Ordinary comes from order, orderly, with the latin word ordinarius. It now has the sense of commonplace, usual, average. Extraordinary comes from latin extraordinarius - out of the common order, out of order. And it has come to mean exceptional, noteworthy, outstanding.
Ordinary by itself is not a popular idea right now. Ordinary living is relegated to the name of support services for the elderly, or reforms for the disabled or disadvantaged to be allowed into the mainstream of society.
Ordinary now is used in comparison with extraordinary - they are inseparable like north and south pole. There are endless lists of ways to be extraordinary - 10, 50, 126, and 250 ways. That's a lot of comparison. What about the 25 things ordinary people do to achieve extraordinary results. Or how to use ordinary things in extraordinary ways. I liked the article as the lead item was a wall with rusty bed springs planted with air plants as a wall garden.
What is an ordinary meal in the world? There is no answer on google. The most expensive extraordinary meals are right there on page one.There are lots of those.
We know what the most common jobs are in the US, but the most ordinary? There's no list.
Here's something - BuzzFeed in which people contributed the most ordinary things they've never done, such as drink tea, eat cheese, watch various movies, watch a game of football, eaten at McDonald's, and so on. Such a mix of things that seem to range from phobias to snobberies.
So it seems to me that ordinary has fallen from grace, and no longer part of our social mindset.
Things we do everyday is the expression now. You can go to a website that lists everyday activities HERE and take the survey. One of the items on the "do everyday" questionnaire was "Fall downstairs". I can't imagine this is something we do every day. My conclusion:questionable list.
But wait! There are some jokes about ordinary:
What's the difference between the Christmas alphabet and the ordinary alphabet? The Christmas alphabet has noel.
Do you know where all the average ordinary things are made? At the satis-factory.
What do you call two ordinary ghosts? Paranormals.
How do you make holy water? You take ordinary tap water and boil the hell out of it.
Yesterday's trip to the Museum for the Fantasy of Trees opening revealed a very large Christmas Village Collection in the basement. It is set up as a fund raiser for Hamilton Hosptial's Sick Children Section. Previously a private collection, it will be touring to raise money for the hospital.
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