Less emissions. More driving pleasure.

Chris Frumplington emailed the blog to draw our attention to BMW's new slogan, "Less emissions. More driving pleasure."



This particular use of 'less' with a countable noun doesn't offend me personally, but I'm surprised that such a large corporation as BMW isn't more conservative in its language use. (My, ahem, Reader's Digest Oxford Complete Wordfinder describes 'less + countable noun' as "disputed".)

Google gives 64,000 hits for "less emissions" and 93,000 for "fewer emissions" - far closer than I would have expected. I suppose it might be because, although 'emission' is a countable noun, we rarely talk about 'one emission' or indeed any specific number of emissions.


AskOxford on less vs fewer

JD gets by in Portuguese – with added melon

Long-time readers of this blog may recall my adventures learning Spanish last year with the misleadingly named 'Instant Spanish' book and CD set. This year, as I am off to the island of Madeira next week, I have been learning some Portuguese phrases from the rather less ambitiously titled 'Get by in Portuguese' book and CD set.

So far, I've learnt the first 30 phrases featured in 'Get By In Portuguese' (a poor performance, I know, but I've been busy with other things!). You may be surprised to learn that among those 30 phrases are:

• What is the exchange rate for the pound?

• I would like a melon.

• Is there a lift?

These three phrases might appear to be useful for any scenario in which I exchange some pounds for euros in order to buy a melon and then need to take that melon up a tall building.

However as numbers have not figured (sorry!) in the first 30 phrases, except for the Portuguese for 'twenty', it is highly unlikely that I would understand any answer to the question 'what is the exchange rate for a pound?'. Unless, of course, the exchange rate is twenty euros to the pound, in which case I would be able to afford many, many melons.

There is also the fact that lifts are, as a whole, well signposted and easy to spot. I can't recall any instance when I have needed to ask 'is there a lift?' in English, let alone Portuguese.

But I do like melons, so it's not all bad news. (The phrase 'I'd like one of those' might have a wider application than 'I'd like a melon', however.)

MP takes up arms in House of Commons

According to recent raw copy:

Shadow Transport Secretary Theresa Villiers has taken up arms on behalf of the road haulage industry in the House of Commons.

I do hope that's a metaphorical rather than literal taking up of arms (although others may not be of the same opinion).

I changed it – just because it threw me on first read. I wonder how common it is to use 'take up arms' metaphorically...




Update 21/07: A very famous use of 'take up arms' (or rather, 'take arms') has just occurred to me, from Hamlet's most famous speech:

To be, or not to be: that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them?

'Sea of troubles' is definitely metaphorical here, but 'take arms'? Not sure.

A swath of swathing changes

From recent raw copy (emphasis is mine):

Taking legislation as a suitable solution, the puzzling bit for the likes of Allen is Defra’s Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme (LATS). Introduced to make swathing changes in English municipal waste policy, the introduction is set to help meet targets for reduction of landfill deposited biodegradable waste under Article 5(2) of the EC Landfill Directive.

Swathing changes? I've heard of sweeping changes, or even a swath(e) of changes (the noun having two commonly accepted spellings), but I've never heard of swathing changes.

The Concise OED does not give 'swathing', although it gives the noun 'swath(e)', "a row or line of grass, corn, etc. as it falls when mown or reaped" and the verb 'swathe', "wrap in several layers of fabric". I am assuming the 'swathing' of 'swathing changes' is related to the former rather than the latter. So why no verb 'swath(e)', meaning something along the lines of 'mow' or 'cut a swath(e)'?

"What are you doing, darling?"
"I'm swathing the back garden."

Interestingly, a quick Google search for "swathing changes" results in 58 hits, so it's an uncommon but not unknown little phrase. In comparison, "swathe of changes" gets 1,270 hits and "swath of changes" gets 12,000. "Cut a swathe" gets 28,900 hits and "cut a swath" gets 94,000. So it looks like 'swath' is the more popular spelling.

I like 'swathing changes', but I changed it anyway.

Literally going to the dogs

Tomorrow there's a work outing to Wimbledon Greyhound Stadium. So I can safely say that this office is literally going to the dogs...


Literally, A Web Log

Michele with an accent

Yesterday my girlfriend and I were guests at Michele and Ian's wedding.

While waiting for the bride to make her entrance, I was flicking through the order of service and noticed that Michele was actually Michèle.

"I didn't know Michèle had an accent," I whispered to my girlfriend.

"Yes, she's from South Africa," she replied.

"Is that how they spell Michele in South Africa?" I asked.

Cue much confusion on both sides...

Forget LiLo, Boris Johnson is BoJo

I've just noticed that the Daily Mirror occasionally refers to London mayor Boris Johnson (pictured) as BoJo, in much the same way as some other publications refer to Lindsay Lohan as LiLo.

BoJo - just brilliant. It reminds me of Bozo the Clown, with added connotations of 'bodge'. Some would say that's very appropriate...


I've written about Boris Johnson on this blog before.

Right repercussions across the industry

So even subs need subs. Somehow I managed to write this on one of our work blogs:

There are a wealth of legal stories on the site at the moment, several of which are bound to have right repercussions across the industry

Of course I'd meant 'repercussions right across the industry', but the mistake made me sound like I was writing in a regional dialect...

Anyone want an "Israel GPS Navigation System"?

The Engine Room received a great junk/spam email yesterday - offering us an "Israel GPS Navigation System" with "Interface & Voice Guidance in English" for only $349. It's not exactly an impulse purchase. After all, to buy this product I assume I would have to:

a) be an English speaker
b) be planning a trip to Israel in the near future
c) be planning to drive while in Israel
d) know beforehand that I would require a GPS system while in Israel
e) be willing to buy a GPS system (as opposed to, say, renting a car that has one)
f) trust a company that sends unsolicited emails full of Initial Caps & Ampersands
g) trust a company that doesn't offer PayPal, and that doesn't advertise its own website in its emails
g) have $349 dollars spare

But wait - according to the email, "Additional Discounts Available for Bulk Orders". So maybe I should go into business retailing these things.

Anyone planning a trip to Israel?