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 4 1 2 3 4
#134031 10/18/04 10:49 PM
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 2,154
Z
Zed Offline
Pooh-Bah
Offline
Pooh-Bah
Z
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 2,154
Do you think the humor is too earthy for him?


#134032 10/18/04 11:42 PM
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,788
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,788
You both know, of course, that this only ENCOURAGES him.



#134033 10/19/04 05:46 AM
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 866
old hand
Offline
old hand
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 866
'Retrenched' is the present day equivalent of 'laid off' throughout Australia. I've never heard of 'riffing' or being 'riffed'.

Throughout my 7 years in the people business (recruitment, outplacement), it was critical to stress the differences between retrenchment and redundancy. There is strong potential to erode people's self esteem if these words aren't used carefully. Frinstance, recent retrenchees (still trying to cope with the emotion of the situation) would often say, "I've been made redundant". This can become a process of negative affirmation unless nipped in the bud so we were trained to chime in immediately with, "No, you haven't been made redundant. YOU aren't redundant, you have been retrenched. Your previous POSITION has been made redundant". People seemed to appreciate the sentiment.

stales


#134034 10/19/04 06:43 PM
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 2,154
Z
Zed Offline
Pooh-Bah
Offline
Pooh-Bah
Z
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 2,154
Outplacement??
At my hospital the former Human Resources is now Employee Engagement. Makes me wonder if the retrenchment process is going to be called "disengagement".


#134035 10/20/04 03:32 PM
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,891
B
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
B
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,891
Retrenchement (spelled retranchement in French) means to reduce a portion off off or to supress a portion of something.

This is in addition to the military use. However in French, a retrenchement is not only a trench - or hole in the ground - it is any obstacle behind which one takes refuge. So you can have a retrenchement made of trees, bricks, wood or sandbags and a "retranchement creusé" (the trench).

There is also the French expression "pousser quelqu'un à son dernier retranchement" or "push somebody to his last retrenchement," which means pushing somebody to the end by refuting his ultimate arguments.


#134036 10/20/04 03:49 PM
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 1,692
D
dxb Offline
Pooh-Bah
Offline
Pooh-Bah
D
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 1,692
Bel, that sounds very much the same as revetment (which also comes from the French of course):

revetment

• noun 1 a retaining wall or facing of masonry, supporting or protecting a rampart, wall, etc. 2 a barricade of earth or sandbags providing protection from blast or to prevent aircraft from overrunning when landing.

— ORIGIN French revêtement, from Latin revestire ‘reclothe’.


I guess there are subtleties here!




#134037 10/20/04 04:26 PM
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,891
B
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
B
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,891
Hmmm. I've never heard that use for revêtement.

I looked it up in my Multi Québec (a dictionary that has Québec French) and my Larousse (a dictionary that has France French) and that definition does not appear.

Mind, you my Larousse is the Petit (small) Larousse with only some 100,000 words so it could be simply missing that definition. Where did you find it?

In Québec, revêtement, is an outercovering, or something you put over something else. For example, a wood floor will have a revêtment of hard laquer to keep it from getting damaged. A cake will have a revêtment of icing and a banana a revêtement of yellow peel. The cover you put over your umbrella is a revêtement.


#134038 10/21/04 01:08 AM
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 866
old hand
Offline
old hand
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 866
...just backing dxb up on this one...

Definition 2 ("a barricade of earth or sandbags providing protection...") was the context in which I first heard the word used. Specifically, in relation to the earth mounds forward of warfare trenches.

Off the top of my head, I believe the term has come to be used in the english speaking world to mean any defensive barrier.

stales


#134039 10/21/04 04:27 AM
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,788
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,788
A long, long time ago, when I stared at surveillance photographs of other nations' air fields, we referred to an area where aircraft were "parked" alongside a runway, surrounded on three sides by earthworks, sometimes fortified with concrete or other materials, as a revetment.




#134040 10/21/04 10:57 AM
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
I've never heard that use for revêtement.

Words are like our children, belM. We try to bring them up right, teach them to do good and they grow up, use expressions like "Swell" and "So's your old man" and buckle their knickerbockers below the knee. In other words, belM, "How ya gonna keep 'em down in Paree after they've seen the farm?"


Page 3 of 4 1 2 3 4

Moderated by  Jackie 

Link Copied to Clipboard
Forum Statistics
Forums16
Topics13,912
Posts229,283
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
0 members (), 444 guests, and 3 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 10,510
LukeJavan8 9,916
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