When I took Drivers’ Ed oh-so-many years ago, there was a training video explaining the rules of the road. One scene showed a driver backing out of a blocked-view driveway, and the voice over said in such situations, drivers should precede slowly and “give a friendly toot” with your horn to warn oncoming traffic. This, of course, evoked much snickering from the class. I’ve never forgotten it.
I do believe the Friendly Toot Principle originated here in India. There is a lot of honking happening. I think it’s highly likely that our van driver has used the horn more in the past two days than I have used mine in 24 years.
But horn usage has a different feel here in India. Horns are friendly warnings by motorists wishing to pass others, squeeze through tight spaces, or merge into the flow. Truck drivers have painted instructions on the back of their trucks that say, “Horn OK Please” which is in desperate need of some punctuation. It could be a statement (Horn, OK; please) or a question (Horn, OK? please). Whatever it should be, it means that drivers who wish to pass should beep their horns first.
Driving in the States is rather solitary; it is rare that I interact with other drivers, aside from muttering to myself about crazy lane usage or rude drivers who drive too close for my comfort. Horn usage is reserved for those close-call situations when fear prompts me to response with some sort of acknowledgement of another driver’s error.
Here in India, however, driving requires engagement with others. You can’t isolate or space out. All your skills in communicating, negotiating, and maneuvering are needed. Horn usage is expected. And overall, it is friendly.
Long before prescriptivists were lamenting the onset of mobile phone text-speak, there were abbreviations like laser (light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation) and scuba (self-contained underwater breathing apparatus) and USA (United States of America).
Abbreviations come in two flavors: acronyms and initialisms. This week’s Which Word Wednesday looks at the difference between the two. Here are the definitions from The Oxford American Dictionary:
acronym :: noun
a word formed from the initial letters of other words (e.g., radar, laser)
initialism :: noun
an abbreviation consisting of initial letters pronounced separately (e.g., CPU)
Although both nouns refer to abbreviations, according to Mignon Fogarty’s The Grammar Devotional, “acronyms are special kinds of abbreviations that can be pronounced as words, such as OPEC (‘oh-peck’ for Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries).”1Laser and scuba would also be examples of acronyms.
Fogarty explains that initialisms are “often confused with acronyms because they’re made up of letters, so they look similar, but they can’t be pronounced as words. FBI and CIA are examples.”1
USA is another example of an initialism.
How can we tell the difference? I’m thinking of initials when I think of initialisms. My initials are EMS, and I pronounce each letter separately rather than pronouncing my initials as a word (“ems”).
What’s my WWW verdict? If you can pronounce the abbreviation as a word, it’s an acronym; if you can’t, it’s an initialism.
What’s your verdict? Do you know your acronyms from your initialisms? How do tell one from the other? Do you have a favorite abbreviation? Do share in the comments.
_______________ Sources
1. Mignon Fogarty, The Grammar Devotional: Daily Tips for Successful Writing from Grammar Girl (New York, NY: Penguin Group, 2009), 182.
Happy Thesaurus Day! Today is the day we observe the word treasury that was written by Peter Roget, born January 18, 1779. Roget’s Thesaurus was first published in April 1852, which begs the question: What did writers do to find synonyms before then?! I, for one, am happy to be living on this side of 1852.
Another merriment on tap here at The Patch is Which Word Wednesday. Isn’t it fun that Thesaurus Day falls on Wednesday this year?! We get to celebrate the holiday and a word match up all at once.
In honor of the Peter’s birthday, we’ll consider metonym vs. synonym. Here are the definitions from The Oxford American Dictionary:
metonym :: noun
a word, name, or expression used as a substitute for something else with which it is closely associated
synonym :: noun
a word or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word or phrase in the same language
Both nouns refer to words that can be used to substitute other words. Word association is key—you should be able to use one word or the other with the intended meaning remaining the same.
A metonym is the term for words that are more general or loosely associated with each other. The OAD expounds: “For example, Washington is a metonym for the federal government of the U.S.”
A synonym is the term for words that are near substitutes for one another. Once again, the OAD provides insight: “For example shut is a synonym of close.”
Roget’s Thesaurus as well as The Thinker’s Thesaurus are sources to turn to when you need help finding that perfect word to communicate clearly. But I see the classic version as the source for synonyms and the lesser-known version as the source for metonyms. For example, if we look at the word creative, we find the following entries:
The Thesaurus offers 11 options for substitution in its entry:
inventive, imaginative, innovative, experimental, original; artistic, expressive, inspired, visionary; enterprising, resourceful
The Thinker’s Thesaurus offers two loosely related words in its entry:
(1) and/or original adj.:Promethean [Prometheus was the Titan god of forethought, who, based on some legends, was entrusted with the task of molding mankind out of clay.]
