Words Mean Something

Dedicated to the memory of William Safire. Once Upon a Time there was a great newspaper in NYC that WIlliam Safire wrote for. He was a speechwriter for Nixon. Both Safire and the greatness of that paper are dead. The balance is gone. Both sides of the aisle are not heard. There is no POLITICAL NEUTRALITY there in its "news" reporting. Still, enjoy in the richness of the English language, its evolution and the ease of introducing new words and overusing them.

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

God is dead...

Any mention of God has just been eliminated from the new Democratic platform. Not that I am a bible thumper by any means, but when they change the language, you KNOW there is an EARTHQUAKE underneath. Seven mentions in 2004, One mention in 2008, now ZERO, ZIP NADA. Don't you love marketing? Words mean something.

Of course this goes back to Friedrich Nietzsche.
JA

Monday, July 30, 2012

CLICHÉ

To my mind, the ENGLISH Language has been replaced by something else. Words that are used so often, repeatedly like water torture, especially in an advocacy or political context that they have UTTERLY lost their meaning. Repeated almost as frequently as someone suffering from Tourette's syndrome. Examples below.

Texting is a subject for another day and a whole other item KWIM?
JA

Merriam Webster

Definition of CLICHÉ

: a trite phrase or expression; also : the idea expressed by it

: a hackneyed theme, characterization, or situation

: something (as a menu item) that has become overly familiar or commonplace

CURRENT CLICHES: Sustainable, Education and Awareness, Kick the Can down the Road, End of the Day, Narrative.