Epicentric kickstarts

The brevity of many English words evidently leaves many unsatisfied. Why do people use kickstart when there is not a motorcycle in sight and start would serve equally well? Why do people use epicentre when what they meant to say is centre ? The epicentre of an earthquake is the closest point on the earth’s surface to its centre , quite different. I suppose it sounds more sonorous and important. It is sad to lose good words just because of laziness. Useful little fellows, words, but how we do kick them around. And those who kick words around may progress to kicking people next.

I’m not sure about the last sentence 8~) but the first part, yes, absolutely!

No worse than those who make up their own words.

I think that depends on why they’ve made up their own words, and what the made up words are like – generally, yes, agreed, but there have been good new words just made up, and no doubt there will be again.

I am all for good new words, and for using good old ones. I suppose my rant is against sloppy or ill-informed usage. Yes, I know that language is always changing, and for lots of reasons, but I claim the right to have an opinion on the matter, however ineffectual. Take crosswords, for example, the simpleminded ones (I am no good at the cryptic ones). How often I find myself complaining that what the setter evidently intended is not what the clue actually means. In other words, solving the clues becomes an exercise in recognizing popular misconceptions.
To assuage the itch of my swollen verbal lobe I often look at languagehat and other such blogs.

Decimate is used liberally now to mean anything but ‘reduce by 10%’. One that would really annoy the Latin Master at my school – not that I did Latin – is the use a qualifier with unique, like very unique, the most unique, etc. He would say it is either unique or it isn’t, there’s no degree of uniqueness. Also you hear a lot of ‘either a, b or c’, when either can only have two options. And… the use of ‘of’ instead of ‘have’.

the use of ‘of’ instead of ‘have’.

I like to imagine the chagrin of Latin speakers during the long lazy centuries when amabo became first ego amare habeo and then j’aimerai . Words and languages have histories, as do buildings. Just as it is good to know what quarry these stones came from, and what pretensions conceived that ornamentation, so with words. They are enriched by the times they have passed through on their passage to today. Perhaps future English grammar books will describe ’ve as a clitic denoting a perfected action, to be attached to a pronoun or certain auxiliary verbs.

Why do people use kickstart when there is not a motorcycle in sight and start would serve equally well?

I disagree. “Start” does not necessarily imply effort. A turn of a key, a press of a button, a flick of a switch.
Kickstart, on the other hand, implies putting in some effort to get something going. It’s not the same.

Why do people use epicentre when what they meant to say is centre ?

Because it is more dramatic.

Cambridge suggests that it is the point of highest activity (https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/epicenter) while Oxford suggests it is the centre of something typically difficult or unpleasant (https://www.lexico.com/definition/epicentre).

It’s an affectation if you ask me, but language evolves, so rather than the vague wishy-washy “centre”, using the word “epicentre” implies right [t]here at th[is|at] exact point.

And those who kick words around may progress to kicking people next.

In my (admittedly limited) experience, those with a predilection for kicking people tend to be those too limited in intelligence to even be capable of understanding such an abstract concept as kicking a word.

No worse than those who make up their own words.

Making up words is fun. They can mean exactly what I want them to mean, when I want them to mean it.

Actually… making up words is hard. It’s not just typing random junk and trying to pronounce it (that’s how some companies come up with website identities!). The word has to fit, it has to describe, and it has to be memorable.

I am no good at the cryptic ones

That might be because we are too smart? A neighbour in the UK who was a whizz at them explained them to me. It’s a special secret code that needs to be unravelled.
Here’s an example:

20a As seen in jab, reach of pro miserably failing to meet expectations? (6,2,7)

The clue here is “as seen in”, so you literally need to throw away punctuation and start looking at it differently to see if there’s something that might make some sort of sense when compared with the original clue.

Asseeninjabreachofpromiserablyfailingtomeetexpectations

Anything stand out?

Try this:

Asseeninjabreachofpromiserablyfailingtomeetexpectations

A pro miserably failing to meet expectations – breach of promise (6, 2, and 7).

I bet you just smacked your head on the table, right?

How about:

They come in last (3)

The correct answer is… XYZ.
No, really.
So all of you trying to think of a three letter country code for they who most often come last at Eurovision, you’re massively overthinking it.

I don’t do cryptic crosswords. Makes my brain ache. I’d rather the country code. The answer to which would, these days, probably be GBR.

like very unique, the most unique,

I could hear mom shouting at the radio from the other side of the property when some hapless twerp on Radio 4 used the phrase.

