Reins rules over reigns; Dylan and TSE in jam about bang/whimper v. do not go gentle; thus prevails.Reader Kris Gallagher, ABC ABC in full American Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. television network. It began when the expanding national radio network NBC split into the separate Red and Blue networks in 1928. , e-mails this workstation from her employ at DePaul U. on E. Jackson Blvd. to report "an egregious item" she saw in the Chicago Sun Times on 12 Jan. "In 1988 Cappo handed over the reigns of CCB CCB Calcium channel blocker, see there to Gloria Scoby...." Kris stood in her stirrups stirrups The footholds in a lithotomy table and nayed, "As an avid horsewoman, I know he handed over the reins (attached to the bridle). Kings reign. Reins steer." Always pay attention. This will amaze and gratify grat·i·fy tr.v. grat·i·fied, grat·i·fy·ing, grat·i·fies 1. To please or satisfy: His achievement gratified his father. See Synonyms at please. 2. your readers. > A recent Boston Globe sports story led with "Let the games begin ... Boston College's 2003-04 regular season came to an end last night in Dylan Thomas-esque fashion--with a whimper, not a bang." Right metaphor, perhaps, but wrong resource. Thomas may be best remembered for "Do not go gentle into that good night Do not go gentle into that good night, a villanelle composed in 1951, is considered to be among the finest works by Welsh poet Dylan Thomas (1914–1953). Originally published in the journal Botteghe Oscure .... Rage, rage against the dying of the light." But what the Globe writer had in his head was Thomas Stearns Eliot's "Hollow Men," and its droning close: "This is the way the world ends / This is the way the world ends / This is the way the world ends / Not with a bang Not with a Bang was a short-lived British television sitcom produced by London Weekend Television in 1990. It ran for seven episodes, each 30 minutes long, before being cancelled due to poor ratings and a stagnant plot. but a whimper." Kindly reread paragraph four, supra ... copy it onto a sticky note ... put it on your screen. > A different league, a different series, a different lede, but a same-old same old solecism in the close: "a top scout for the Marlins assessed his team's chances thusly thus·ly adv. Usage Problem Thus. Usage Note: Thusly was introduced in the 19th century as an alternative to thus in sentences such as Hold it thus or He put it thus. ...." John Bremner's Words on Words acknowledges thusly thus: "Thusly A barbarous version of thus. Thus is already an adverb adverb: see part of speech; adjective. ." > Sometimes it seems that certain words endure as trouble-makers, and I submit mortar as a prime target. Noun mortar can mean a vessel in which substances are crushed, or a machine in which materials are ground up. It can i.d. various bonding materials used in masonry. But it may be best known as--and here I borrow from definition 3a in my American Heritage Dictionary, 4th ed.--"A portable, muzzleloading cannon used to fire shells at low velocities, short ranges, and high trajectories." Despite the clear delineation--seen in most lexicons--writers and speakers of news regularly misspeak mis·speak v. mis·spoke , mis·spo·ken , mis·speak·ing, mis·speaks v.tr. To speak or pronounce incorrectly: The lead actor misspoke his lines. v.intr. when this particular artillery piece is mentioned. For example, in an evening broadcast, ABC news said that a number of people died when "six mortars struck a U.S. base in Iraq." Not the case. Not. The mortar is a small cannon that fires shells at the enemy. The exploding shells cast high-speed shards of shell casing and shrapnel into the ranks of the opposition, causing the carnage. The Wall Street Journal said on 13 Feb. how insurgents "shot up the bridge with machine guns (and) rained mortars on the troops at the base...." Again, not the case. Not. The insurgents rained mortar fire or shells on their enemies. Those of us in corporate communication may never deal with the awful bloodfire of combat, but when we are called upon to tell its story, we need to tell it right. > The WSJ's Business World column of 10 March commented on the misfortunes of Disney's Michael Eisner, suggesting that "Disney shareholders wouldn't be served by Mr. Eisner ducking out precipitously...." Two sticking points here: 1) gerund ger·und n. 1. In Latin, a noun derived from a verb and having all case forms except the nominative. 2. In other languages, a verbal noun analogous to the Latin gerund, such as the English form ending in -ing ducking out signals that Eisner wants for possession: Eisner's; 2) Dame Usage decrees that precipitous be used for physical characteristics ("a precipitous cliff") and precipitate for actions ("precipitate firings") or, as here, precipitate departure. > A valued stepdaughter who runs with the financial crowd in Boston reports hearing that when a company outsources its IT work to a large technology outfit, there is a process the big dogs use--called transition and transformation--to demonstrate how procedures, processes, and the like morph from the client's way of doing things to the big dog's way. Predictably, conflicts arise, and when this happens, a "process of compromise" is instituted. Also predictably, a formidable neologism A new word or new meaning for an existing word. The high-tech field routinely creates neologisms, especially new meanings. Years ago, there was no doubt that a "mouse" referred only to a furry, little rodent. has emerged to i.d. the new process: transformediation. Yo, how much edgier can you get? (You're welcome.) Alden Wood, professor emeritus at Simmons College, Boston, Mass., USA, writes and lectures on language usage. He is a retired insurance industry vice president of advertising and public relations. His e-dress is WoodonWords@aol.com. |
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