Owner: The Engine Room URL:http://engineroomblog.blogspot.com Join Date: Fri, 18 May 2007 06:53:16 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: A 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 grammar or spelling conundrum, why not ask us? Site statistics:Click here
Photo special: wine double discount 2008-07-14 03:00:00 As I'm on holiday this week, I've written some posts in advance. Each day I'll be sharing with you one of the photos I've taken with my camera phone recently (so do excuse the poor picture quality).Also, please forgive any cock-ups on my part because I won't be able to fix them sneakily before anyone notices.Anyway, here's today's photo:This amused me because, if you look carefully, you'll see tha Read more:Photo
, double
Less emissions. More driving pleasure. 2008-07-12 03:22:00 Chris Frumplington emailed the blog to draw our attention to BMW's new slogan, "Less emissions
. More driving pleasure."This particular use of 'less' with a countable noun doesn't offend me personally, but I'm surprised that such a large corporation as BMW isn't more conservative in its language use. (My, ahem, Reader's Digest Oxford Complete Wordfinder describes 'less + countable noun' as "dispute
JD gets by in Portuguese – with added melon 2008-07-11 07:48:00 Long-time readers of this blog may recall my adventures learning Spanish last year with the misleadingly named 'Instant Spanish' book and CD set. This year, as I am off to the island of Madeira next week, I have been learning some Portuguese
phrases from the rather less ambitiously titled 'Get By In Portuguese' book and CD set.So far, I've learnt the first 30 phrases featured in 'Get By In Portugu
MP takes up arms in House of Commons 2008-07-09 10:58:00 According to recent raw copy:Shadow Transport Secretary Theresa Villiers has taken up arms on behalf of the road haulage industry in the House
of Commons
.I do hope that's a metaphorical rather than literal taking up of arms (although others may not be of the same opinion).I changed it – just because it threw me on first read. I wonder how common it is to use 'take up arms' metaphorically...
A swath of swathing changes 2008-07-08 07:38:00 From recent raw copy (emphasis is mine):Taking legislation as a suitable solution, the puzzling bit for the likes of Allen is Defra’s Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme (LATS). Introduced to make swathing changes
in English municipal waste policy, the introduction is set to help meet targets for reduction of landfill deposited biodegradable waste under Article 5(2) of the EC Landfill Directive.Sw
Literally going to the dogs 2008-07-07 11:18:00 Tomorrow there's a work outing to Wimbledon Greyhound Stadium. So I can safely say that this office is literally going to the dogs...Literally, A Web Log
Stick to the day job, JD 2008-08-06 08:09:00 Our website was a bit quiet this morning so I politely asked our newly formed 'content team' (pool of writers) for some, um, content.Our newest reporter told me she had a story I could use but then asked if I could wait until this afternoon for the copy because – and I paraphrase – it hadn't been subbed and there wasn't a sub available to go through it.Obviously I'm spending too much time flou Read more:Stick
I think you've got the wrong word... 2008-08-05 10:20:00 Here are some sentences taken from copy submitted to the subs' desk over the past few months. The theme is 'wrong words', whether they are malapropisms or simply the result of poor typing.“The form details who collect it, where it was collected and who pre-treated it,” Allen bemuses.Episodes of curtain slashing are ripe in the motorway service area.Rampley inserts that the problem is occurring Read more:think
OED: Chinky 2008-08-04 06:59:00 The Concise Oxford English Dictionary entry for 'Chinky' is a little odd. It reads:Chinky n. (pl. -ies) informal 1 offensive, a Chinese person. 2 a Chinese restaurant.So usage 2 isn't offensive then? I'm fairly confident that anyone who was offended at being called a Chinky would be similarly offended if their restaurant was described in the same way.
