(C) Daily Kos
This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .



Itzl Alert Network: Tuesday, 28th of November, 2023: Words we should stop using. Tell me your gripes [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2023-11-27

Okay, I decided to vent about my word policing ideas.

Let me know, in the comments, if you agree with my pet peeves, or you have different pet peeves, or if your main pet peeve is word police, like me!

Ha!

As you can see by Itzl's concerned look, this group is for us to check in at, to let people know we are alive, doing OK, and not affected by such things as heat, blizzards, floods, wildfires, hurricanes, tornadoes, power outages, or other such things that could keep us off Daily Kos. If you're not here, or anywhere else on Daily Kos, and there are adverse conditions in your area (floods, heatwaves, hurricanes, etc.), we are going to check up on you. If you are going to be away from your computer for a day or a week, let us know here. We care! IAN is a great group to join, and a good place to learn to write diaries. Drop one of us a PM to be added to the Itzl Alert Network anytime! We all share the publishing duties, and we welcome everyone who reads IAN to write diaries for the group! Every member is an editor, so anyone can take a turn when they have something to say, photos and music to share, a cause to promote or news! This is our current schedule of regular IAN diary writers: Monday: Youffraita Tuesday: bigjacbigjacbigjac Wednesday: Pam from Calif Thursday: art ah zen Friday: FloridaSNMOM Saturday: FloridaSNDad Sunday: loggersbrat The little dog is named Itzl.

As I am typing this, the planet Jupiter is high in the sky, and the full moon is rising.

Looks nice.

Okay, in no particular order, here are the words that I have been hearing lately, that have awakened my inner word policeman.

Extraordinary

Significant

Horrible

Multiple

Skyrocketing

Enthusiastic

Concerning

Existential threat

I have more, but let me work on these first.

Extraordinary

I was a Catholic for twenty years.

Biden is a Catholic.

Many millions of Americans are Catholic.

In the Catholic church, ordinary means ordained, such as the priests, who are ordained.

When it is time for Holy Communion, in most Catholic congregations, there are a few parishioners who pass out the wafers to their fellow parishioners, who are not ordained priests. They are called:

Extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist.

They are usually nice people, but there is nothing about them that is, let’s see, what word are we looking for?

They do not stand out?

They are not outstanding?

Okay.

If anyone is describing a person or thing that is outstanding, maybe they should use the word:

Outstanding. (Or great, or excellent, or awesome, or etc.)

Not extraordinary.

I would suppose that many millions of American Catholics would agree with me on this.

Significant

Do you mean important?

Then use the word, important. (Or, a big f-ing deal, or etc.)

Horrible

Do you mean, horrifying?

Like something in a horror movie?

Like dead bodies?

I was horrified at the sight of the following dead bodies:

My father.

My first wife, Pam.

My second wife, Tonia.

I do not like looking at dead bodies.

Horrible makes me think of dead bodies.

If someone wants to say a thing is terrible or awful, try using those words, terrible or awful. For some reason, I just feel that using the word horrible is terrible and awful. (I do not expect everyone to agree with me on that.)

Multiple

How many is multiple?

Until recent years, the only time I heard the word multiple was in elementary school, when the teacher explained that nine is a multiple of three.

Back in the olden days, they would say many, or a few, or a lot. That was not much better, but that word, multiple, reminds me that folks should never just say such vague words regarding numbers of things. Give me a range, such as, more than ten, and less than one hundred. Give me some actual numbers.

Skyrocketing

www.creditdonkey.com/…

At that link, you can see the price of gasoline, from way back in the olden days, up to now.

I turned 18 and got out on my own, living paycheck to paycheck, in 1973.

The price of gas was about 30 cents a gallon.

Now it is about 3 dollars a gallon.

Wow! Gas prices have skyrocketed!

No, they have not.

The price went up gradually, and my wages also went up gradually.

I recall feeling so lucky to make five dollars an hour, in the eighties.

Nowadays, starting wages at Walmart is 15 dollars an hour.

I know, the two do not match, but I never had a car repossessed, I never got evicted, I never got utilities shut off. I never felt that any prices were skyrocketing. Going up gradually, yes. Never skyrocketing.

Enthusiastic

I am excited!

I am excited about the upcoming elections, in which the Biden/Harris ticket will win, with over 100 million votes, while the Republican nominee, whoever it is, will get less than 50 million votes.

I am excited about that.

I am excited about the way we will flip the House blue, and keep the Senate.

I am excited about these things.

I do not have the time or the patience to force myself to pronounce goofy words, lame words, like: enthusiastic.

The word you are looking for is:

Excited.

Concerning

Do you mean disturbing?

Do you mean worrisome?

Do you mean alarming?

Then use one of those words, please.

To me, the word, concerning, means, about, such as, they did a report, concerning the cost of the project.

Concerning means about.

Existential threat

en.wikipedia.org/…

In Letter on Humanism, Heidegger criticized Sartre's existentialism: Existentialism says existence precedes essence. In this statement he is taking existentia and essentia according to their metaphysical meaning, which, from Plato's time on, has said that essentia precedes existentia. Sartre reverses this statement. But the reversal of a metaphysical statement remains a metaphysical statement. With it, he stays with metaphysics, in oblivion of the truth of Being.

I give you that link and that quote to say that existentialism is a philosophy.

Existential is the name of a philosophy.

It is not a word to be used to mean that some kinds of troubles are a threat to the existence of something.

Back in the olden days, nobody used that word that way.

Well, as I said, I have more, but I have rambled on enough for now.

Let me know in the comments, if you agree, or not, and if you have other words to add to the list.

Anyway.

Take care of yourselves and each other. And eat peanut butter and chocolate.

Hugs!

[END]
---
[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/11/27/2208328/-Itzl-Alert-Network-Tuesday-28th-of-November-2023-Words-we-should-stop-using-Tell-me-your-gripes?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=latest_community&pm_medium=web

Published and (C) by Daily Kos
Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified.

via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/