The Engine RoomThe Engine RoomA blog about English language use, misuse and abuse, as well as words in general. Brought to you by two sub-editors on a weekly UK magazine. If you have a spelling or grammar question, why not ask us? Articles
How heavy is the Apple MacBook Air?
2008-04-08 15:08:00 Gingerous has emailed in an amusing quote from a review of the MacBook Air laptop (pictured above) which he came across in the April edition of IT Manager magazine:The MacBook Air is Apple 's take on the ultraportable notebook. At a mere 1.4kg and 4mm at its thinnest point and 19mm at its thickest (the hinge at the back), and weighing in at just 1.36kg, it's definitely ultraportable.Gingerous rightly comments: "Now I'm not sure on the grammar side of things (although it didn't read too well to me), but why does the weight of the laptop get mentioned twice and why are they different?"Um, maybe it depends on how full the hard drive is. Or does anyone have any better suggestions?The online version of the story sadly doesn't contain the offending copy... More About: Heavy , Macbook , Macbook Air
Tory border force to 'pursue crime'
2008-04-07 18:08:00 There was a great quote in one of our news stories today, attributed to Shadow Home Secretary David Davis:“We would establish a dedicated UK border force with proper police powers to secure our borders and pursue crime, from human trafficking to drug smuggling.”I was kind, and changed 'pursue' to 'tackle'. Not everyone who used the quote was quite as nice, though...David Davis: Vows to pursue crime More About: Crime , Force , Tory
Friday roundup no.2
2008-04-04 17:50:00 Last week I instigated a Friday roundup but this week's is going to be rather short because Apus has already written two fine posts today.The job title 'hazardous goods manager' has been making me laugh – is that just a goods manager who is a hazard to others?Talking of job titles, our technical editor pointed out a great one that made it into the pages of our publication: 'knowledge transfer network manager'. Anyone know what that means?I'm thinking of trying the JargonFish widget on the Engine Room – anyone out there had any good/bad experiences with it?And has anyone noticed all the adverts that Adsense has been serving us for 'Sarah Beeny's Dating Site'? Exactly how many people is La Beeny looking to date?A longer roundup is promised for next week... More About: Roundup
Word origins: hobby, limousine
2008-04-04 17:18:00 Here are a couple of examples culled from recent TV programmes.Evidently Henry IIX kept a stable of "hobby horses", leading to the use of the word hobby for any pastime that takes up a lot of time and money, though for some reason his use of decapitation hasn't survived as a synonym for divorce. And it seems limousine derives from the French sheepskins used to keep chauffeurs nice and snug.Who says telly isn't educational?A limousine, somewhat obviouslyTo reassure JD that I can still read as well as slob in front of the box, just today I finished The Last Corsair, a history of the WW1 German surface raider the Emden. It's an almost unbelievable yarn and well worth a read.Following their hair-raising adventures the survivors of her crew were treated to a 'bierabend' (beer-evening). Could that be the origin of the phrase to go on a bender? More About: Hobby , Word , Limousine
Language isn't everything
2008-04-04 17:08:00 Having retired from the engine room (this is being written in my caravan at the seaside, the sun's shining and it's all rather wonderful) I have bags of time to watch telly. Recently I caught a late night showing of a movie called Redemption, having been warned in the TV guide to expect "moderate bad language".Fair enough, the language wasn't shocking – but the plot included a monk being bricked up alive and torture involving plugging in an iron and leaving it on the hapless victim's chest. Needless to say it put me off my cocoa and left me wondering if the TV guide's engine room might be well advised to pay less attention to offensive language and more to offensive plots. More About: Language
Metro: How many white people in Britain?
