2008 Banned Words - Page 2

Urbane Guerrilla · 01-07-2008, 08:43 PM

Reference as a verb form meaning "make/making specific reference to" has a certain officialese usefulness. File it under jargon if you must.

No conservative accepts Spexx's second proposition. His perception of the world is simply overly narrow, and he choked it down until it was that way.

classicman · 01-07-2008, 09:35 PM

UG, admit it - even you have no idea what you type sometimes. you put a bunch of words that sound neat together, throw in a little punctuation for good measure and then "post it" for all eternity.

Flint · 01-10-2008, 03:29 PM

To whom it may concern: TAUNT is not the same thing as TAUT. Thank you for your time.

glatt · 01-10-2008, 03:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flint

To whom it may concern: TAUNT is not the same thing as TAUT. Thank you for your time.

My momma taut me to stay away from bad people like you.

robsterman1 · 01-15-2008, 01:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by glatt

My momma taut me to stay away from bad people like you.

Scatologically speaking that is...LOL

Sheldonrs · 01-15-2008, 04:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flint

To whom it may concern: TAUNT is not the same thing as TAUT. Thank you for your time.

Taint? hehehe

Sheldonrs · 01-15-2008, 04:49 PM

It's only a matter of time before someone shoves a flute in their pussy.
This is, afterall, BANNED camp. lol!!!

DanaC · 01-15-2008, 04:57 PM

Quote:

UG, admit it - even you have no idea what you type sometimes.

Is that referring to the verb form of 'reference' or to the stuff about compassionate conservatives?

Perry Winkle · 01-15-2008, 08:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZenGum

VISITATION
As in "suspended the troubled pop star's visitation rights."
What's wrong with "visiting"?

In English, a verb cannot modify a noun, as far as I can remember.

ZenGum · 01-15-2008, 08:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Perry Winkle

In English, a verb cannot modify a noun, as far as I can remember.

Isn't it common for the present continuous form of a noun to be used as an adjective? The Running Man? A weeping willow? The swinging sixties?

Or if you don't like that reading, consider treating "visiting rights" as a phrasal noun.

"Visit rights" would be a case of a verb modifying a noun. And it would be horrible. :p

I just dislike writers using a big word when a diminutive one will do. Actually, to me, "visitation" has connotations of spirits/ghosts/gods etc appearing.

Perry Winkle · 01-15-2008, 08:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

AUTHOR/AUTHORED – "In one of former TV commentator Edwin Newman's books, he wonders if it would be correct to say that someone 'paintered' a picture?" – Dorothy Betzweiser, Cincinnati, Ohio.

Stupid. You can't compare words like that. An apt comparison would be to TUTOR/TUTORED.

"He authored many books" and "He tutored many students" are both perfectly acceptable sentences.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

GIVE BACK – "This oleaginous phrase is an emergency submission to the 2008 list. The notion has arisen that as one's life progresses, one accumulates a sort of deficit balance with society which must be neutralized by charitable works or financial outlays. Are one's daily transactions throughout life a form of theft?" – Richard Ong, Carthage, Missouri.

"Various media have been featuring a large number of people who 'just want to give back.' Give back to whom? For what?" – Curtis Cooper, Hazel Park, Michigan.

To whom? Others. That's who.

It's a useful idiom. It's a bit cliche, but I think the dangling preposition is what bugs prescriptivists.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

'BLANK' is the new 'BLANK' or 'X' is the new 'Y' – In spite of statements to the contrary, 'Cold is (NOT) the new hot,' nor is '70 the new 50.' The idea behind such comparisons was originally good, but we've all watched them spiral out of reasonable uses into ludicrous ones and it's now time to banish them from use. Or, to phrase it another way, 'Originally clever advertising is now the new absurdity!'" – Lawrence Mickel, Coventry, Connecticut.

"Believed to have come into use in the 1960s, but it is getting tired. The comparisons have become absurd." – Geoff Steinhart, Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan.

"'Orange is the new black.' '50 is the new 30.' 'Chocolate is the new sex.' 'Sex is the new chocolate.' 'Fallacy is the new truth.' – Patrick Dillon, East Lansing, Michigan.

These are lovingly referred to as snowclones. They are actually kind of neat if you put some time into studying them.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

BACK IN THE DAY – "Back in the day, we used 'back-in-the-day' to mean something really historical. Now you hear ridiculous statements such as 'Back in the day, people used Blackberries without Blue Tooth.'" – Liz Jameson, Tallahassee, Florida.

"This one might've already made the list back in the day, which was a Wednesday, I think." – Tim Bradley, Los Angeles, California.

Did anyone ever use this phrase without a liberal coating of irony? Maybe it's a generational gap...

p.s. I hate these lists.

xoxoxoBruce · 01-15-2008, 08:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZenGum

Actually, to me, "visitation" has connotations of spirits/ghosts/gods etc appearing.