Friday roundup: Batman, Goofy, TYWKIWDBI 2008-08-01 06:52:00 Firstly, I should explain that I didn't post yesterday because I was on a 'Writing for the Web' refresher course all day (and then went to see the new Batman
film in the evening). I took notes on the course and should have them up on this blog within the next couple of days.***Secondly, are you having trouble viewing the comments in the 'Recent comments' widget on this blog? The comments should ap Read more:Friday
Word of the day: staycation (and stoliday) 2008-07-30 11:05:00 I'm finding that sticking BBC1 Breakfast on in the mornings is a good way to discover new words (new to me, at least). Last week's new word was 'gastrosexual'; today I heard 'staycation' for the first time.Unfortunately I had to leave for work before the staycation piece came on, but Googling the word this morning I found out that a staycation is (somewhat unsurprisingly, being a portmanteau of 's
The Sun: "dream wedding of ecstatic doctor" 2008-07-29 10:54:00 The front page lead of The Sun today features a large photo of the wedding
of Catherine and Ben Mullany, the Britons who were recently shot in Antigua, and the following opening sentence:This is the dream wedding of ecstatic doctor Catherine Mullany – shot dead days later on her honeymoonHere's a scan of the front cover (click to see a larger version).Now I don't want to make light of a horrible
Grasping the female market with both hands 2008-07-28 14:35:00 A while back, my former colleague Dylan brought to my attention a particular press release by "female-friendly insurer Sheilas' Wheels" (natty pink logo pictured on the right).In the press release, spokesperson Jacky Brown (sex not specified) is quoted as saying:Our research shows that Britain's car industry is not meeting the needs of the modern-day female driver. It's stuck in the dark ages and
Friday roundup: Talula, Giles, Mexico and China 2008-07-25 10:57:00 I'm using this week's Friday
Roundup to share some of the things that you lot have been emailing in to me.***First is a BBC News article on a story that has received a lot of media coverage here in the UK: the nine-year old New Zealand girl who wanted to change her name from 'Talula Does The Hula From Hawaii'. The article also includes some other great names that New Zealand parents have chosen fo Read more:Mexico
, China
Bookshelf of books: "a thing of beauty" 2008-07-24 07:44:00 Towards the end of last year I wrote about the Amazon Kindle "wireless reading device"; picking up the theme again, one of the regular readers of this blog has drawn my attention to an interesting article in The Independent on whether electronic books threaten the future of traditional publishing.the iLiad e-book from iRexTowards the end of the article, one of the arguments made for electronic boo
Section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000 2008-07-23 14:14:00 I'm sorry if this is slightly off-topic, but civil liberties are a particular concern of mine - as I hope they are for most journalists.I catch the train to work each day, and this morning when I reached my local, suburban train station (railway station, if you prefer), I was surprised to see a number of police officers present, searching the bags of some of the people waiting for a train. All of Read more:Section
, Terrorism
Word of the day: gastrosexual 2008-07-22 07:23:00 Caught a brief mention of the word 'gastrosexual' on BBC One this morning, and had to find out more. I guessed that it was a neologism along the lines of metrosexual, and had something to do with food (or stomachs). Perhaps gastrosexuals were people who loved their stomachs?Googling it led me to a Mail Online article explaining that gastrosexuals are in fact men who:consider cooking more a hobby t
Mince beef (curse if they have it) 2008-07-21 14:19:00 When I was at work the other day (before I went off on my hols), my girlfriend sent me an email listing some items she wanted me to pick up from the supermarket. These included:Mince beef (curse if they have it)SpaghettiMilkJuiceThe first of these left me rather baffled. "Curse if they have it"? I had visions of going into the supermarket, picking up the mince and shouting, "Hooray! They've got f*
Alan Eaglesfield and The Joy of Motoring 2008-08-21 08:19:00 Do you know Alan Eaglesfield? Are you Alan Eaglesfield?A little less than a year ago I wrote a post on this blog about how Alan coined the phrase 'Spaghetti Junction' when he was a sub on the Birmingham Evening Mail. As I recall, I took the information from Wikipedia (naughty, I know).Then, earlier this week, I received an email from Paola Rezzilli, an assistant producer for a TV company currently Read more:Motoring
