Spot the meanderthalNew word: meanderthals
It's nice to be in at the birth of a new word. A chum recently mentioned that he's sick and tired of slow-moving pedestrians who suddenly change direction and cause chaos in crowded streets – he refers to them as 'meanderthals'.
Spot the meanderthal
Spot the meanderthal
In which JD is denied escort services
As subs, Apus and I sometimes need access to websites that are blocked by our employer's "internet use policy".
This morning I was subbing a feature on companies that offer vehicle escort services for abnormal or heavy loads – you might have seen these on the motorway yourself. The feature made reference to the sector's internet forum, but access to this was denied to me on the grounds that "the category 'sex' is filtered".
Thinking about it, I can understand why our internet use policy considers www.abnormalescortforum to be inappropriate... and while I'm not sure what the other type of, ahem, 'abnormal escort', would be, I'm sure there's a market out there somewhere.
This morning I was subbing a feature on companies that offer vehicle escort services for abnormal or heavy loads – you might have seen these on the motorway yourself. The feature made reference to the sector's internet forum, but access to this was denied to me on the grounds that "the category 'sex' is filtered".
Thinking about it, I can understand why our internet use policy considers www.abnormalescortforum to be inappropriate... and while I'm not sure what the other type of, ahem, 'abnormal escort', would be, I'm sure there's a market out there somewhere.
More sentence illogic: if and that
Here's a sentence taken from some copy submitted by one of our writers. What's wrong with it?
Assuming for a moment that a port can find out anything, one port will find out that it has been chosen, not if. All three, presumably, will find out if they have been chosen – I doubt that two of them will be left in ignorance.
However writing 'three UK ports will find out this month whether they have been chosen' does not convey the fact that only one will be chosen, so I simply changed the sentence to:
(And yes, this is all just another excuse to show off the blog's new pullquote/blockquote icon...)
One of three UK ports will find out this month if it has been chosen to run a freight ferry service to Norway
Assuming for a moment that a port can find out anything, one port will find out that it has been chosen, not if. All three, presumably, will find out if they have been chosen – I doubt that two of them will be left in ignorance.
However writing 'three UK ports will find out this month whether they have been chosen' does not convey the fact that only one will be chosen, so I simply changed the sentence to:
One of three UK ports will this month be chosen
(And yes, this is all just another excuse to show off the blog's new pullquote/blockquote icon...)
Headline: energy needs to grow
Recently I was thrown by a headline used on a BBC News Science/Nature story:
Missing the single quote marks, I took this to mean 'energy has to grow inexorably', leaving me wondering how energy can grow. What the headline actually meant was 'energy needs are set to grow inexorably'.
For once, this bit of verb/noun confusion wasn't even caused by a lack of headline space...
Energy needs 'to grow inexorably'
Missing the single quote marks, I took this to mean 'energy has to grow inexorably', leaving me wondering how energy can grow. What the headline actually meant was 'energy needs are set to grow inexorably'.
For once, this bit of verb/noun confusion wasn't even caused by a lack of headline space...
200 x (2 to the power of 5)
A little bit of dodgy maths in some copy submitted to us by one of our freelance writers today:
Um, doubling 200 each year gives you 400 after one year, 800 after two years, 1,600 after three, 3,200 after four and 6,400 after five...
I was talking to Apus and we agreed that this sort of mistake is one of the hardest to spot when you are subbing. Typos, grammatical errors and inconsistencies jump out at you, but dubious figures and illogical arguments can be read through much more easily – especially when you are focusing on the language rather than the meaning.
But I caught this one, so that's OK.
At fewer than 200 units a year, the UK market is small but set to double every year to reach 300 to 500 units a year within five years
Um, doubling 200 each year gives you 400 after one year, 800 after two years, 1,600 after three, 3,200 after four and 6,400 after five...
I was talking to Apus and we agreed that this sort of mistake is one of the hardest to spot when you are subbing. Typos, grammatical errors and inconsistencies jump out at you, but dubious figures and illogical arguments can be read through much more easily – especially when you are focusing on the language rather than the meaning.
But I caught this one, so that's OK.
Pedants rule: important milestone
Just in from one of our charges is news that an event will be an "important milestone". The OED confirms that a milestone is "an event marking a significant new development", so the writer was reporting on an important significant event – as distinct from...
Subbing. If you aren't a pedant when you start you'll soon become one!
PS, yes I know that the phrase "pedants rule" lacks an object. It's been another long day, OK?
Subbing. If you aren't a pedant when you start you'll soon become one!
PS, yes I know that the phrase "pedants rule" lacks an object. It's been another long day, OK?
Journalists eat pan-fried cat
A permanent feature of our workplace intranet is a 'restaurant menu' page outlining the dishes available that week in our office canteen. One of today's dishes made me laugh:
Quite apart from the haiku-like quality of the description, that first line break is rather unfortunate. It's a hard life being a journalist, but surely it hasn't come to this.
Oh, and I was pleased to see the return of my old friend fine herb(s).
Pan fried cat
fish finished
with crushed
potatoes with
fine herb &
garlic
Quite apart from the haiku-like quality of the description, that first line break is rather unfortunate. It's a hard life being a journalist, but surely it hasn't come to this.
Oh, and I was pleased to see the return of my old friend fine herb(s).
Prison and prepositions
Slightly amused by a BBC News story on a prison break. Here's the headline and first sentence:
Is it just me, or does the headline suggest that the thieves stole the ladder from the prison during their escape rather than actually using the ladder in the escape? Surely 'convicts escape jail by ladder' would be more accurate...
Not the actual ladder used
Convicts escape jail with ladder
Two convicted thieves have escaped from prison by scaling a fence with a homemade ladder.
Is it just me, or does the headline suggest that the thieves stole the ladder from the prison during their escape rather than actually using the ladder in the escape? Surely 'convicts escape jail by ladder' would be more accurate...
Not the actual ladder used
Etymologic: etymology quiz
One of the Engine Room regulars emailed in a while back to suggest that we should start featuring occasional quiz questions on the blog, for example giving an obscure word and a choice of four possible definitions for that word. Readers of the blog - that's you - would have to pick the correct definition.
Not a bad idea, I thought, and I filed it under 'stuff I'd like to do on the blog when I get round to it'. But then I came across Etymologic, which is a great online multiple-choice word game. As you can imagine, the focus is on the etymology (origins) of words as much as their meanings, but I recommend you give it a go.
In my last attempt, I managed a paltry six out of 10 - the etymology of 'jerky' (as in beef jerky) and the meaning of 'pilgarlic' were two of the questions that threw me... Let me know how you get on.
Etymologic: the toughest etymology game on the web
Not a bad idea, I thought, and I filed it under 'stuff I'd like to do on the blog when I get round to it'. But then I came across Etymologic, which is a great online multiple-choice word game. As you can imagine, the focus is on the etymology (origins) of words as much as their meanings, but I recommend you give it a go.
In my last attempt, I managed a paltry six out of 10 - the etymology of 'jerky' (as in beef jerky) and the meaning of 'pilgarlic' were two of the questions that threw me... Let me know how you get on.
Etymologic: the toughest etymology game on the web
