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Okay, so someone has coined this verbification; fair enough. I mean those U.S. defence & security blokes couldn't string two coherent sentences together anyway, right? We expect as much from them. How come many journalists are so quick to integrate such bleedin' awful language into their articles. 'The Guardian' includes 'weaponize' seemingly as a lark, like so:
'The Bush administration is planning to test a space-based missile defence system - the first step towards "weaponising" space' (www.guardian.co.uk)
Others just include such terms in their articles without batting an eyelid. Is it largely the fault of the media that these err, questionable terms gain popular acceptance?
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Sure it's the media's "fault." How else are you going to disseminate words and ideas so widely and rapidly? (is it me, or is there a pattern* emerging in belligerentyouth's threads? ) --- *appropriate, I might add
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Well, when you have a President who couldn't give a rat's ass (to put it kindly) about the English language, and combine that with news organizations clamoring to coin the next "catch phrase" of the year or decade...then integrity just becomes a new brand of toilet paper. Bushonics started out as a joke...but it's really very sad. Just strove for that there "C" average and you two can become Presidentialwise materium. And, now that he's President, the press corps is only too willing to validate this crap. So, now, the Administration is incorporating this malarkey into official releases because, when the public ear gets used to it, it makes Dubya the President sound less ridiculous in his day to day verbal linguistics. Strictly an Orwellian maneuver...don't you get it? Expect a lot more of this "offical" Bushspeak.
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I like your explanation there, Whitman. Maybe they pay the papers off so that quotation marks will be left out of press reports ;-)
Expect a lot more of this "offical" Bushspeak.
I'll shield my eyes in future, so Anna doesn't have to deal with my ramblings! [playing my own paint]
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Oh, don't get me wrong, by. I enjoy your ramblings. I have, however, noticed that your themes seem to be appropriate to your name. For me to do such difficult would be. Now you gotta tell this poor benighted USn what "playing my own paint" means....
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You know what .. I'm not entirely sure. Heard someone say it a while back and I quite liked it. As far as I understood it, it meant 'to act' generally, or 'determine one's own fate/conduct'. Maybe our green-thumbed Commando can recall a bit more?
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As far as I understood it, it meant 'to act' generally, or 'determine one's own fate/conduct'Think maybe it was along the same lines as "finishing in the paint"? Forgive the long post, but i thought some of you might find this humorous. it was written by my friend Duncan a couple of years ago when i alerted him to a message board discussion wherein some expectant parents were trying to decide among Hunter, Dylan and Duncan for their baby's name (and it concludes with the "finishing in the paint" reference): http://www.babycenter.com/tips/10054.htmlI can't speak for the Hunters and Dylans of the world, but with 28 years as a "Duncan" under my belt, I feel pretty qualified to respond to this thread. :-)
Please don't name the child Duncan. I've met only three other Duncans, and we all cherish the relative exclusivity. I don't know what I'd do if it got trendy, as I consider "Caitlin," for instance, to be more a sentence than a name. [Simmer down, soccer moms; I have nothing against the name Caitlin/Catelyn/Kaightlynneh /per se/, but do feel sorry for the kids who are doomed to life with an appositive. My mother, the third Betty in her first grade class, took to spelling her name "Bettye," I suspect in hopes of ditching the "Red-haired-" prefix. It didn't work.]
Indeed, Duncan was easy fodder for the teasing kids in Elementary school and I hated it as a child. Kids will always find something to pick on, though, and there are plenty of other edges to catch. It's not as if you can prevent your child from tripping on the playground, stuttering, or packing on a little baby fat, in an attempt to shield them completely from teasing. Also beyond your control is the emergence, to your child's schoolmates' delight, of a media figure who happens to share your his name. I suspect it's all character-building, anyway.
For an uncommon name, Duncan is encumbered with a surprising retinue of associations. I've found this saves me a lot of time at parties. Rarely, after I introduce myself, the new acquaintance will cite Shakespeare; I'm impressed. Not as impressed as if my name were Aguecheek, but impressed nonetheless. If the citation is of Frank Herbert's _Dune_ series, I'm intrigued, and "Man-at-Arms" from the "He-Man" cartoon series at least makes me chuckle. Anyone who's noticed that virtually every parking meter in this country was manufactured by "Duncan" must be keenly observant, if nothing else. Such people warrant some attention, at least until it is established that they aren't carrying a pad of parking tickets. Should the first association be with yo-yos, cake mix, or donuts, I wonder why my host didn't take more care with the guest list.:-)
Entertaining, too, are the creative spellings of Duncan I've begun to notice lately. Whether this reflects a decline in the advertising budget at Aurora Foods, Sandy's advancing years, or the state of secondary education in this country I can not say, but "Dunken" has recently edged "Dunkin" as the name most commonly ascribed to me by clerks, counter-help, and waitresses. Not as bad, perhaps, as the plight of an associate, one Dr. Gonzales, whose communications from our department secretary come addressed to "Hosa," but surprising, nonetheless.
Be aware, too, that Duncan Sullivan will just as often be Sullivan Duncan, though the same would apply to each of your other choices. If the subject comes up, assure him that his name, whichever it is, is better in this respect than "Phillip Michael Thomas," "Anthony Michael Hall," or "Jan- Michael Vincent."
So, Dorky? Perhaps. But way cool if he can finish in the paint.
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>But way cool if he can finish in the paint
this, most assuredly (and unfortunately), is merely a "sports reference" [specif. used by basketball commentators such as Dick Vitale]. I hope that the same is not true of the subject phrase.
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Admited basketball ignoramus asks...and it has to do with basketball how? The net is not over a specifically painted place is it? I seem to recall from my school days that there was some sort of marks on the floor telling you where to take your penalty shots but not that the area was overly painted in any way. In the middle of the court there was a coloured circle where the two middle players started the game off. (shrugging shoulder emoticon)
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take a look at this ad for a basketball court stencil... http://www.ontimecolor.com/cgi-bin/ontimecolor/basketball.htmlthe rectangular area is usually painted, in ref. to the rest of a wood floor, some highly contrasting color (e.g., one of the school or team colors). this area is the "three-second lane" (from the rule that says you can't camp out in there waiting for the ball to come) or just the "lane" or "the paint". here's another link showing someone about to "finish in the paint". http://www.ebasketballcourt.com/
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