Phrases/words that set your teeth on edge.

[cloughie]

As did the Four Tops: Reach Out (Reach Out For Me) in 1967.

The H-D-H song but not the B-D song!

[johncorrigan]

Holland–Dozier–Holland to you too!

I heard a DJ in recent years say that he had to interview the brothers Brian and Eddie Holland. He was told that one brother had had a sleepless night with toothache - he said he wasn't sure which one, but when he interviewed them he would be sure to find out which was the dozier Holland.

[cloughie]

I heard a DJ in recent years say that he had to interview the brothers Brian and Eddie Holland. He was told that one brother had had a sleepless night with toothache - he said he wasn't sure which one, but when he interviewed them he would be sure to find out which was the dozier Holland.

I heard an interview with Brian and Eddie Holland which was interesting in that their songwriting was discussed but there was no mention of Lamont Dozier - did they have a bust up - well it appears so:

https://eu.freep.com/story/entertainment/music/brian-mccollum/2019/11/24/lamont-dozier-songwriter-motown-book-interview-sweet/2578564001/

[Pabmusic]

I suppose this (from a usually serious website) is important, but I'm blowed if I understand quite what it means:

"Emmy award-winning actress and trans rights activist Laverne Cox is leveraging her incredibly intersectional lived experience to demand diversity in medical research in the piece below."

[oddoneout]

I suppose this (from a usually serious website) is important, but I'm blowed if I understand quite what it means:

"Emmy award-winning actress and trans rights activist Laverne Cox is leveraging her incredibly intersectional lived experience to demand diversity in medical research in the piece below."

Sounds painful, but I think all it means is that she's using personal experience.

I sometimes wonder to what extent bad decisions are made because the verbiage the decision-makers are supposed to plough through before making the decision is so offputting/confusing/plain unintelligible that important facts are completely missed because much/most of the text simply isn't read. So long as key phrases and on trend words appear on skim through it is assumed the substance is OK.

[Pulcinella]

In an email just received from my old college, the new Principal describes a former (female) student as an alum.
I always thought that alum was an aluminium potassium sulphate (particularly useful as an ingredient of a styptic pencil), but presumably the college is now 'reaching out' to those who don't want to identify as an alumnus or an alumna.

Whatever next?

[Flay]

to those who don't want to identify as an alumnus or an alumna.

Whatever next?

Are their children aluminions?

[Bryn]

In an email just received from my old college, the new Principal describes a former (female) student as an alum.
I always thought that alum was an aluminium potassium sulphate (particularly useful as an ingredient of a styptic pencil), but presumably the college is now 'reaching out' to those who don't want to identify as an alumnus or an alumna.

Whatever next?

From the Merriam-Webster definition:

Is it acceptable to use alum for alumnus or alumna?

Noun (2)

The words that we have used to refer to people who have attended or graduated from a school, college, or university have changed a bit over the past several centuries. Traditionally, the word alumnus has been used to refer to a single male, whereas alumna has been used for a single woman. Initially, the plural forms were alumni to refer to multiple men (or multiple men and women) and alumnae for multiple women. A little over a hundred years ago the shortened form of alum began to be used to describe a graduate or past attendee of either gender. Although many people feel that alum is informal, it is in increasing use, and we appear to be moving toward a greater acceptance of the word. The plural of alum is alums.

[Pulcinella]

From the Merriam-Webster definition:

Interesting: thanks!
Yes: I see from my (hardback) Merriam-Webster that the use dates from 1910.
I didn't think of looking it up anywhere, imagining it to be a C21 woke-era neologism.
I'd better get used to being an alum then.

50 years this year since I went up to college, and of course celebrations are on hold: possibly no great loss, as college sherry was always grim, and I don't imagine that it has improved much in the meantime!

[Stanfordian]

In an email just received from my old college, the new Principal describes a former (female) student as an alum.
I always thought that alum was an aluminium potassium sulphate (particularly useful as an ingredient of a styptic pencil), but presumably the college is now 'reaching out' to those who don't want to identify as an alumnus or an alumna.

Whatever next?

Maybe Latin prowess is the reason the new principal got the job!

Like many buzz words or phrases the usage of 'reaching out' is certainly on the rise.

[Bryn]

Interesting: thanks!
Yes: I see from my (hardback) Merriam-Webster that the use dates from 1910.
I didn't think of looking it up anywhere, imagining it to be a C21 woke-era neologism.
I'd better get used to being an alum then.

50 years this year since I went up to college, and of course celebrations are on hold: possibly no great loss, as college sherry was always grim, and I don't imagine that it has improved much in the meantime!

It was a new one on me, too. Perhaps it offers a degree of protection against Internet flaming?

[Serial_Apologist]

I suppose this (from a usually serious website) is important, but I'm blowed if I understand quite what it means:

"Emmy award-winning actress and trans rights activist Laverne Cox is leveraging her incredibly intersectional lived experience to demand diversity in medical research in the piece below."

I suppose it could be a typo of intersexual, though of course I could be fringing on non-PC territory here...

Leverage/leveraging always annoys me, ever coming across it some years ago used in financial jargon - when one was pretty sure a perfectly acceptable word existed already - in order to keep the hoi polloi out.

[gurnemanz]

From the Merriam-Webster definition: "alum ... used to describe a graduate or past attendee of either gender ..."

Disturbing that such an august source uses the dubious "attendee" for someone who attends. The suffix "ee", based on the French past participle ending, denotes having the verb done to you, as in "employee" as against "employer", some one who does the employing. Likewise, "payee", "interviewee" etc. A person cannot be attended. "Standee" is an even worse aberration of this type.

PS I thought Alum referred to a rather good actor (may be spelt differently).

[teamsaint]

I suppose it could be a typo of intersexual, though of course I could be fringing on non-PC territory here...

Leverage/leveraging always annoys me, ever coming across it some years ago used in financial jargon - when one was pretty sure a perfectly acceptable word existed already - in order to keep the hoi polloi out.

Just out of interest S-A, what word /term would you use instead of leverage ?

[Bryn]

Disturbing that such an august source uses the dubious "attendee" for someone who attends. The suffix "ee", based on the French past participle ending, denotes having the verb done to you, as in "employee" as against "employer", some one who does the employing. Likewise, "payee", "interviewee" etc. A person cannot be attended. "Standee" is an even worse aberration of this type.

PS I thought Alum referred to a rather good actor (may be spelt differently).

"standee" in notices on buses, regarding the limit on the number of passengers permitted to stand, always annoyed me.