Pedants' Paradise

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

I went for a car drive today with my son. The conversation went like this:
"This is a fast road."
"No it isn't. The road isn't moving at all. But it's a fast car."
"O.K. It's a slow road then, and you're a dangerous driver."

[Sydney Grew]

delightful misuse of language on BBC Oxford this morning: in a discussion about bringing electric tricycles into the city for tourists, a spokesman for the firm who makes them hoped the city council would not be "too prurient and say they're not for Oxford as we're just about history, as all cities need to move with the times"... Now which adjective that sounds like prurient did he mean to say? . . .

Probably "puristical."

[kernelbogey]

It must have been a couple of years ago now that a CID detective was being interviewed on R4's PM about a crime scene and said that the scene had 'not yet been forensicated'.

I particularly remember this because in the last seconds of the show Eddie Mair read out an email from a listener saying 'Did I just hear a police officer say"forensicated"?!'

[teamsaint]

Everybody knows it's "Forensified", surely.

[Deckerd]

can we allow the word "caveated" as used just now on R4 news ?

........ after the Prime Minister's statement on energy prices, the energy minister's words were "more caveated" [i.e. more cautious]

I enjoy this sort of evolution because they're so clumsy they are ripe for ridicule. The (mostly American) evolutions like 'burglarized' instead of the more elegant 'burgled' and the indiscriminate use of the legal term 'obligated' instead of 'obliged' are a few divertissements.

[mangerton]

Possibly slightly off topic, but you might appreciate this.

One of my colleagues said to me this week, "I used the word "fecund" at a meeting, and they thought I was swearing! What should I do?"

I'm ashamed to say that I suggested my colleague used the word "niggard" at the next meeting.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Niggard does not mean "like a Negro"' any more than "malady" means a tune.

[Deckerd]

Niggard does not mean "like a Negro"' any more than "malady" means a tune.

Malady is a courtesy, shurely?

[mangerton]

Niggard does not mean "like a Negro"' any more than "malady" means a tune.

EA, perhaps I'm misunderstanding that you have misunderstood me, and if so, my apologies. I know perfectly well what "niggardly" means, and so does the person I was speaking to. I was trying to make the point that those at the meeting would not.

Similarly, they would probably think that the expression "getting off scot free" was racist.

[jean]

The (mostly American) evolutions like 'burglarized' instead of the more elegant 'burgled'...

It may be more elegant, but it's no more justified.

Burgle is a backformation from burglar (note the spelling; it's not burgler.)

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

EA, perhaps I'm misunderstanding that you have misunderstood me, and if so, my apologies. I know perfectly well what "niggardly" means, and so does the person I was speaking to. I was trying to make the point that those at the meeting would not.

Similarly, they would probably think that the expression "getting off scot free" was racist.

Ah, yes, I see. sorry.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

It may be more elegant, but it's no more justified.

Burgle is a backformation from burglar (note the spelling; it's not burgler.)

That is true, but making language over-complex brings in an element of clumsiness. An American newscaster might say "they exhibited a 100% mortality rate" instead of saying "they all died".

[teamsaint]

Nice one on CD review today, somebody talling about "increasing the intensification", I assume he meant increasing the intensity.

[JFLL]

Nice one on CD review today, somebody talling about "increasing the intensification", I assume he meant increasing the intensity.

He/she probably also says 'rising to a crescendo'.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

He/she probably also says 'rising to a crescendo'.

That one is really annoying.