(2) as in resourceful person n.:debrouillard [French].
What’s my WWW verdict? If you are looking for basic substitutions to avoid repetitive speech, use a Thesaurus; if you need a witty term or reference, check out The Thinker’s Thesaurus.
What’s your verdict? Are you a Thesaurus reader? Will you celebrate Thesaurus Day? Do share in the comments.
When I was in junior high and high school, TV shows and movies highlighted the awkward lives of the socially inept. These were lovable-yet-dorky characters like Sarah Jessica Parker’s Patty Greene in Square Pegs.
At that time, being nerdy or geeky was not something to strive for. Today, being quirky in a nerdy or geeky way is better than conforming to some standard of cooldom. So which sort of quirky is which? That’s the word quandary for today’s Which Word Wednesday between geek and nerd. Here are the definitions from The Oxford American Dictionary:
geek :: noun
an unfashionable or socially inept person
nerd :: noun
a foolish or contemptible person who lacks social skills or is boringly studious; an intelligent, single-minded expert in a particular technical discipline or profession
From these definitions, geeks are inept but don’t draw attention to it; nerds are inept and lets everyone around see it in all its glory.
Ron Evans takes a different tact his The Artful Nuance: “A geek is any intelligent person with an obsessive interest, as in computers, science fiction, comic books, politics, or even sports. . . . It can be used almost neutrally or sometimes even positively.” 1 (Based on this definition, I could be classified as a grammar geek. Is that neutral or positive?) Evans continues: “A nerd is a socially inept or awkward and often unstylish geek.”1
Does that mean all nerds are geeks, but not all geeks are nerds? hmmm . . .
I found this great infographic (from dailyinfographic.com) depicting the differences between geeks and nerds. It says that people self-identify as geek more so than nerd. I think that’s because being geeky is not socially damaging. You can be geeky but cool. Being nerdy is not as socially acceptable because the nerdiness causes foolish or embarrassing behavior. (Click the image to see the infographic in full.)
What’s my WWW verdict? We’ve all got a little geek-and-nerd in us; it just takes the right topic and a demanding social situation to bring it to light.
What’s your verdict? Do you make distinctions between geeks and nerds? How do you tell them apart? Which do you tend to be? Do share in the comments.
_______________ Sources
1. Ron Evans, The Artful Nuance: A Refined Guide to Imperfectly Understood Words in the English Language (New York, NY: Penguin Group, 2009), 106–107.
Writing a recap post each year gives me a chance to review my blog and remember what I wrote about and what my life was like during the past twelve months. The words I would use to describe 2011 are travel, running, and writing. The three are connected: I traveled a lot, some because of running, and wrote about both.
WordPress sent me the following fun fact about my blogging life in 2011:
The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 12,000 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 4 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.
Thanks for attending at least one of the four sold-out performances! Who knew that so many would sit through random musings about travel, running, and writing?! If you are an infographic fan, you can read the complete WordPress report for my blog here. I hope you will visit again in the New Year!
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Picks of the Patch 2011
As usual, I’ve pulled some of my favorite posts from 2011 as a reading sampler. If you are new to The Patch, you will get a good taste of what I tend to write about here.
Some space at The Patch was reserved for The High Calling book club commentary. We read and discussed The Spirit of Food (a collection of essays) and Enchantment written by Guy Kawasaki.
In May, I was asked to write a guest post for Revive Our Hearts. I love that ministry and the people I’ve gotten to know! What a blessing to be connected to them.
Over the Christmas holiday, I got to visit with my honorary niece (hey Miss Hannah!) who is home from college. She mentioned that she is giving the fencing team a go, and that led to a discussion about the swords. Both épée and foil are common crossword puzzle answers, so I was familiar with the terms and asked which she was using . . . but neither of us knew the difference, so I said I would have to look them up.
Hence, today’s Which Word Wednesday duel (pun intended), the match up between épée and foil. Here are the definitions from The Oxford American Dictionary:
épée :: noun
a sharp-pointed dueling sword, designed for thrusting and used, with the end blunted, in fencing
foil :: noun
a light fencing sword without cutting edges but with a button on its point
Ron Evans gives us more detail in his The Artful Nuance: “An épée is a fencing or dueling sword having a bowl-shaped guard (to protect the hand), a rigid thirty-five-inch blade” and a foil is a weapon “resembling an épée but weighing less and having a flat guard and a more flexible blade.”1
From these sources we can summarize the differences as follows: The épée has a rigid blade with a bowl-shaped guard whereas the foil has a flexible blade with a flat guard.
What’s my WWW verdict? Whether it’s an épée or a foil . . . on guard!
What’s your verdict? Did you know the difference between an épée and a foil? Have you ever participated in a fencing match? Do share in the comments.
