Category Archives: English

Let’s get “fiscal, fiscal”

Lawmaker snaps, files bill demanding fellow lawmakers quit using ‘physical’ when they mean ‘fiscal’

Source: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/3/31/1508629/-Lawmaker-snaps-files-bill-demanding-fellow-lawmakers-quit-using-physical-when-they-mean-fiscal

Thank you to the Riverfront Times for bringing us this tidbit from the Missouri legislature:

A state rep from St. Louis, unable to take it any longer, has filed a resolution asking her colleagues in the House of Representatives to please, please stop using the word “physical” when talking about Missouri’s fiscal needs.

“Whereas, on occasion, members of the Missouri House of Representatives have used the word ‘physical’ instead of ‘fiscal’ when referring to fiscal matters including, but not limited to, fiscal review and fiscal notes…” begins House Resolution 1220, offered by Rep. Tracy McCreery.

McCreery tells the Riverfront Times that “fiscal” becomes “physical” almost every single day in the Missouri legislature and she just can’t take it anymore:

The sound of lawmakers screwing up even basic terms as they debate critical financial decisions has become like “nails on a chalkboard” to McCreery and a few of her grammatically sound colleagues.

“There are a lot of reasons to be depressed about the Missouri Legislature, and this just kind of piles on,” she says.

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Filed under 2016, English, right word

Words to be Wary of

In an effort to help those who may have been hit by the onslaught of marketing slurry that passes through the English language, every now and then, I will post some words or phrases that are absurd, unless you are in marketing, sales, or some other line of work where junking up the language is simply a way of life. To start, I submit two:

Free Gift. By its definition, a gift is free, at least to the recipient. If somebody gives you a gift that’s not free, then it is not a gift.

Truly Unique. Can something be falsely unique? Unique means one of a kind. Doesn’t matter if it is a good one of a kind, or a bad one of a kind, it is a one of a kind. If it is unique, by its definition it is true to itself because it is one of a kind.

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Filed under absurdity, English, language, words, writer, writing, writing tip