I was contemplating the name of this newsgroup - (Alt) Use of English -
and it occurred to me that 'AUE' could equally stand for AbUse of English.
Language is a tool, just like a knife. Am I abusing a knife if I use it
to pry open a tin of paint. Am I abusing English when I call a
politician a 'pillock', or am I just using it to exercise by freedom of speech?
It all seems ot come down to the eye of the beholder.
I was contemplating the name of this newsgroup - (Alt) Use of English
- and it occurred to me that 'AUE' could equally stand for AbUse of
English.
Language is a tool, just like a knife. Am I abusing a knife if I use
it to pry open a tin of paint. Am I abusing English when I call a
politician a 'pillock', or am I just using it to exercise by freedom
of speech?
It all seems ot come down to the eye of the beholder.
I was contemplating the name of this newsgroup - (Alt) Use of English -
and it occurred to me that 'AUE' could equally stand for AbUse of English.
Language is a tool, just like a knife. Am I abusing a knife if I use it
to pry open a tin of paint.
Am I abusing English when I call a
politician a 'pillock', or am I just using it to exercise by freedom of speech?
It all seems ot come down to the eye of the beholder.
Le 01/03/2026 |a 12:12, occam a |-crit :
Am I abusing English when I call a
politician a 'pillock', or am I just using it to exercise by freedom of
speech?
That is a correct use of 'pillock'. It's not abuse.
I think language can be abused. Using a word wrongly is abuse because it weakens its meaning ('refute' for 'deny'...). Using a tense wrongly, similarly ('I ate already' for 'I've eaten', 'if I would have' for 'if I had'...). Linguistic inflation is abuse ('incredibly' for 'very',
'impact' for 'effect', 'luxury' bog roll...) because it eliminates
nuance and blurs meaning.
Blacksmiths, silversmiths, and locksmiths keep their tools in good
order. Only wordsmiths abuse them.
On 01/03/2026 12:12, occam wrote:
I was contemplating the name of this newsgroup - (Alt) Use of English -
and it occurred to me that 'AUE' could equally stand for AbUse of English.
Language is a tool, just like a knife. Am I abusing a knife if I use it
to pry open a tin of paint. Am I abusing English when I call a
politician a 'pillock', or am I just using it to exercise by freedom of speech?
It all seems ot come down to the eye of the beholder.
But it isn't easy to define abuse.
An old knife, or screwdriver, or chisel, or saw can be a very useful
tool in ways and situations where you would never use a new knife/screwdriver etc.
I don't think of that as abuse.
Much the same with language. You can adapt a word to meet a new use -
but you may end up skunking it so that it can no longer serve its
original purpose.
Hibou <vpaereru-unmonitored@yahoo.com.invalid> wrote:
[...].
Blacksmiths, silversmiths, and locksmiths keep their tools in good
order. Only wordsmiths abuse them.
That is because the physical workers spoil their reputations by damaging their tools whereas wordsmiths enhance their reputations and are praised
by other wordsmiths.
Excellent example in case this morning: Keir Starmer has allowed the
use of the British RAF base in Cyprus for 'defensive' use only by the Americans.
Yes, we are all hoping that the orange moron will set up defensive
measures against Iranian drones in Akrotiri. <smile>
Le 02/03/2026 |a 08:54, occam a |-crit :
Excellent example in case this morning:-a Keir Starmer has allowed the
use of the British RAF base in Cyprus for 'defensive' use only by the
Americans.
Yes, we are all hoping that the orange moron will set up defensive
measures against Iranian drones in Akrotiri.-a <smile>
Quite. We used to have a War Office; now we have a Ministry of Defence.
(We used to have a Prime Minister; now we have a drone?)
In short, IMHO abuse is misuse that risks damaging the language and
reducing its power. The parallel with a knife is a good one.
Blacksmiths, silversmiths, and locksmiths keep their tools in good
order. Only wordsmiths abuse them.
Hibou <vpaereru-unmonitored@yahoo.com.invalid> wrote:
[...].
Blacksmiths, silversmiths, and locksmiths keep their tools in good
order. Only wordsmiths abuse them.
That is because the physical workers spoil their reputations by damaging their tools whereas wordsmiths enhance their reputations and are praised
by other wordsmiths.
On 02/03/2026 09:36, Hibou wrote:
Le 02/03/2026 a 08:54, occam a ocrit :
Excellent example in case this morning:a Keir Starmer has allowed the
use of the British RAF base in Cyprus for 'defensive' use only by the
Americans.
Yes, we are all hoping that the orange moron will set up defensive
measures against Iranian drones in Akrotiri.a <smile>
Quite. We used to have a War Office; now we have a Ministry of Defence. (We used to have a Prime Minister; now we have a drone?)
The Trump administration has recently reversed that trend towards peace, love, and putting flowers down the barrels of rifles.
They now have a "Department of War", not Defense.
The Trump administration has recently reversed that trend towards peace, love, and putting flowers down the barrels of rifles.
They now have a "Department of War", not Defense.
On 02/03/2026 09:40, Liz Tuddenham wrote:
Hibou <vpaereru-unmonitored@yahoo.com.invalid> wrote:
[...].
Blacksmiths, silversmiths, and locksmiths keep their tools in good
order. Only wordsmiths abuse them.
That is because the physical workers spoil their reputations by damaging
their tools whereas wordsmiths enhance their reputations and are praised
by other wordsmiths.
Excellent example in case this morning: Keir Starmer has allowed the
use of the British RAF base in Cyprus for 'defensive' use only by the Americans.