_______________ Sources
1. Ron Evans, The Artful Nuance: A Refined Guide to Imperfectly Understood Words in the English Language (New York, NY: Penguin Group, 2009), 87.
How grateful I am to have a few days this week to decompress! I get to read, rest, reflect—three of my favorite R-word activities! It seems that 2011 was in short supply of all these, although some changes throughout the year just may be culminating into a fresh New Year. Let me explain.
Last year, I was blessed with too much work. So blessed, in fact, that the first four months consisted of regular all-nighters. Something had to go . . . but what? After much prayer, I decided to remove my editing/proofreading contract with a communications agency. It was one of those sad but good decisions. But it still took me months to feel like I was digging myself out of the hole I had gotten into. The months of irregular sleep, household neglect, and responsibility shirking towered and took its toll.
Let me stress: God has been good to me. He held me steady through my emotional ups-and-downs and has taught me more about who He is and my need for His grace and love and mercy. My life with the Hubster is sweet, more than I could ever have imagined. I have dear friends who know me through and through, who pray for me, cry with me, laugh at me (in love, of course). I have work that is of the pinch-me-I-must-be-dreaming nature.
Life is good and sweet. I am grateful. But some stretches are rougher than others, and 2011 was rough in the work-and-responsibility sense. But now that I’ve had some time for the three Rs, I feel mentally ready, able, and excited to meet my life in the days of 2012. I think they call this hope. And hope makes me dreamy! This is why I love the start of something new—a new day, new week, new month, new year. New makes me dream of what could be.
In all this hopes-and-dreams discourse, did any of you think of the Walt Disney Carousel of Progress theme song, “There’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow”?!
(Well, that may be a bit too sunshiny. Let’s move on.) Here are my hopes and dreams for the big bright beautiful tomorrows of 2012.
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1. For the Love of God
Fill & Empty is what I’ve been calling my morning check-in with the Lord. Basically, it’s getting more of who Jesus is (His Spirit, His power, His Truth—Him!) in me as I empty my soul in prayer and worship. Each month I plan to take a morning retreat to rest and rejoice in God’s grand rescue of me, a sinner. Both of these (the daily time and the monthly retreat) were spotty during 2011, and I’d like 2012 to be more consistent so that I do not let spiritual drift set in.
2. For the Love of Reading
Reading is a true joy for me, and it was in short supply in 2011. When I had time to sit still to read, I was often too tired to do so. For 2012, I have several reading challenges and goals set. These are, of course, in addition to the other books I am reading . . . :
Bible Reading Challenge: This a challenge of my own making, so we’ll see how it goes! It’s a two-parter. Part 1 is the Daily Drink (reading some Scripture every day). Part 2 is the Sabbath Soak (taking a deeper look at a particular book or passage each Sunday for a month). I’ll write more on this is a separate post in an effort to encourage others to join me.
Classics Challenge: Years ago I started reading some classic literature and decided I would select books according to author’s last name. I’ve read books by Austen, Bronte, Carroll, and Dostoyevsky, crossing off the first five letters of the alphabet. I’ve read other classics covering letters I, L, O, and S. Needless to say, I have plenty more letters to cover. I’d like to read four more in 2012: The Great Gatsby, The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Scarlet Letter, and The Fountainhead.
3. For the Love of Writing
A positive for 2011 is that my work shifted primarily to writing projects. Most of my time is spent writing, rewriting, and thinking about writing. [joy!] I started a weekly column called Mixed Signals for Christ and Pop Culture, which has stretched me in many good and painful ways. Which Word Wednesday is still going strong right here at The Patch. But generally speaking, my blog was neglected in 2011. In the year ahead, I would like to spend more writing time here and possibly give the site a facelift.
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So that does it! Three resolution-like visions for 2012.
What sorts of resolutions are you making for the year ahead? I’d love to hear all about it! And watch for more information about my Bible Reading Challenge—I’d love to have your company.
I got a new word for Christmas. It came to me while playing Cranium with the family. A trivia question presented to the guys’ team asked for the proper definition of the word tetchy. I had never seen that one before, and I wondered if the more commonly used touchy had usurped it. That was enough to give me today’s Which Word Wednesday duel (weapon-free, of course—it’s Christmas).
Definitions from The Oxford American Dictionary:
tetchy :: adjective
bad-tempered and irritable
touchy :: adjective
(of a person) oversensitive and irritable
The words are very similar: adjectives describing temperament or an emotional display. Although I could find no basis for this conclusion, it seems that a tetchy person is grouchy due to anger whereas a touchy person is grouchy because he is overly sensitive to the perceived slights of others.
