Category
Language
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11.21.02PerplexiaI've got a worrying habit of misreading things at the moment. Reading an ad from a free rag that dropped through the door the other day, while the paper was upsidedown on the kitchen table, it actually saidGet More Out Of Londonbut I could have sworn it read Get Out Of London MoreThis morning, surfing a news site, I caught a glance of a headline which saidBanish Spam Foreverbut I misread it asBanish Sperm ForeverIs there a word for the art of misreading things?
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10.16.02AcronymbleI'm sure someone, somewhere would be able to read something significant and/or concerning into a persisting subconscious substitution of the terms NDA and DNR."We've gotta get them to sign a DNR before we meet..." is a little drastic, even in today's cuthroat internet biz, while wondering if a patient has an NDA demonstrates that the doctors may have something to hide.Conclusion: either I spend too much time online, or I watch too much ER.
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09.25.02Let them write about cakeI once attended an interview in which my fellow interviewer asked the hapless candidate a surprising question. After quizzing her about personal work qualities, experience of working within tight deadlines and what she thought she could bring to such a challenging role, he asked her whether a Jaffa Cake was, in fact, a cake or a biscuit.She launched into a response ("It's a biscuit, obviously"), and then pondered out loud at the name ("...of course it's called a cake...") which caused her to stumble and lapse into silence, unable to answer conclusively.The correct answer, of course (and you might want ...
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09.20.02Wie sagt man “confused” en fran�ais?In secondary school, I took both French and German. For five years, both classes were taught by the same teacher, and took place in the same classroom, straight after each other. This meant that twice a week I got very confused, having ninety minutes of German class, and then staying in the same seat and in the same room in front of the same teacher to have a further hour and a half of French lesson. The first twenty minutes of the second class were invariably a write-off. My adolescent brain simply couldn't shift gear that quickly.As years have passed, ...
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09.10.02The habit it is annoyingMinor quibble:-- My legs do itch -- The sun it is shining -- Birds they fly -- The sky it is grey -- The man he is runningWhat is the grammatical phrase to describe this? Dangling pronouns? There must be some clever grammar person who knows this - and who would rush to correct/mock/ridicule me if I used the wrong term (heaven forbid!), so can someone illuminate us all? I've looked on grammar slammer but since I don't really know the term I'm looking for, it's hard to know where to beginIn any case, it's frequently used in songs, and I find it sort ...
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08.03.02Day in the LifeROI, CPG, FMCG, CPU, EOI, RM, FDO, CEO, TLA, SQL, new-to-world, FAB, pull-tech, push-tech, S&L, modugram, reach, CTR, white-label, white-space, blue-sky, blue-ocean, CRM, DM, S&M, PMT, PST, EST, ESP, USP, ACT, AIM, ASP, B2B, red tape, CPC, CPA, CPL, CPO, CPR, CND, SME, ROS, bottom line, PDQ, ENT, TOA, SO, FAQ, eyeballs, footprint, footfall, lean forward, lean back, walk away, ERP, DMA, NDA, DNR, DBMS, opt-out, opt-in, go, no-go, outside the box, in-house, OPT, ACT, UU, GUI, MIA, T&A, R&A, QA, LA, CA, NA, D, eh?Buzz buzz buzz buzz buzz buzz buzz buzz buzzzzzz. Sometimes I feel like a bloody ...
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08.02.02SyllablesOver two years ago, I posted on this site about trying to find the longest single-syllable word in the English (or any other, come to that) language.The best I could come up with was strengths, coming in at a not-too-shabby nine letters.Now, out of the blue, reader Craig R has written in with screeched (also nine) and squirrelled (a mighty eleven). Now, I'm not convinced about the latter, because the way I say it, at least, it has two syllables - skwi-ruld, but I'm interested to discover whether you can do better (or equal) nine letters for a single-syllable word, ...
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07.22.02Maybe it’s big-horse I’m a LondonerI realised yesterday that I have spent most of my life in London, from toddlerhood to 16, then from 24 until now. For the first three years of that eight year gap, while I was living in Canada, Scotland, Liverpool, Scotland again, Spain, Bolivia, more Scotland, Liverpool again, Manchester and elsewhere, London remained the family base. And not just London in general, either - specific bits, corralled into the west and slightly north, bordered by the Cromwell Road, Finchley Road, East Acton and Golder's Green. Since I returned independently to the city after years away, and after my family had ...
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05.22.02Conversation overheard earlierHer: "God, it's just mad this week."Him: "Never a dull moment in your bit of the building, eh?"Her: "I know! No wonder I'm so spunked up these days..."Excuse me? Is this a real phrase? I'm utterly mystified... Also:World Cup. Not Wewd Cup.Tooing and froing. Not toing and throwing.*seethe*
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04.17.02April in ParisRight then, I'm off to Paris. Be good, don't tease the cat, lights out at half nine and don't answer the door to any strange wolves. A bientot! Are you impressed? I wouldn't be, if I were you, honestly. My knowledge of French is almost entirely limited to 1) bilingual bottles of ketchup (Catsup tomate!) and emergency exit signs (sortie d'emergence!) - the product of a visual memory and a college education in Canada 2) the everyday exploits of the simple folk of La Rochelle - Chantal, Marie-France, Jean-Paul, Hugo and the rest - as recounted in horrifying detail in the Tricolor series of French ...
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