2008-04-03 18:01:00 It's dodgy statistics time again, today courtesy of free paper Metro .In the midst of an feature about 'the state of the nation', based on a National Statisticians article on society, Metro makes the following claim:Percentage of UK population classified as white2007: 90%(England 65%)Um, given that England makes up about 50 million of the UK's 60 million-ish population, this just doesn't add up.If 90% of the UK's 60 million population is white, that's 54 million of them who are white and 6 million not. Even if every one of those non-white folk lives in England (which isn't the case), that still gives England a white population of 44 million, or just over 80%.So either the figure of 90% is wrong, or the figure of 65% is wrong. Or possibly both. When I spot something like this in a feature, it immediately makes me mistrust the entire thing and I usually just stop reading.Just a thought: any chance that figure of 65% was supposed to refer to London?Tearing things out of papers i... More About: People , Britain , White , White People
The beaver wax puzzle
2008-04-02 16:19:00 A little language puzzle based on an event from my childhood.When I was young, I was a Cub Scout. On my first overnight camp, at the age of eight or so, I was excited to learn that we would be making 'beaver wax' that evening. But what was that? I knew what beavers were, and I knew what what wax was, of course, but I couldn't connect the two in my mind. Baloo and all the older Cubs seemed to know what beaver wax was, so I didn't want to ask and look foolish.My question to you is: what did we make that evening? (And no, it was nothing inappropriate...)Forest: a good place for beaver wax? More About: Puzzle , Beaver
Juxtaposition: syphilis and a banana
2008-04-01 15:26:00 A great example of juxtaposition in yesterday's free paper thelondonpaper, as you can see from the scan below (click on the image for a larger version).A question to the 'urban doc' on syphilis is next to a question on vegan diets – the latter being illustrated by a picture of a semi-peeled banana.It made me laugh, anyway. But I can't quite decide whether this was a deliberate move on the part of thelondonpaper's production desk or just a happy accident.And rather embarrassingly, our web editor just walked over to ask me something when I had the scanned article blown up to massive proportions on my Mac... More About: Banana , Syphilis
Typo of the week: sweet
2008-03-27 14:26:00 A simple typo (or possibly spelling mistake) made the subs' desk chuckle today. One of our writers submitted a feature containing the rhetorical question:Would all your customers dessert you?Maybe this is what it means to put someone on ice...PS There's no picture to accompany this post because my "organization's Internet use policy restricts access at this time" to my favourite free image library, www.morguefile.com. As we also sometimes use Morguefile to source images for our publications, I can only imagine that this situation will be rectified shortly... More About: Sweet , Week , Typo
Names: Robin for a girl
2008-03-26 17:06:00 Sarah has emailed us a nice little name-based anecdote:A work friend of mine told me a story yesterday that made me laugh. He said his sister, who was a bit of a 70s child, had always really liked the name 'Robin ' for a girl. Throughout their childhood she'd always said that if she had a baby girl when she grew up then she'd call her Robin.It turns out that she did get married and have a baby girl, but had to rethink the name she'd chosen as the guy she married had the surname Graves!Our other posts about names:Mr ConmanWhat's in a name? More About: Girl , Names
Word of the day: drunkorexia
2008-03-25 17:08:00 We haven't featured a good portmanteau for a while, and I have Sarah to thank for pointing out this one: drunkorexia. It's the phenomenon of women "skipping meals more and more in order to drink alcohol and remain slim". That's according to the Marie Claire website, anyway, which I have to point out I don't read that often.And yes, March is evidently 'alcohol month' on the Engine Room.Anyone for seconds? More About: Word , Word of the Day
Verbing: I'll just missed-call you
2008-03-24 12:44:00 I overheard a great bit of verbing in the pub yesterday evening:I'll just missed-call you(Two girls were swapping contact details. The first girl gave her mobile phone number to the second girl, who called that number and immediately hung up - allowing the first girl to get the second girl's number from the missed call.)Back to work tomorrow, so these pub-based anecdotes will be coming to an end, I'm afraid.PS. The cost of a pint last night: £1.60ish (it was a Samuel Smith's pub). Oh and sorry about the lack of pictures on the blog this weekend, but I've been using dial-up... More About: Call
Student journalism and Enter Shikari
2008-03-23 14:26:00 I'm spending the long bank holiday weekend up in Derby.Yesterday evening, while waiting in the pub for someone, I flicked through a copy of local student magazine Dusted. It wasn't the most exciting read, but then I'm not studying at the University of Derby.However I was amused by an interview with the band Enter Shikari - albeit for the wrong reasons. I especially liked this bit:Making it into one of the backstage rooms [in Rock City, Nottingham] I'm greeted with a warm welcome by all of Enter Shikari , who easily look like they could fit into the backdrop of a normal night in [Derby club] Bluenote. I sit down ready to do the interview but just before I'm about to start, Rory (Clewlow, guitar and backing vocals) offers me a beer. A little shocked, I take one and thank him.Right... so you're a student interviewing a rock band. In the evening. In a rock club. A little before they go on stage. One of the band members offers you a beer... and you're shocked.I have two questions f... More About: Journalism , Student
Survey: can you identify the Moon?
