Hard News: The Public Address Word of the Year 2011
238 Responses
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This year the verbal tic that has most irritated me is the increasing tendency for people to start statements, and particularly in responding to question, with "so".
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word...
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nzlemming, in reply to
word…
This.
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Hebe,
EQC
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Aftershock. Feb 22nd was one, and there have been sooooo many others.
I’ve noticed myself and a lot of other Cantabrians using “shake” instead of “quake”, maybe after a certain number of earthquakes, “quake” starts to sound like over-dramatising? “Did you feel that shake earlier?”, “If we have a big shake, those always fall down."…..
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Hebe,
Geotech (I admit to being a little obsessive here, but a word contest like this is depth-charging all sorts of stuff...)
fracking
Now I go on holiday (literally). first escape this year. Yeehah. Bye. Have a lovely Christmas, or not if your tastes run that way. And thanks all for essential distraction from the mundane this year.
Not a word; but next year I reckon the book to write is "Decorating with Duct Tape".
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How about the following slightly meaningless government faves 'shared services', 'back office' and it's companion 'frontline'.
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Joe Wylie, in reply to
Not a word; but next year I reckon the book to write is “Decorating with Duct Tape”.
Gaffer it.
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Magnitude. A word so overused it's often dropped..."Do you reckon that was a 4.5?", "Nah, that was at least a 4.7!"
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Shonkey. 'Cause they fell down, innit.
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nzlemming, in reply to
I've been thinking that we should be capitalising on the quake, and improving our overseas earnings, by renting out Cantabs as human seismographs. You guys have got pretty damn accurate at estimating over the last year.
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Thinking about the conversations Chch people have with each other this year, there are not only particular earthquake-related words we use constantly, but whole topics of conversation we discuss avidly, that outsiders probably wouldn't.
After Sept 4th and before Feb 22nd there was a lot of talk about fault lines and the mechanics of earthquakes and liquefaction.
After Feb 22nd our talk was much more practical: we were all comparing notes on where we had been and what we'd been through on the day; who we knew who'd been killed or injured; the state of our houses, and the houses of people we knew; who had services and how long the rest of us would have to wait.
In East Chch many of these conversations ended up being about sewerage. I have been to parties where toileting was the number one topic*: "Can you flush your toilet?", "how deep's your long-drop?", etc.
Piles and foundations seem to be hot topics just now. Everybody's an expert. :-)
*and before anyone asks, probably also number two.
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Hebe,
Sinkhole is an awesome word.
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Sacha, in reply to
there was a lot of talk about fault lines and the mechanics of earthquakes and liquefaction
that went beyond Chch
parties where toileting was the number one topic
not so much
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Occupy
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Lilith __, in reply to
You guys have got pretty damn accurate at estimating over the last year.
We’ve certainly been thoroughly trained. :-)
However, as any Cantab will tell you, every quake is different.
How it feels depends on not just the magnitude but the depth and distance and duration and the type of ground you’re on.Our calibration might also be variable: some Cantabs might be sarcastic about earthquakes elsewhere: “ That’s not an earthquake…”; others might be over-sensitive: “ARRRGH! EARTHQUAKE!!” when a truck goes past.
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Lilith __, in reply to
parties where toileting was the number one topic
not so much
You don't know what you've got til it's gone ;-)
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"Mums and Dads" ... or the singular form
"Dum and Mad". -
Don’t forget to check your word’s funkiness
with this Techno beat generator
Om is a surprise for such a short word... -
Hilary Stace, in reply to
Ben Cragg and Sofie – you got there before me. It has to be Occupy. One word which has challenged the old world order this year and still has some evolving to do.
Slutwalk is also a contender.
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No one's mentioned SlutWalk yet?
Also, Happy Feet, election, teapot, teapot tapes...
Alternatively, I like planking, ghost-chips, mandate, occupy, liquefaction and a bunch of others that have already been suggested. -
Yeah,nah.
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Hebe, in reply to
Aftershock. Feb 22nd was one, and there have been sooooo many others.
And you could call it a state of mind too.
Aftershock, yes yes. Russell? -
I am (probably) cheating, but I would like to propose "earthquakeprone".
Yeah OK, two words that really ought to be added to a third or fourth ("building (s)").
I would like to know why one building is more likely to experience an earthquake than neighbouring buildings?
I defy any speaking automaton on National Radio to identify any edifice in the country that is "earthquakeprone".
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Quake Brain - the state of mental exhaustion you reach after months of being able to do nothing on auto pilot.
Portaloo - can be sung to the tune of ABBAs Waterloo
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