Or lawyers?

Perry Winkle · 01-15-2008, 08:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZenGum

Isn't it common for the present continuous form of a noun to be used as an adjective? The Running Man? A weeping willow? The swinging sixties?

Or if you don't like that reading, consider treating "visiting rights" as a phrasal noun.

"Visit rights" would be a case of a verb modifying a noun. And it would be horrible. :p

Any native speaker would understand what you were talking about if you said "visiting rights," but I think most would be uncomfortable with it. It doesn't sound natural, like it lies somewhere between "visit rights" and "visitation rights" in it's correctness.

'Running man', 'weeping willow' and 'swinging sixties' would be compound nouns, right?

'The running man' might break down thus (sorry, don't know how to subscript):
((THE)det. (((RUNNING)v)vp ((MAN)n)np)np)np[.subj]

One of the techniques they taught us in my linguistics classes was to use substitution. If you can substitute one word for another without changing the structure of the sentence, then it's likely serving the same functions.

Take your example: "[Someone] suspended the troubled pop star's visitation rights" and substitute 'running.' It works fine, both mean the pop star's right to do something has been suspended. Try to substitute 'visitation' into 'the running man.' I'm not sure about "the visitation man."

Okay. That's not every enlightening. Maybe paraphrasing will help.

"The running man" == "The man that is running"
"The visitation man" == "The man that visits"
"The visiting man" == "The man that is visiting"

"[Someone] suspended the troubled pop star's visitation rights"
== "[Someone] suspended the troubled pop star's rights to visit [something]"

"[Someone] suspended the troubled pop star's visiting rights"
== "[Someone] suspended the troubled pop star's rights to visit [something]"

"[Someone] suspended the troubled pop star's running rights"
== "[Someone] suspended the troubled pop star's rights to run"

Yes, I've officially confused the shit out of myself. There's something going on here that my sleep-deprived brain can't pinpoint...

Aliantha · 01-15-2008, 09:13 PM

The phrase 'visiting rights' was used during the process of sorting out my ex's access to our kids. Maybe visitation is more American?

Clodfobble · 01-15-2008, 10:24 PM

A couple of different dictionaries seem to imply that "visiting" is of an indeterminate length of time, while "visitation" is a single instance of a visit. A "visiting professor," for example, comes for a couple of years, and then leaves, rather than coming back and forth on a regular basis.

But etymology of it notwithstanding, "visitation" is the official legal term in all American custody cases and is almost never used in any other context.

01-07-2008, 08:43 PM	#16
Urbane Guerrilla Person who doesn't update the user title Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Southern California Posts: 6,674	Reference as a verb form meaning "make/making specific reference to" has a certain officialese usefulness. File it under jargon if you must. No conservative accepts Spexx's second proposition. His perception of the world is simply overly narrow, and he choked it down until it was that way. __________________ Wanna stop school shootings? End Gun-Free Zones, of course.

01-07-2008, 09:35 PM	#17
classicman barely disguised asshole, keeper of all that is holy. Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 23,401	UG, admit it - even you have no idea what you type sometimes. you put a bunch of words that sound neat together, throw in a little punctuation for good measure and then "post it" for all eternity. __________________ "like strapping a pillow on a bull in a china shop" Bullitt

01-10-2008, 03:29 PM	#18
Flint Snowflake Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Dystopia Posts: 13,136	To whom it may concern: TAUNT is not the same thing as TAUT. Thank you for your time. __________________ **************** There's a level of facility that everyone needs to accomplish, and from there it's a matter of deciding for yourself how important ultra-facility is to your expression. ... I found, like Joseph Campbell said, if you just follow whatever gives you a little joy or excitement or awe, then you're on the right track. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Terry Bozzio**

01-15-2008, 04:49 PM	#22
Sheldonrs Master Dwellar Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 4,412	It's only a matter of time before someone shoves a flute in their pussy. This is, afterall, BANNED camp. lol!!! __________________ Laugh and the world laughs with you; cry and the world laughs AT you.

01-15-2008, 09:13 PM	#29
Aliantha trying hard to be a better person Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Brisbane, Australia Posts: 16,493	The phrase 'visiting rights' was used during the process of sorting out my ex's access to our kids. Maybe visitation is more American? __________________ Kind words are the music of the world. F. W. Faber

01-15-2008, 10:24 PM	#30
Clodfobble UNDER CONDITIONAL MITIGATION Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 20,012	A couple of different dictionaries seem to imply that "visiting" is of an indeterminate length of time, while "visitation" is a single instance of a visit. A "visiting professor," for example, comes for a couple of years, and then leaves, rather than coming back and forth on a regular basis. But etymology of it notwithstanding, "visitation" is the official legal term in all American custody cases and is almost never used in any other context.

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