Pedants' Paradise

[oddoneout]

From the local rag's TV listings

Alice Roberts visits the excavation of one of Henry VIII's lost forts in Hull

So how many forts in Hull did he have?

[Serial_Apologist]

From the local rag's TV listings

So how many forts in Hull did he have?

"Alice Roberts visits Hull to see/witness/experience the excavation of one of Henry VIII's lost forts" would be more accurate. However it involves more words to read, and, as everybody knows, time is money.

[french frank]

"Alice Roberts visits Hull to see/witness/experience the excavation of one of Henry VIII's lost forts" would be more accurate. However it involves more words to read, and, as everybody knows, time is money.

Fewer words for '"Alice Roberts visits the Hull site of one of Henry VIII's lost forts" .

[smittims]

For me the troublesome word is 'lost'. Leave it out and it doesn't sound too ambiguous. I think it's there for the same reason that so many TV documentaries have the word 'secrets ' in the title. Theyre not 'secrets', just things not many people know about. The fort wasn't lost; it hadn't been mislaid; it didn't go anywhere. But it sounds more exciting than ' the remains of a fort no-one's bothered with until now'.

[Serial_Apologist]

For me the troublesome word is 'lost'. Leave it out and it doesn't sound too ambiguous. I think it's there for the same reason that so many TV documentaries have the word 'secrets ' in the title. Theyre not 'secrets', just things not many people know about. The fort wasn't lost; it hadn't been mislaid; it didn't go anywhere. But it sounds more exciting than ' the remains of a fort no-one's bothered with until now'.

Mind you, I'd visit Alice Roberts anytime.

[Pulcinella]

Not only the Grauniad that makes mistakes.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/martin-lewis-smart-metre-cost-b2614173.html

MoneySavingExpert (MSE) founder Martin Lewis has issued a warning over smart metres, adding that “too many don’t work” and “word of mouth is often saying ‘don’t bother’”.

[Serial_Apologist]

I have just found out the meaning of "baby shower" - one of those expressions (is it recent?) that comes up occasionally (like, on a TV show), prompting one to go to the latest dictionary.

To be honest, I had assumed it to refer to the "breaking of waters" announcing the immediately impending arrival of said baby!


Oh yes - and twens are not people in their twenties, but twins, to a Glaswegian!

[smittims]

I think 'baby shower' is part of the Americanisation of English life, along with Halloween merchandise, which seems to have gone over the top this year. , and 'Christmas Eve boxes' which are for parents to silence the impatiience fo children who cannot wait for Christmas Day. And I hope no-one here is a fan of couples 'renewing' (i.e. restating in public) their marriage vows on their silver or golden anniversaries. For me that ranks with putting up your Xmas lights in November or wearing a poppy from October 1st. Do they still do that on BBC1? I haven't dared to look.

[Old Grumpy]

I have just found out the meaning of "baby shower" - one of those expressions (is it recent?) that comes up occasionally (like, on a TV show), prompting one to go to the latest dictionary.

To be honest, I had assumed it to refer to the "breaking of waters" announcing the immediately impending arrival of said baby!


Oh yes - and twens are not people in their twenties, but twins, to a Glaswegian!

As would not be more like twuns from a Glaswegian?

[Serial_Apologist]

I think 'baby shower' is part of the Americanisation of English life, along with Halloween merchandise, which seems to have gone over the top this year. , and 'Christmas Eve boxes' which are for parents to silence the impatiience fo children who cannot wait for Christmas Day. And I hope no-one here is a fan of couples 'renewing' (i.e. restating in public) their marriage vows on their silver or golden anniversaries. For me that ranks with putting up your Xmas lights in November or wearing a poppy from October 1st. Do they still do that on BBC1? I haven't dared to look.

Renew their vows???

[oddoneout]

The caption to an aerial picture of holiday park caravans affected by floodwater says they are submerged by floodwater, which to me implies they are underwater. But they are not - the water comes up to just below the decks around their exteriors, and evidently hasn't been any higher as all the items(furniture, plant pots etc) are still in place. Surely submerged isn't a difficult word to understand the meaning of? If drama was wanted perhaps the caption could have read "Floodwater inundates holiday park".

[LMcD]

The caption to an aerial picture of holiday park caravans affected by floodwater says they are submerged by floodwater, which to me implies they are underwater. But they are not - the water comes up to just below the decks around their exteriors, and evidently hasn't been any higher as all the items(furniture, plant pots etc) are still in place. Surely submerged isn't a difficult word to understand the meaning of? If drama was wanted perhaps the caption could have read "Floodwater inundates holiday park".

'Normally dry parts of caravans get wet' - potentially ambiguous but also more accurate?

[smittims]

That reminds me of an article about the late Queen when she had reached one of her anniversaries and was compared with Queen Victoria. It said that they were similar in that when they were born 'neither was destined to be Queen'. On the contrary; they were both destined to be Queen, i.e. that is what eventually happened. They were not expected to be Queen, perhaps, though in Victoria's case it was more of a certainty than in Elizabeth's.

[Old Grumpy]

Rather depends whether one believes in destiny, doesn't it? Strictly, at the time of their births no-one could say with confidence that either was destined to be Queen. One thing's for certain, they both reached their destination!

[kernelbogey]

Hacks
The Guardian uses this term, for example in the phrase Money Hacks, explained as 'Tips and tricks to boost your finances'. Try as I may, I have been unable to comprehend this term as so used. (They also have 'Beauty hacks'.) I see the heading 'Money hacks' to a piece and am unable to connect the word with this new meaning. Maybe this is just age; but I suspect something else is blocking my understanding of the term.