2008-03-20 13:34:00 I don't mean to keep kicking free paper Metro, but I am baffled by the results of a survey it reports on today. The findings include:"Nearly three-quarters [of children surveyed] can't identify the Moon in the night sky""57% cannot identify Mars""44% cannot identify Saturn"Hmm. Fewer children can identify the Moon in the sky than they can Mars and Saturn. A little odd, don't you think?Then again, the survey was "to mark the launch of the new Power Rangers DVD" so I don't put a great deal of faith in it.In case you don't know: the MoonMetro's online version of the story: it doesn't include all the strange findings above but there is an amusing correction... More About: Survey , The Moon
Press releases: BVRLA / BVLRA
2008-03-19 14:49:00 I am impressed by this press release from the BVRLA. In the first sentence it calls itself the British Vehicle Leasing and Rental Association – wouldn't that be the BVLRA? It's a bit difficult to read the image below so click to see an enlarged version.Now I don't know much about media relations, but I would assume that getting your own organisation's name right is probably a good first step. More About: Press , Press Releases
The £4 pint of beer is here. Maybe
2008-03-18 14:51:00 Not for the first time recently, I've been reading about the soaring price of a pint of beer here in the capital. This time it was on the front page of today's Metro free paper:In London the average price of a pint – at £4.06 – is dearer than a hit of heroinI don't know much about the price of heroin, but neither do I know any pubs in London that charge £4 a pint. The pubs near where I live (a fairly nice bit of Zone 3) charge around the £3 mark; you might pay £3.30 in a gastropub.Ah, but what about all those expensive bars – surely they push the price up? Possibly, but many of the swanky ones sell bottles, not pints, and the ones that do sell expensive pints will be more than compensated for by cheapo chains such as JD Wetherspoon (no relation) that charge nearer the £2 mark. And for every pub that sells a £2 pint, there must be another that sells a £6 pint to make the average £4.So my question to any Londoners out there is: where are these £4-a-pint (or more) pub... More About: Beer
Scam emails: motherless baby's home
2008-03-17 19:20:00 I know Apus likes email scams and their telltale strange use of English, so the following extract (from an email I received entitled 'DEAR BELOVED FRIEND') is for him.I am Mrs. Gloria Caldwell from LONDON, I am 58 years old, I am deaf and suffering from a long time cancer of the breast, which also affected my brain. From all indication my condition is really deteriorating, and my doctors have courageously advised me that I may not live beyond the next two months, this is because the cancer stage has reached a critical stage. I was brought up in a motherless baby's homeI love that – 'motherless baby's home' instead of orphanage. And how courageous of the doctors to advise her that she is about to die.I suppose I should show more sympathy, seeing as Gloria is from LONDON like me... More About: Home , Emails , Scam
Roget: 'headline writers and journalists'
2008-03-16 15:10:00 There was an interesting article on Peter Roget, creator of the thesaurus, in The Times' Books section yesterday. I took a little exception at the following though:At its worst, [a thesaurus] is a crutch, for crossword enthusiasts, students desperate to imply a little learning in an essay crisis, headline writers, nervous after-dinner speakers and, yes, journalists.Headline writers and journalists? All the headline writers I've ever met have been journalists. Perhaps Ben Macintyre, who is the author of this piece, means 'headline writers and other journalists'.In the same way, it bugs me when people (including some of my colleagues) refer to 'production staff and journalists'. Sub editors and designers can be journalists too!Wikipedia agrees with me on this. More About: Writers , Journalists
Guantanamo Bay: Sami Al-Hajj
2008-03-15 12:06:00 Is it just me, or is anyone else a little confused as to why the Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba is referred to as Gitmo? Shouldn't it be Gutmo, Gatmo or even Gtomo? I woke up this morning with this question on my mind so I have evidently been blogging/subbing too much recently.Anyway, I can only assume that Gitmo is a play on the word 'git', considering some of the stories that have emerged regarding the treatment of prisoners.Not wanting to make (too much) light of a serious issue, I'd like to direct you to to the website Prisoner 345. This focuses on the plight of Al Jazeera cameraman Sami Al-Hajj (pictured), who is being held as an 'enemy combatant' at Guantanamo and who has been on hunger strike for more than a year now.He is the only journalist currently 'detained' at Gitmo but that is still one too many, and I find his story shocking.
