Wordsmith.org: the magic of words

Wordsmith Talk

About Us | What's New | Search | Site Map | Contact Us  

Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Page 3 of 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,439
W
wow Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
W
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,439
Ok, so Sam Walton founded them ... but can anyone explain the reasoning behind Walmart for the store and Walgeen for the pharmacy-convenience stores?
wow


Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511
wow, Walgreen's came first didn't it? Maybe back then old Sam had a partner named Green.

---
As for copyrights, General and Electric are two common words. Does this mean the company's name is not copyrighted? Or was it created before this law?

--
And finally, just to annoy Geoff , here's a great example of a corporate name that does nothing to convey what it does and causes problems when you try to look up its website. BellSouth wireless and Verizon (!) wireless merged to form a company called Cingular (cf. seltic). Go figger.


#19495 02/19/01 09:21 PM
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 771
old hand
Offline
old hand
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 771
wow, I'm devoting myself to the pursuit of this QANTAS discount question, and I'm coming up zeroes. In a brief scan of their website, it only took a couple of maneuvers to find the acronym decipher. So if it's that abundantly available, they might not be so amenable to the discount concept. I'll continue looking... that would give me the perfect excuse to go on an Outback camel trek. "But I got this terrific discount on an airline ticket!"


Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 38
B
newbie
Offline
newbie
B
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 38
And finally, just to annoy Geoff , here's a great example of a corporate name that does nothing to convey what it does and causes problems when you try to look up its website. BellSouth wireless and Verizon (!) wireless merged to form a company called Cingular (cf. seltic). Go figger.


I heard that Bell South bought both GTE/Amertech cellular from & CellularOne(cingular). The verizon.com sight says they were GTE & Bell Atlantic.

In this area verizon (gte) & cingular (cell1) are in direct competition. I would be nice to talk with my pals with verizon service for free too.







CJ


CJ
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 819
G
Geoff Offline OP
old hand
OP Offline
old hand
G
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 819
There's an apocryphal story about brand names:
The Japanese had just designed and produced another automobile and it was set to go except for a name.


Here's one that's NOT apocryphal: Back in the late sixties Toyota produced a car for the US market they called "Sprinter." With the Japanese difficulty with "R" and "L" differentiation, it sounded as though they had a car named for a wood sliver.


Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511
I'm a little confused, but thanks for the who's who, CJ. Anyway, the name Cingular still strikes a singular sour note with me


#19499 02/20/01 04:15 AM
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,146
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,146
wow, I'm devoting myself to the pursuit of this QANTAS discount question, and I'm coming up zeroes. In a brief scan of their website, it only took a couple of maneuvers to find the acronym decipher. So if it's that abundantly available, they might not be so amenable to the discount concept. I'll continue looking... that would give me the perfect excuse to go on an Outback camel trek. "But I got this terrific discount on an airline ticket!"

Okay, today I approached the Qantas information desk and, feeling like a right idiot, asked the question. Blank look, followed by a slight laugh and then eyes moving everywhere while they watered ...

I guess the answer is, as I suspected, NO!

Actually, for routes that both Qantas and Air New Zealand operate on (which is most of 'em) you can go to either website and get more or less the same prices. If one moves, the other follows, if you follow my moves.

However, I'm assured on good authority (moi) that if you are an American and you can point at New Zealand on a map or even point at the correct ocean, they'll let you onto their planes in cattle class if you pay for the ticket ... They don't believe it will significantly increase the number of US citizens flying on their planes!



The idiot also known as Capfka ...
#19500 02/20/01 02:57 PM
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,439
W
wow Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
W
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,439
Okay, today I approached the Qantas information desk and, asked the question. I guess the answer is, NO!
----------------------------------------------------
Dear Cap K,
Your abridged comment re QANTAS discount for anyone who could correctly tell the airline's name is above for those trying to follow along.
My guess is that perhaps many, many, many, years ago when QANTAS was trying to break into the international market, it MAY have been true. Lacking a really old, retired, QANTAS Old Timer we may never know.
"Ah, sweet mystery of life!"
wow



Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400
everyone is so serious about all these mergers and names--
did you hear that Xerox, to end its corporate woes is planning a merger with Wurlizter?

or that South west bell was planning a merger with Mexico Telecom?

Xerox is planning on making "reproductive organs" and the new telecom company will be called Tacobell!

(lots more where they came from, and more in the annals of the Economist!)


Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 1,289
B
veteran
Offline
veteran
B
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 1,289
I suppose we are all familiar with the trade names which have entered the language as words, such as "xerox" for "photocopier", "kleenex" for "disposable tissue", "coke" for "cola-flavored soda", "kotex" for "sanitary napkin", "vaseline" for "petroleum jelly", et. al. What happens here, of course, is that a manufacturer dreams up a short, snappy name for his product. The product then becomes such a great hit that people use the trade name to denote the product, much to the chagrin of competitors, and after a while, the name goes into dictionaries as a word. What is strange, or stranger, is how manufacturers come up with these names in the first place. Some years ago the Standard Oil co. which produced gasoline under the name "Esso" (short for Standard Oil) decided its image was too old and stuffy, so they decided to change the name and came up with Exxon. There was a lot of criticism at the time because the new name meant absolutely nothing and looked funny with the 2 x's. They kept that for years and it's still around, although I don't see that it ever helped their sales. It seems marketing experts are still at it, dreaming up names which are designed mostly to catch the eye; they don't have to have any meaning whatever.


Page 3 of 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Moderated by  Jackie 

Link Copied to Clipboard
Forum Statistics
Forums16
Topics13,912
Posts229,271
Members9,179
Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
Newest Members
TRIALNERRA, befuddledmind, KILL_YOUR_SUV, Heather_Turey, Standy
9,179 Registered Users
Who's Online Now
1 members (A C Bowden), 285 guests, and 4 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Top Posters(30 Days)
Top Posters
wwh 13,858
Faldage 13,803
Jackie 11,613
tsuwm 10,542
wofahulicodoc 10,502
LukeJavan8 9,915
AnnaStrophic 6,511
Wordwind 6,296
of troy 5,400
Disclaimer: Wordsmith.org is not responsible for views expressed on this site. Use of this forum is at your own risk and liability - you agree to hold Wordsmith.org and its associates harmless as a condition of using it.

Home | Today's Word | Yesterday's Word | Subscribe | FAQ | Archives | Search | Feedback
Wordsmith Talk | Wordsmith Chat

© 1994-2024 Wordsmith

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5