How to deter debt collectors 2008-08-20 06:45:00 A recent news story submitted to the subs' desk began:Westminster City Council says motorists who occasionally park illegally will no longer get visits from debt collectors
. So if you are being hassled by debt collectors, all you need to do is occasionally park illegally (presumably somewhere in Westminster) and they will leave you alone. Brilliant!However, I can't promise that you will be safe fr
Olympics: asymmetric bars vs uneven bars 2008-08-19 09:56:00 It's about time we had an Olympics
-related post.Our website editor asks why the 'asymmetric bars' women's gymnastics event is now being called the 'uneven bars', and when the change happened. The International Olympic Committee website refers to 'uneven bars' not 'asymmetric bars'. Wikipedia mentions both terms but prefers 'uneven bars'.The Concise OED gives 'uneven bars' as the "North American te
Percy Pig sweets contain real pig 2008-08-18 08:28:00 Supermarket Marks & Spencer sells some very nice pig-shaped sweets called Percy Pigs (or possibly just Percy Pig, as the pictured packet suggests).I was highly amused to notice last week that one of the major ingredients of Percy Pig(s), along with glucose syrup and sugar, is pork gelatine. Pork – pig – Percy Pig. Get it?However, according to Wikipedia, pig-shaped sweets are "a traditional
History's greatest sub editors: Mothman 2008-08-16 09:40:00 No, this post isn't about a sub editor called Mothman. Let me explain...I'm currently reading John A Keel's book The Mothman Prophecies, originally published as Visitors From Space. You may have seen the film that was (somewhat loosely) based on this book. The film's rather good, by the way.As Wikipedia says, Keel's book "mostly concerns events in Point Pleasant, West Virginia, during 1966 and 196 Read more:History
A confused reader writes 2008-08-15 07:23:00 The Engine Room gets some interesting emails, but this one – from Ms Idowu Opeyemi – has to be my favourite so far:I'm a Nigerian and a lover of railway system of transportation which is not so effective here in Nigeria. As a result of my passion for it, I decided going on net for information on railway (like I just did today) and stumbled on your blogspot – it was really amazing. Please, Read more:confused
Job titles: heavyweight journalism 2008-08-14 13:01:00 No one can accuse my colleagues of lightweight journalism
.As well as recently gaining an 'editor at large' (which appears to be publishing's equivalent of a 'minister without portfolio'), we now have - thanks to recent job title changes - a 'heavy commercial reporter'.I believe that's a reference to the journalist's specialist field of heavy commercial vehicles rather than to any penchant he may h
While we're on the theme of fashion... 2008-08-13 06:45:00 I was going to buy one of these but thought it might be tempting fate:With thanks to the AngryJournalist.com t-shirt store.
Primark+Armani=Primani 2008-08-12 09:04:00 Yesterday one of my colleagues ironically referred to cheapo clothing chain Primark as 'Primani'.I don't know how widely this portmanteau of Primark and Armani
is used, or how long it has been around for, but it does appear on the Urban Dictionary site.I've also found a story on The Scotsman's website which claims that Primani is the phenomenon of "mixing high street staples such as Primark with
Kangaroo is 'not unlike venison'. Sort of 2008-08-11 10:58:00 I came across a puzzling quote in a BBC News story about how switching from beef to kangaroo meat could help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.In the story, Australian scientist Dr George Wilson says of kangaroo meat:It tastes excellent, not unlike venison
- only a different flavour.If kangaroo meat has "a different flavour" to venison, how is it "not unlike" venison? Are we talking about texture
Knol: 'How to get into publishing' 2008-08-08 12:19:00 I was going to write a Friday roundup but really I only have one thing to tell you about.Recently my father asked me to give some advice to an acquaintance of his who was interested in getting into publishing. So I wrote her a long email (probably too long) detailing how I started in magazine publishing and what I thought were some key points to bear in mind.For the previous few weeks I'd been mea
Job titles: Head of Spatial Policy 2008-08-07 02:43:00 A regular reader of this blog sent me the following local government job advert a while back:Head of SpatialPolicy
Due to promotion we are now looking for a first class planning professional with the drive and innovation to help build on our success.With the ability to manage a cutting edge and high performing team, you'll have the opportunity for personal development within an integrated planning
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