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Tue 12 May, 2009 09:16 am
I want to scream everytime i hear a news reader or commentator use the word iconic. Iconic means formulaic, following a convention (as was the case with the religious paintings known as icons). I almost never hear it properly used, but more than that, i hear it used ad nauseum. A commentator referred to a musician's new CD as "icnonic," and proceeded to describe it as "groundbreaking," and a departure from established styles--it was therefore clearly not iconic. I heard a news reader yesterday refer to the temple mount in Jerusalem as "iconic"--but the temple mount is one of a kind, it does not follow any convention.
Back in the 90s, the word being flogged was paradigm. I heard it so often and so inappropriately i began to suspect that those using it didn't actually know what it means.
What words do you hear all the time that just sends you screaming?
@Setanta,
A good read instead of a good book or something good to read.
My personal pet peeve is the constantly misused mathematical term - exponential.
The term exponential refers to a very specific way the change of one variable affects the change of another variable.
It is constantly misused to mean "a very big change" or even a very large (but not changing) value.
I'm sick of 'transparency"
the parliamentary use of honourable, being elected doesn't make you honourable
@roger,
"issues" and 'growing your business"
Those are all good ones, certainly.
Roger, i hate it when people speak as though decimated means a lot of people were killed. It only means every tenth man.
"enormity"
I was watching Ocean's 13 the other day and there's a moment where someone says to Al Pacino, "I would like to congratulate you on the enormity of your success." I will grant that the movies in this series are clever enough that this line might have been intended literally, but I am inclined to think that the screenwriter, like everyone else, was mistakenly using "enormity" as a synonym for "bigness."
@Setanta,
"Irregardless". Not only isn't it a real word, but it seems redundant in its incorrectness.
@rosborne979,
Correction: From the M-W Online Dictionary
Main Entry:
ir·re·gard·less
Pronunciation:
\ˌir-i-ˈgärd-ləs\
Function:
adverb
Etymology:
probably blend of irrespective and regardless
Date:
circa 1912
nonstandard : regardless
usage Irregardless originated in dialectal American speech in the early 20th century. Its fairly widespread use in speech called it to the attention of usage commentators as early as 1927.
The most frequently repeated remark about it is that “there is no such word.” There is such a word, however. It is still used primarily in speech, although it can be found from time to time in edited prose. Its reputation has not risen over the years, and it is still a long way from general acceptance. Use regardless instead.
@sullyfish6,
Quote:I'm sick of 'transparency"
After only a little more than 100 days?
@Shapeless,
I've always used enormity in the sense of an outrageous act or a crime. I'd probably better go check out the definition to see if i'm using it correctly.
Literally is literally never used to distinguish something from its figurative interpretation.
@roger,
Do you know the origin of this word?
Check it out, you'll be surprised..
@Francis,
I recall in Latin, that decem was ten, Francis, so I assume that is the origin of the word.
@Shapeless,
http://mw1.m-w.com/dictionary/enormity
Quote:Main Entry:
enor·mi·ty Listen to the pronunciation of enormity
Pronunciation:
\i-ˈnȯr-mə-t?"\
Function:
noun
Inflected Form(s):
plural enor·mi·ties
Date:
15th century
1: an outrageous, improper, vicious, or immoral act <the enormities of state power " Susan Sontag> <other enormities too juvenile to mention " Richard Freedman>2: the quality or state of being immoderate, monstrous, or outrageous ; especially : great wickedness <the enormity of the crimes committed during the Third Reich " G. A. Craig>3: the quality or state of being huge : immensity <the inconceivable enormity of the universe>4: a quality of momentous importance or impact <the enormity of the decision>
usage Enormity, some people insist, is improperly used to denote large size. They insist on enormousness for this meaning, and would limit enormity to the meaning “great wickedness.” Those who urge such a limitation may not recognize the subtlety with which enormity is actually used. It regularly denotes a considerable departure from the expected or normal <they awakened; they sat up; and then the enormity of their situation burst upon them. “How did the fire start?” " John Steinbeck>. When used to denote large size, either literal or figurative, it usually suggests something so large as to seem overwhelming <no intermediate zone of study. Either the enormity of the desert or the sight of a tiny flower " Paul Theroux> <the enormity of the task of teachers in slum schools " J. B. Conant> and may even be used to suggest both great size and deviation from morality <the enormity of existing stockpiles of atomic weapons " New Republic>. It can also emphasize the momentousness of what has happened <the sombre enormity of the Russian Revolution " George Steiner> or of its consequences <perceived as no one in the family could the enormity of the misfortune " E. L. Doctorow>.
I'm not following how it was misused.
@Setanta,
http://mw1.m-w.com/dictionary/decimated
Quote:
dec·i·mate Listen to the pronunciation of decimate
Pronunciation:
\ˈde-sə-ˌmāt\
Function:
transitive verb
Inflected Form(s):
dec·i·mat·ed; dec·i·mat·ing
Etymology:
Latin decimatus, past participle of decimare, from decimus tenth, from decem ten
Date:
1660
1: to select by lot and kill every tenth man of
2: to exact a tax of 10 percent from <poor as a decimated Cavalier " John Dryden>
3 a: to reduce drastically especially in number <cholera decimated the population>
b: to cause great destruction or harm to <firebombs decimated the city> <an industry decimated by recession>
Words can have more than one meaning.
@Gargamel,
I was literally floored by this....
"Quote-unquote"
"John said he was quote unquote too sick to come in to work."
No, it's "John said he was quote too sick unquote to come in to work."
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