Grammar
Misnomer is "an incorrect or unsuitable name or term for a person or thing". A classic example of this phenomenon is “koala bear”, in reality it’s not a bear.
In my everyday life I see less extreme, but more personally irksome, examples of misnomers. Why do people insist on using the word express when something is patently not. Microwaveable rice can be nuked in less than two minutes and quite deservedly earns the title express. Trains that travel in excess of 100mph and make relatively few stops also earn the express title. However, the Pizza Express restaurant that took 45 minutes to bring me my garlic bread in a relatively empty restaurant should have the word express immediately removed from their signage and simply be called "Pizza".
Tesco Express stores also vary greatly in terms of how quickly you get served. Similarly with express checkouts at supermarkets. Some supermarkets are aware of this fact and refer to these checkout lanes as "basket only". Others mark theirs with a sign saying something along the lines of "10 items or less". There is always someone who will have eleven or twelve items and spoil it for the rest of us. The pedantic amongst you will know that the correct phrase is "10 items or fewer". This is a grammatical sin not quite as grave as the so-called grocer's apostrophe (where the sign maker puts in apostrophes for no good reason, e.g. "Cabbage's £1 each")
Mild confusion can arise from other descriptions. I am always disappointed by the term "All-day breakfast" when I find that it only takes me five to ten minutes to eat it. Ah, I see now, it is available all day.
One thing that always makes me chuckle is the sign "Family Butcher". Instead of visions of a family-friendly butcher I imagine a wild-eyed madman with a meat-cleaver chasing a family round their living room.
There are government bodies that exist solely to make sure that we are not misled by advertisers. They randomly sample boxes of cereals and weigh them to make sure we’re not being cheated and send burgers to laboratories to determine how much meat they really contain. Their concern for our welfare does not yet extend to borderline abuses of the word “express”. If a well-paid job arises for a pizza-delivery time-checker I’ll be first in the queue to apply.
- Future Perfect How To Use
Contents → Grammar in Dialogues → How to Use Past Perfect Read and understand the following explanations on usage of Future Perfect tense and then examine illustrative examples from Classics. 1. The Future Perfect expresses an action accomplished...
- Step By Step Grammar 8: Interjections
Interjection, also referred to as exclamation, is used to express an emotion e.g. oh! shh! oops! and it is usually to be found at the beginning of a sentence. Ouch, I stubbed my toe! Hey! Don’t be moody! Oh no, I lost my key again. Interjections are...
- Step By Step Grammar 2: Verbs
As mentioned last Wednesday, today we are talking about verbs. The verb is perhaps the most important part of the sentence as the sentence would not exist without the verb! It’s a word that we use to express actions, emotions and beings. In its dictionary...
- Present Simple Tense
Usage Present Simple Tense describes actions in the present that take place once, never or several times and repeatedly or habitually, actions related to schedules and timetables as well as well-known facts and general truths. We use it when giving directions...
- In Language, Two And Two Can Be Four, Or A Foursome, Or A Quartet Or Maybe Two Couples, But It Doesn't Equal Anything
I recently saw this extraordinary statement on a language blog: We have often noted that often repeated language and grammar errors seem to become “correct” usage. Wouldn’t it be weird if math used that philosophy? When enough people said 2+2=5,...
Grammar
Misnomers
Misnomer is "an incorrect or unsuitable name or term for a person or thing". A classic example of this phenomenon is “koala bear”, in reality it’s not a bear.
In my everyday life I see less extreme, but more personally irksome, examples of misnomers. Why do people insist on using the word express when something is patently not. Microwaveable rice can be nuked in less than two minutes and quite deservedly earns the title express. Trains that travel in excess of 100mph and make relatively few stops also earn the express title. However, the Pizza Express restaurant that took 45 minutes to bring me my garlic bread in a relatively empty restaurant should have the word express immediately removed from their signage and simply be called "Pizza".
Tesco Express stores also vary greatly in terms of how quickly you get served. Similarly with express checkouts at supermarkets. Some supermarkets are aware of this fact and refer to these checkout lanes as "basket only". Others mark theirs with a sign saying something along the lines of "10 items or less". There is always someone who will have eleven or twelve items and spoil it for the rest of us. The pedantic amongst you will know that the correct phrase is "10 items or fewer". This is a grammatical sin not quite as grave as the so-called grocer's apostrophe (where the sign maker puts in apostrophes for no good reason, e.g. "Cabbage's £1 each")
Mild confusion can arise from other descriptions. I am always disappointed by the term "All-day breakfast" when I find that it only takes me five to ten minutes to eat it. Ah, I see now, it is available all day.
One thing that always makes me chuckle is the sign "Family Butcher". Instead of visions of a family-friendly butcher I imagine a wild-eyed madman with a meat-cleaver chasing a family round their living room.
There are government bodies that exist solely to make sure that we are not misled by advertisers. They randomly sample boxes of cereals and weigh them to make sure we’re not being cheated and send burgers to laboratories to determine how much meat they really contain. Their concern for our welfare does not yet extend to borderline abuses of the word “express”. If a well-paid job arises for a pizza-delivery time-checker I’ll be first in the queue to apply.
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- Future Perfect How To Use
Contents → Grammar in Dialogues → How to Use Past Perfect Read and understand the following explanations on usage of Future Perfect tense and then examine illustrative examples from Classics. 1. The Future Perfect expresses an action accomplished...
- Step By Step Grammar 8: Interjections
Interjection, also referred to as exclamation, is used to express an emotion e.g. oh! shh! oops! and it is usually to be found at the beginning of a sentence. Ouch, I stubbed my toe! Hey! Don’t be moody! Oh no, I lost my key again. Interjections are...
- Step By Step Grammar 2: Verbs
As mentioned last Wednesday, today we are talking about verbs. The verb is perhaps the most important part of the sentence as the sentence would not exist without the verb! It’s a word that we use to express actions, emotions and beings. In its dictionary...
- Present Simple Tense
Usage Present Simple Tense describes actions in the present that take place once, never or several times and repeatedly or habitually, actions related to schedules and timetables as well as well-known facts and general truths. We use it when giving directions...
- In Language, Two And Two Can Be Four, Or A Foursome, Or A Quartet Or Maybe Two Couples, But It Doesn't Equal Anything
I recently saw this extraordinary statement on a language blog: We have often noted that often repeated language and grammar errors seem to become “correct” usage. Wouldn’t it be weird if math used that philosophy? When enough people said 2+2=5,...