can easily be lost mentally or physically
* Cave-Addled - A Demon term used to say someone is crazy like one who has spent too much time in the caves and has lost all reason

## Trivia and Notes

### Trivia

* There is a list of the language used in Inky Mysteries and their definitions in the Inky Extra's collection Chapter 93
* Words such as berries, dame, palooka and schmuck were all real terms used in the 1920's-1930's, which is the time period IM takes place in
* According to this Tumblr post by Tap she decided during her creative process that stars would represent wishes and guidance in IM, thus swears such as starfallen/stardust would be referring to destroyed wishes and dreams. Similarly, when it was decided that the sun and moon would be particularly meaningful symbols in IM curse words such as sunblazing and moonrocks were created (Inky Extra's Ch 93)
* In this Tumblr post Tap explains that the word teenager is not used in IM because the word was not in use during the 1920's-1930's
* Tap didn't want to use the word God in IM because she didn't want the readers to get confused with the in universe "creators" (Inky Extra's Ch 93)