One I’ve heard is “two twins”, as opposed to, you know, three of them.

when either can only have two options

While the official definition of an either…or… construct is to give a choice of two options, it is frequently used to give a small number of options where there is only one acceptable choice.

You can have either the fish, pasta, or a sandwich.

That is the simplest, quickest, non-clumsiest way of presenting three different choices and indicating the the listener should pick exactly one.
I’ll take the pasta.

One that bugs me, especially since I say it myself when I’m not thinking, is “have got”. The “got” is entirely redundant.

I have got a cute little car.
I have got a cold.
I have got a new dress for the prom.
I have got a spaceship.

Of course, it all takes on a slightly different context if you mentally read it as “I haz got”. ;-)

And of course putting the got in can make your sentence fit the rhythm your poetry wants, and it’s completely harmless.

I suppose it sounds more sonorous and important.

I’d just like to reach out¹ and facilitate a meaningful dialog² on some forward planning³ about our current issues⁴
We could go on but there’s only so much bull you can stand in one session.

And… the use of ‘of’ instead of ‘have’.

This derives from the sloppy pronunciation of contractions like could’ve an barely literate numpty⁵ being allowed access to any means of propagating the mistake in some electronic or solid medium.

Perhaps future English grammar books will describe ’ve as a clitic denoting a perfected action, to be attached to a pronoun or certain auxiliary verbs.

Quite probable. That said you can but hope that it isn’t moronised into “of” because that appears to be the direction that the lower balance of the IQ scale are dragging things.

¹ Brilliant indicator phrase best treated as a screaming klaxon bull**** warning.

Oh, I can think of plenty of examples of “backward planning.” Backward, after all, is a word that has varied duties…

I can think of plenty of examples of “backward planning.”

Happens all the time and frequently.

When the excreta impacts the blades of the air shuffler, the backward planning kicks in when the people in charge begin to think “how can I make this not my fault”.

The answer to which would, these days, probably be GBR.

Part of me hopes that Brexit means no Eurovision on UK TV¹

I have got a cute little car.
I have got a cold.

I onder if these work better if you use the the archaic (and USA) “gotten”

I have got a new dress for the prom.

Can we be assured you will do pictures after the event :)

¹ Although in all honesty the prevalence of Trump, Boris and their ilk in the news means I suffer less annoyance if I leave it switched off and let Chris turn it on for occasions where there’s a rock gig on or one of the more entertaining presenters like Jim Al-kalili or Howard Goodall.

I’d just like to reach out

Add “touch base” to that.
Of course, on this side of the wet bit it’s just a phrase that people use so they can get a little flummoxed when you say that random baseball terminology is hardly appropriate for serious discussion.

and facilitate a meaningful dialog

One that I use, that I think I called myself out on in a recent video, was “make a nice cup of tea”.
Nobody ever says “I’m off to make a bloody awful cup of tea ¹”.

therefore their problem is a lack of Tena pads or similar products

If they cared about the environment ², they’d just pee in their clothes. Pads and nappies are ecologically awful.

¹ Lipton Yellow Label. As a Tetley drinker (proper British tea, not that export rubbish), I expect the liquid in my mug to be eternally dark in under ten seconds, with a final brew that resembles coffee in colour. A teabag that’s utterly unable to hide the bottom of the spoon (or, indeed, make the liquid anything more than lightly tainted) does not win any affection from me.

² Oh, whoops, that’s the other topic. Point still stands though, they’re bad. Ecological versions no doubt exist ³ but I bet they’re pricey.

³ It’s been forever since I worked in nursing homes, so maybe things have changed?

Part of me hopes that Brexit means no Eurovision on UK TV

Enough with the hate – it’s about nine hours of weird per year. I bet if you add it up, F***ing Farage has more airtime than that!

Can we be assured you will do pictures after the event :)

Only if I go as Wednesday Addams. :)

I notice you omitted the spaceship.

if I leave it switched off

Between Prime Video and Netflix, I don’t even bother watching Dr Who any more. Eurovision is quite possibly the only thing I’d turn the “TV” ¹ on for.

¹ Digital satellite receiver connected to PVR connected to video-to-VGA widget connected to LCD monitor.

Enough with the hate

>:)

Only if I go as Wednesday Addams

There’s someone in our department who, well, imagine a middle-aged Wednesday. The nursing staff have referred to her as “Morticia” for years but I think she looks more Wednesday.