Cheltenham: Starzaan is a class horse
2008-03-14 19:43:00 The reason I didn't post on the blog yesterday was because I'm currently at Cheltenham, winning money on the horses.The Cheltenham Festival Guide 2008 has a section entitled 'What the Experts Think?'. Never mind the exclamation mark, I was taken by this quote from Hughie Morrison, trainer of Starzaan:Starzaan is a class horse who has all sorts of problems with legs, wind etcDoesn't sounds very class to me. I have a mental picture of Starzaan (pictured below) limping and farting his way across the finishing line... More About: Class , Horse
Daytime English
2008-03-13 20:14:00 Being a pensioner I have lots of time to enjoy daytime TV which, besides making your brain leak out your ears, offers some lovely eye-watering use of English . F'rinstance...From Under The Hammer, a daily look a house buying: "We have a handy local shop nearby."From Grand Designs, a daily look at house building: "It's a great example of greenification."From one of the may copdocs: "...the never-ending war against criminals and law-breakers..."Much nicer was a phrase used by an American lady in a news report: "I was breath-taken."And I was taken by a phrase coined by a cabaret singer during a documentary, Benidorm Unpacked, in which he bemoaned the total lack of job security with the warning: "That's why your name's in chalk - not lights!"And while not strictly relevant to this blog, I have to add that it was heartwarming to see this guy, who had lost a leg and an arm aged 10 when he was run over by a train. His remaining leg's still broken and in a caliper. Sorry for himself? No... More About: Daytime
Catholic Church updates list of mortal sins
2008-03-12 15:42:00 I was quite amused by a recent story in London free paper Metro regarding the Roman Catholic Church 's updated list of mortal sins:According to the Catholic faith, they must be confessed to a priest and if not absolved or forgiven, will lead to a person's soul being condemned to hell.But now genetic experimentation, tampering with the order of nature, pollution, social injustice, causing poverty, excessive wealth and drug abuse have been added.There's something deliciously ironic about the Catholic Church speaking out against excessive wealth...On another note, the new list of sins "was announced after a week-long confession refresher course for priests". Would that be a confesher? More About: Updates , Sins , List
BBC News: town sex assault 'allegation'
2008-03-11 17:13:00 I am a little confused by a recent BBC News story entitled 'Girl victim of town sex assault'. It begins:Police are investigating an allegation that a 17-year-old girl was sexually assaulted in County Down. The teenager was the victim of a serious sexual assault on Friday at about 2330 GMT in the Greencastle Street area of Kilkeel. The headline and the second paragraph are confident that the girl was the victim of a sexual assault, whereas the first par uses the don't-sue-us word 'allegation'. If the reporter is so sure of himself, why not write 'Police are investigating the sexual assault of a 17-year-old girl'?In fact, I would go so far as to suggest that using the word 'allegation' here, if there is indeed no doubt that the assault took place, is offensive to the victim. More About: Assault , Town
Coke: good for wellbeing and vitality
2008-03-10 18:09:00 We've had an 'Occupational Health and Safety Wellbeing and Vitality Day' at work today. Catchy title, huh? Perhaps they should have just called it OHAS WAVD.Among the attractions were free bottles of Diet Coke and Coke Zero (pictured right, with model), and a prize draw to win a hamper containing a big slab of chocolate. Mmm, healthy.On the plus side, I had my blood pressure tested and it was found to be normal. That's got to be a first for a sub editor... More About: Good
World's longest URL?
