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Thursday, February 03, 2022

Annoying, Inaccurate Idiotic Linguistic Oxymorons

We all have our pet peeves, and there are various genres for sure. Maybe genre is the wrong word. Maybe I should have written categories. I'd hate to start a rant like this with a glaring linguistic faux pas mistake, but thanks to Professor Google I've just discovered that the actual definition of genre  is category. Honestly, I never knew that before. Spanish was my Foreign Language in high school, not French.

Before I share two glaring ones, at least they're glaring to me, I'd like to invite you to share yours in the comments, please.

Linguistic Oxymorons

  1. "close acquaintances" which is a contradiction in terms. An acquaintance by definition isn't someone you're close with. If you were close with the person, it would mean that the person is a friend. acquaintance: a person whom you know but do not know well and who is therefore not exactly a friend. Synonyms: contact, associate, connection, ally, colleague. Actually using these synonyms would be a more correct way of describing someone you know, or work/ed with, but don't consider to be a friend. There's more distance in an "acquaintance."
  2. "knitted" sic kippot (yarmulkes)" Kippot are those small round head-coverings worn by some Jewish men and the Roman Catholic hierarchy, though they call them "skullcaps." Actually they can be of any material/fabric at all. In certain Jewish circles, especially here in Israel, a crocheted kippah is also a "political badge" signifying "national religious," those believing in Jewish Rights to the Land of Israel. In Hebrew the little "cap" is called kippah srugah. The problem comes from translating srugah into English. The Hebrew word can mean either knitted or crocheted, which are two similar though different crafts using string or yarn. Knitting uses two sticks and is best for square or rectangular shapes. Crocheting uses one hooked "stick" and is best for circles and ovals. A kippah is circular, so it's easily crocheted. It's pretty obvious that some man needed to translate "srugah" and looked up the word in a dictionary. Not having the vaguest idea of the difference between knitting and crocheting, he figured that they were the same, one more Anglo and the other French. This oxymoron has taken off. I've even seen it in books and articles where the author should have known better, but the world of Jewish publishing is dominated by men....
What's your linguistic pet peeve? Please add it to the comments, thanks.

7 comments:

  1. 1) Free gift - what other kind is there?

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  2. p.s. What did you think genre meant?

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  3. Natalie Levine3/2/22 11:08

    Also, rose to a crescrndo: a musical term mean slow rise in volume

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  4. I'm shocked! Just Googled for sp & found they define as "highest point etc". Guess a mistake so frequent it's been accepted. :(

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  5. free gift-- good one
    I thought genre only applied to books
    "sp?"

    Thanks for the additions. I'm sure there are more out there.

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  6. "Gifted" as in receiving or giving a gift. I first saw it in news releases from Christian organizations and from there it seems to have spread and become standard. There is nothing wrong with "It was a gift," "I received a gift," "He gave me a book."

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  7. And what about those who state that they're "good" when someone asks if they're well.

    ReplyDelete

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