As for the connection between the two words, Julia Cresswell tells us (in The Insect That Stole the Butter? Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins) that “touchy, ‘easily upset or offended,’ . . . was probably originally an alliteration of tetchy.”1
The OAD tells us that usage of tetchy can be traced from the late 16th century, whereas touchy is a bit newer, from the “early 17th cent.: perhaps an alteration of tetchy.” So the connection between the two words is likely! Good enough for me. Another word mystery put to rest.
What’s my WWW verdict? Some words stick better than others. Why does touchy get more use than tetchy? I think it’s because we the root, touch, is in regular use (tetchy has no familiar root).
What’s your verdict? Why do we use touchy more than tetchy? Did you get any new words for Christmas? Do share in the comments.
_______________ Sources
1. Julia Cresswell, The Insect That Stole the Butter? Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2002), 452.
As much as I enjoy learning about words and communicating through writing and speaking, I can’t call myself an expert communicator. Too often I choose the wrong word and send the wrong message . . . and once it’s out there, it’s difficult to adjust (unless I have lots of grace in the bank with the audience!).
But even the most carefully crafted message can be improperly decoded. In the end, both the sender and the receiver must work together for good communication and understanding. That’s what makes relationship so wonderfully unpredictable!
Today’s Which Word Wednesday match up is all about communication. Let’s start with the definitions from The Oxford American Dictionary:
imply :: verb
strongly suggest the truth or existence of (something not expressly stated)
infer :: verb
deduce or conclude (information) from evidence and reasoning rather than from explicit statements
Here we have two actions related to the communication and processing of information. I think of imply as something I do when I communicate and infer as something I take in when others communicate. Ron Evans says the same in his The Artful Nuance: “Roughly, speakers imply, but hearers infer.”1
In both of cases, communication can be either helped or hindered. If I am implying something without saying it outright, a deeper communication can be reached, if the receiver actually catches what I mean. This is the classic “beating around the bush” form of communication. But if the recipient doesn’t catch what I’m implying, I may assume understanding where there is none.
Likewise, if I correctly infer that someone is implying something to me beyond what the words state, I can gain deeper insight. But if I infer something the sender never intended, the result could be disastrous.
What’s my WWW verdict? Straightforward communication is best, but not always easy.
What’s your verdict? Do you have regular communication blunders? When is the last time you infer something that wasn’t implied? Do share in the comments.
_______________ Sources
1. Ron Evans, The Artful Nuance: A Refined Guide to Imperfectly Understood Words in the English Language (New York, NY: Penguin Group, 2009), 126.
I know, I know. It’s Christmas. The season of love and joy. So this week’s Which Word Wednesday match up is not a good fit for the intended mood of the season.
But the entry caught my eye as I flipped through one of my word resource books today. And after reading the definitions for these two words, I found that I was using despise improperly. eek!! Certainly I can’t be the only one (?). Consider this my Christmas gift to you, that I would care enough to set us all straight. (ahem.)
Here are the definitions from The Oxford American Dictionary:
despise :: verb
feel contempt or a deep repugnance for
hate :: verb
feel intense or passionate dislike for (someone)
It seems that despise is more about scorn and disapproval. I guess that could lead to the emotion of hate, but not necessarily. It may be that you despise something (disapprove of it) but you aren’t a complete hater. It’s also possible that you hate something but aren’t bitter toward it.
Ron Evans clarifies in his The Artful Nuance: “To hate is to dislike intensely but needn’t imply ‘looking down on’: ‘A man may hate another man for running away with his wife without despising him.’ ”1 And Dave Dowling gives us this example in TheWrong Word Dictionary: It seems people either love or hate mayonnaise on sandwiches.”2
My error is in using despise as a fancy form of hate. For example, I would say that people either love or despise mayonnaise on sandwiches, but this usage implies that people may feel scorn toward mayonnaise . . . which seems unlikely. (I’ve never heard anyone admit to bitterness toward mayonnaise.)
What’s my WWW verdict? Despise and hate are not interchangeable. Especially when it comes to sandwiches.
What’s your verdict? Do you think despise and hate are interchangeable? Are you bitter toward sandwich condiments? Do share in the comments.
_______________ Sources
1. Ron Evans, The Artful Nuance: A Refined Guide to Imperfectly Understood Words in the English Language (New York, NY: Penguin Group, 2009), 71.
2. Dave Dowling, TheWrong Word Dictionary (Oak Park, IL: Marion Street Press, 2005), 79.
But horn usage has a different feel here in India. Horns are friendly warnings by motorists wishing to pass others, squeeze through tight spaces, or merge into the flow. Truck drivers have painted instructions on the back of their trucks that say, “Horn OK Please” which is in desperate need of some punctuation. It could be a statement (Horn, OK; please) or a question (Horn, OK? please). Whatever it should be, it means that drivers who wish to pass should beep their horns first.
