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Web Nuggets: [Closed] J. Michael Straczynski invites you to a verbal conspiracy

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  1.  (5380.41)
    I wouldn't chide people for their "the thing is"s and "basically"s. Even though I generally speak in a very direct manner, I always listen close when somebody starts rolling out the "basically"s, because that's when they're actually trying to say something they'd probably just as soon not tell you about.

    Conversely, if I find for example that I've tripped up in a phone conversation with a client at my old yob, I'd start rolling out down-home as a motherfucker with some "I means" and shit. Straight up dumping them into my sentences. I'd try to picture myself walking together with the client, my arm around her shoulder, being as charismatic as possible. Language is a tool and if keeping word-count down to a minimum were really that effective why the hell would there be message boards.
    •  
      CommentAuthorLazarus99
    • CommentTimeMar 24th 2009
     (5380.42)
    @ENGINE

    Okay, how about "Cheerio", possibly with a "pip-pip" on the end?
    •  
      CommentAuthorCat Vincent
    • CommentTimeMar 24th 2009 edited
     (5380.43)
    A message to the Conspiracy from Grand Master Straczynski, re. other suggested words and terms:

    No, no, no, no, no, no, no...you're missing the point.

    Egads is too twee, Fortnight is still in common use in the UK,
    forsooth is silly, ye is a version of you which is also in use,
    gadzooks just gets laughs...there's a simple poetry about "anon," it's
    kind of self explanatory, there isn't a direct corrolary, and it won't
    get laughs.

    Focus, people, focus...how can a conspiracy work if everybody's off
    running in different directions.

    Will write anon.


    Of course, one conspiracy inevitably spawns others...
    • CommentAuthorRictus
    • CommentTimeMar 24th 2009
     (5380.44)
    Gooch grab.

    Sadly underused.

    Both in word and deed.
  5.  (5380.45)
    I've used both yonder and tally ho before! anon, only in scrabble, where I had to argue for ages and nobody else had heard of the word :(

    My favourite is "jury-rig." I have had to explain this word to people several times, and once I had a lengthy argument with a friend who insisted that the correct spelling was "jerry-rig" when that is in fact merely a bastardisation that is common enough you can use it and people will get what you mean, but still not the original term!

    I also use "hence," "whence" and "onward!" a lot.
  6.  (5380.46)
    @CatVincent: Americans don't use the word fortnight?
    • CommentAuthorZJVavrek
    • CommentTimeMar 24th 2009
     (5380.47)
    Not really, no. I expect quite a few know what it means, though I am likely overestimating based on my social circle, but it's not actually in use in the USA.
    •  
      CommentAuthorSteve
    • CommentTimeMar 24th 2009
     (5380.48)
    Yea, most of us know what it means. I ran into it in a book in Junior High. But we don't use it regularly. Typically we say two weeks.
    •  
      CommentAuthorjohnjones
    • CommentTimeMar 24th 2009
     (5380.49)
    American don't divide the two units that precisely once it reaches that level. We might say "a couple-three weeks" but not a "fortnight."
    • CommentAuthorENGINE
    • CommentTimeMar 24th 2009
     (5380.50)
    You know, Labyrinthine, that's been killing me for ages, but I just haven't been able to figure it out! I see "jerry-rig" in press and I'm thinking, "that's just wrong." but for the life of me I cannot remember what the correct word is! I enjoy "hence".

    Lazarus, I've got you there! I already use Cheerio! And, uh, cool beans.
    •  
      CommentAuthoraike
    • CommentTimeMar 24th 2009 edited
     (5380.51)
    MY absolute hatred these days is people who insist on using voilà, and then type it walla or some other crap. If you are attempting to sound fancy, fine, make sure you know what the hell you are saying.

    I am all for elegant use of outdated words and phrases, but the point is much more: take care of your use of language, that includes, but is not restricted to, vocabulary. Evolution of language is great, again, but elegant and correct use of language is something to be appreciated and striven for. In my most humble (or not) of opinions.

    Oh, but... can we kill marketing speak, please? I will henceforth use anon, if none ever again uses phrases such as: "We aim to leverage the synergistic traction of interdepartmental out-of-the-box thinking to promote green grass opportunities and blue sky thinking." - I already feel the hatred boiling deep within my soul.

    P.S. BS Bingo!
    • CommentAuthorepalicki
    • CommentTimeMar 24th 2009
     (5380.52)
    @ aike

    Your post was not value-added.
    •  
      CommentAuthorOsmosis
    • CommentTimeMar 24th 2009
     (5380.53)
    It just goes to show you can't be too careful!
  14.  (5380.54)
    @labyrinthine I also had that argument about jury-rig, one of my classmates tried to persuade me that is was jerry-rig, and I had a full blown argument with him in the middle of class while the lecturer was trying to hold presentations. oops.

    I also use "hence" a lot, I didn't think it was outdated, is it?
  15.  (5380.55)
    I really can't believe you Americans don't use 'Fortnight'... It astounds me.

    I get paid fortnightly, but if I was American I'd get paid 'once every two weeks'?
    'Fortnight' is a great word people, embrace it.
    • CommentAuthorZJVavrek
    • CommentTimeMar 24th 2009
     (5380.56)
    Many Americans get paid biweekly. This can confusingly mean either twice a week or fortnightly.

    I just can't grasp combining "fort" and "night" into something describing weeks for actual use, even if I'm quite familiar with the word.
    • CommentAuthorLani
    • CommentTimeMar 24th 2009
     (5380.57)
    I vote "Eureka!!" Let's take this word back from the vacuum cleaner company!

    I'm also a sucker for cheesy '80s slang: "Ace", "tubular", "radical"...and "dude" and "awesome" are part of my everyday vocabulary. I blame the guy I dated in college for getting me to say them.

    Someone (can't remember who) said he had stopped using "gay" to mean bad or stupid. I applaud you, sir! I hate it when people use "gay" or "retarded" as a pejorative term (I used to work with clients with developmental disabilities and/or mental illness).
  18.  (5380.58)
    I love fortnight. It's a simple, clear unit of time. "Once every two weeks?" in exact, messy, overly wordy.
    • CommentAuthorENGINE
    • CommentTimeMar 24th 2009
     (5380.59)
    Wonder where it came from, though? Are nights longer in forts or somesuch?

    @racingpenguins: how, exactly, does one deploy "tubular"?

    What about overmuch? I think it's a word, but I do not know.
    • CommentAuthorLani
    • CommentTimeMar 24th 2009
     (5380.60)
    @Engine - Observe:

    "Oh my god, have you seen the new CYNDI LAUPER VIDEO?? It's like, so totally tubular!" "Like, fer sure!"

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