Yes, we are all hoping that the orange moron will set up defensive
measures against Iranian drones in Akrotiri. <smile>
May be (only may be) if he'd got the Peace Prize, he wouldn't be being
so nasty now?
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/british-air-base-cyprus-hit-by- suspected-drone-strike-sky-news-reports-2026-03-02/
liz@poppyrecords.invalid.invalid (Liz Tuddenham) writes:
Hibou <vpaereru-unmonitored@yahoo.com.invalid> wrote:
[...].
Blacksmiths, silversmiths, and locksmiths keep their tools in good
order. Only wordsmiths abuse them.
That is because the physical workers spoil their reputations by damaging
their tools whereas wordsmiths enhance their reputations and are praised
by other wordsmiths.
Indeed. Befor you hire someone as a write -- journalist, speech
write, whatever -- you want to have a look at what they've previously >written.
I once worked in a shop where a job applicant was required to appear
with his big, often very heavy tool chest. The boss scrutinzed his
tools more closely that he did the applicant himself.
On Mon, 2 Mar 2026 21:16:03 +0000, "Kerr-Mudd, John" <admin@127.0.0.1>
wrote:
May be (only may be) if he'd got the Peace Prize, he wouldn't be being
so nasty now?
He has said so himself.
On 03/03/26 07:04, Sam Plusnet wrote:
The Trump administration has recently reversed that trend towards peace, love, and putting flowers down the barrels of rifles.
They now have a "Department of War", not Defense.
I am impressed that the incurable liar told the truth for once.
How many countries use their military for defence? Very few.
On 03/03/26 07:04, Sam Plusnet wrote:
The Trump administration has recently reversed that trend towards peace,
love, and putting flowers down the barrels of rifles.
They now have a "Department of War", not Defense.
I am impressed that the incurable liar told the truth for once.
How many countries use their military for defence? Very few.
Larger countries, you're right. But smaller countries probably most do. Ask occam, but I doubt whether Luxemburg has any immediate plans to conquer Germany.They now have a "Department of War", not Defense.
I am impressed that the incurable liar told the truth for once.
How many countries use their military for defence? Very few.
Now, I think Iran is pretty frightful, a problem for its own citizens
and its neighbours - but what's the plan? Is it just to duff them up?
What comes afterwards?
On 02 Mar 2026 16:57:33 -0400, Mike Spencer
<mds@bogus.nodomain.nowhere> wrote:
liz@poppyrecords.invalid.invalid (Liz Tuddenham) writes:
Hibou <vpaereru-unmonitored@yahoo.com.invalid> wrote:
[...].
Blacksmiths, silversmiths, and locksmiths keep their tools in good
order. Only wordsmiths abuse them.
That is because the physical workers spoil their reputations by damaging >> their tools whereas wordsmiths enhance their reputations and are praised >> by other wordsmiths.
Indeed. Befor you hire someone as a write -- journalist, speech
write, whatever -- you want to have a look at what they've previously >written.
I once worked in a shop where a job applicant was required to appear
with his big, often very heavy tool chest. The boss scrutinzed his
tools more closely that he did the applicant himself.
One of my uncles was a 'master mechanic' (IIRC? Is that it?)
He told me that a prospective hire would have his tools examined
mainly to look at the tools that he had designed and built for
himself. Apparently that is standard at one level of the profession.
The function of the tools would reveal the problems he had solved,
and how well they were made would show someting else.
Peter Moylan <peter@pmoylan.org> posted:
On 03/03/26 07:04, Sam Plusnet wrote:Larger countries, you're right. But smaller countries probably most do. Ask occam, but I doubt whether Luxemburg has any immediate plans to conquer Germany.
The Trump administration has recently reversed that trend towards peace, >>> love, and putting flowers down the barrels of rifles.
They now have a "Department of War", not Defense.
I am impressed that the incurable liar told the truth for once.
How many countries use their military for defence? Very few.
How are we going to decide whether Mr Trump is a success or an Epic Loser?
On 02/03/2026 09:36, Hibou wrote:
Le 02/03/2026 |a 08:54, occam a |-crit :
Excellent example in case this morning:-a Keir Starmer has allowed the
use of the British RAF base in Cyprus for 'defensive' use only by the
Americans.
Yes, we are all hoping that the orange moron will set up defensive
measures against Iranian drones in Akrotiri.-a <smile>
Quite. We used to have a War Office; now we have a Ministry of Defence.
(We used to have a Prime Minister; now we have a drone?)
The Trump administration has recently reversed that trend towards peace, love, and putting flowers down the barrels of rifles.
They now have a "Department of War", not Defense.
On 3/2/2026 3:54 AM, occam wrote:
On 02/03/2026 09:40, Liz Tuddenham wrote:
Hibou <vpaereru-unmonitored@yahoo.com.invalid> wrote:
[...].
Blacksmiths, silversmiths, and locksmiths keep their tools in good
order. Only wordsmiths abuse them.
That is because the physical workers spoil their reputations by damaging >>> their tools whereas wordsmiths enhance their reputations and are praised >>> by other wordsmiths.
Excellent example in case this morning:-a Keir Starmer has allowed the
use of the British RAF base in Cyprus for 'defensive' use only by the
Americans.
Yes, we are all hoping that the orange moron will set up defensive
measures against Iranian drones in Akrotiri.-a <smile>
That didn't age well.
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/british-air-base-cyprus-hit-by- suspected-drone-strike-sky-news-reports-2026-03-02/
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