2008-03-07 18:11:00 As part of my increasing involvement in the web side of things here at work I have been spending some of my time recently fixing mistakes and inconsistencies on our website. Unfortunately I work on a Mac and the less than perfect web-based system I need to access to make my corrections only runs properly on a PC.Rather than running up and down the office between my Mac and the spare PC all day, I have been writing proof marks on a printout of the web page in question and giving this to a friendly PC operator to make the corrections for me. Very high-tech, huh?As well as the usual typos and lapses in style, one unique element of subbing (or indeed, copy editing) for the web is fixing broken hyperlinks. Whenever I have found a broken link I have been writing the correct URL on the paper proof for the PC operator to tap in for me.This was working well – until I came across a URL on a certain government website that went on... and on... and on. I copied it into Word and did a quick ch... More About: Longest
Names: Mr Conman
2008-03-06 15:01:00 We've blogged before about silly names, but today a press release came through at work written by a Mr Conman. Although I assume this name doesn't have a stress on the final syllable, unlike the word 'conman', it is still amusingly appropriate for someone who works in PR... More About: Names
New media: JD is the Champion
2008-03-05 14:04:00 I know it says at the top of the blog that I'm a sub-editor (copy editor if you like) on a weekly UK magazine, but that's not strictly true. We've had a restructure recently – which is how Apus managed to engineer his departure – and now I'm a sub-editor on two weekly UK magazines (although much more on one than the other).I am also spending an increasing amount of time working on our 'web publication'. Since the restructure each member of the production desk has been given 'championship' of a particular 'brand', and I am 'web Champion '. I even have this written in the first paragraph of my job description. With a capital C, no less. And sorry about all the 'inverted commas', but I don't normally use these buzzwordy phrases.As a result of my increasing involvement with the –ahem– web publication, I can imagine that this blog is going to be addressing new-media-related issues more and more. You may see this as a good or a bad thing, but if it does interest you ... More About: Media , New Media
Julie Walters: good message, bad timing
2008-03-04 12:26:00 That fine thesp Julie Walters is featuring in a public safety TV ad (pictured below) reminding viewers to check their household smoke alarms. The message is direct: don't brew up during this ad break, check your smoke alarm instead... do it now or put your loved ones' lives at risk.But should this ad be broadcast at 1am? Sometimes it's not what you say, it's when you say it. More About: Message , Good , Timing
Adverts: LEZ
2008-03-03 18:42:00 The Engine Room isn't the only site to suffer from inappropriate context-sensitive adverts.The magazine I work for has a sister website and today our web editor was complaining that, due to its ongoing coverage of the London Low Emission Zone (or LEZ – and I know you know where this is going), it has been displaying adverts for lesbian dating services. Among other things... More About: Adverts
Nursing Times: sexual relationship poll
More articles from this author:2008-02-29 14:12:00 It's misleading statistics time again today. A Nursing Times poll reports that:Up to 16% [of nurses] said they knew of a colleague who had started a sexual relationship with a patient during the time that person was in their careThis was reported in one of the free London papers as "one in six nurses...". Somehow that makes it sound even worse (never mind the fact that one in six is actually nearer 17%).But however you present it, the figure is actually pretty low. After all, the poll isn't saying that one in six nurses has started a sexual relationship with a patient, but that one in six nurses knows of a colleague who has. And how many colleagues does a nurse have – 10? 20? 50? Over the course of a career, that figure must easily run into hundreds (after all, the poll doesn't specify 'current colleague'). The chances are that if it was at all common for nurses to start sexual relationships with patients, almost every nurse would know at least one colleague who had done so.O... More About: Relationship , Poll , Sexual 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 |
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