The Engine Room A blog about language use, misuse and abuse, brought to you by two sub-editors (copy editors) on a weekly magazine. If you have questions about words, grammar, spelling etc, why not ask us? Statistics Unique Visitors: Total Unique Visitors: Outgoing: Total Outgoing: 0 0 50 4672

Articles from The Engine Room

Headline: Virgin named as top Rock suitor 2007-11-26 08:31:00 Today's confusing headline of the day comes courtesy of the BBC News site: Virgin named as top Rock suitorIt took me a moment to twig that the virgin in the story is Richard Branson's Virgin Group. Ordinarily the initial cap of 'Virgin' would have given it away but as the word started the headline the visual clue was lost.Branson, of course, set up the Virgin Records music label so it then took me another moment to realise that the 'Rock' the story refers to isn't the music genre but the troubled British bank Northern Rock.Before you ask, I first saw this headline on the BBC News homepage and totally failed to note the small 'Northern Rock' image which might otherwise have clarified things. A picture of Richard Branson's grinning visage may have been preferable. And it's not often that I say that.Virgin named as top Rock suitor ...

You are a genius, here's the proof 2007-11-25 05:49:00 I recently came across an online blog readability test which assesses "the level of education required to understand your blog". And as you can see from the image to the right, the test reveals that only geniuses can understand the Engine Room.On the negative side, this suggests that Apus and I should use a smaller vocabulary and less complicated sentence structures, or just speak... more... slowly...On the positive side, if you've managed to read this far then you yourself must be a genius. And if you regularly understand what Apus and I are banging on about, well then, Einstein's got nothing on you.Actually, Apus and I probably just confused the readability test with our British turns of phrase - and by blogging about words no one has ever heard before, such as sidehill.(Thanks to Mr Verb for this one, and for the plug.) ...

Morrinov, Morritini and Vodkat 2007-11-24 06:05:00 I am amused that the supermarket Morrisons' own-brand vodka is called 'Morrinov'. I also hear an unconfirmed rumour that its vermouth is called 'Morritini'.Still, either has to be better than the bottles of 22% 'Vodkat' (pictured) which you can buy in Asda and other cheap places; there's a good reason the Harrogate-based manufacturer can't use the word 'vodka'.And trawling through the web to find out a bit more about horrible drinks I did come across a good tip: run cheap spirit through a water filter (you know, the type that sits in your fridge) to take the impurities out and make it more drinkable.Unfortunately, I am not currently in a position to try this advice but if anyone else has the opportunity, I would love to hear whether it works. Thanks. ...

Amazon Kindle: yay or nay? 2007-11-23 07:38:00 I've just changed the poll on the panel to the right. The new question is whether you would buy a Kindle, the "wireless reading device" (pictured) just launched by Amazon. The Kindle can hold up to 200 e-books and has a screen that "looks and reads like real paper".The reason I'm blogging about the Kindle is because I'm in disagreement with our web editor as to whether the device will be a commercial success. I don't want to influence your opinion, so all I can say now is that one of us believes it will, the other believes it won't.If you want to find out more about the Kindle before making up your mind, check out Amazon's Kindle product overview or the Wikipedia Kindle page. There's also information on Wikipedia about other E-book devices.Anyway, I'd love to hear your opinion. ...

P-p-p-pick up a penguin 2007-11-22 09:13:00 Shop signs can be irritating, not least the misuse of apostrophes, but some shopkeepers are to be commended on their signs.For example, when the buffet at Balham station in South London is closed the sign on the door reads "Shut happens".And the florist near the Engine Room's top secret base is boosting his pre-Christmas turnover by flogging some rather jolly stuffed penguins under the sign: "A penguin's for life, not just for Christmas – unless you're a polar bear, in which case a penguin might be for lunch." ...

Congestion delays journey times: huh? 2007-11-22 08:06:00 It's funny that sometimes our writers can get in a muddle with even the simplest of sentences. The meaning is in there, but the choice of words is wrong. For example:Congestion delays journey timesNo! Congestion increases journey times. Congestion delays road users. It doesn't delay journey times.(JD walks off muttering to himself...)Foreign congestion ...

Eggplant, zucchini and an Australian 2007-11-21 08:13:00 Continuing on the 'North American' theme: one of the dishes available in our staff canteen today is the American English-sounding eggplant and zucchini pasta bake – that's aubergine and courgette pasta bake to Brits like me.Actually I believe our head chef is Australian, and that 'eggplant' and 'zucchini' are the favoured terms in Oz. Either our chef is unaware of some of the differences between Australian and British English, or he is trying to stamp his authority (and nationality) on the menu...(Read my other staff canteen-related posts: pan-fried cat and fine herbs.) ...

Word of the day: sidehill 2007-11-20 07:53:00 Some copy I was subbing yesterday kept making mention of a certain vehicle's performance on sidehills. Thinking 'sidehill' was a technical term, or at least a specific type of hill or slope, I was surprised to find that the Oxford English Dictionary just defines it as North American for 'hillside'.We say 'hillside'; they say 'sidehill'. Let's call the whole thing off.And now I'm off to have a wichsand.(Incidentally, I'd love to hear from any North American readers as to whether they use 'sidehill', 'hillside', or both). ...

Use TLAs carefully! 2007-11-19 05:35:00 TLAs (three-letter acronyms) have become an established feature of the English language, but until an acronym becomes universally recognised it should be used with care.That's why I didn't assume Engine Room readers would recognise 'TLA', and why JD and I give our readers the full version of even a well established TLA the first time it appears in a story. This is clearly not a universal policy.The following headline and sub-head graced the front cover of today's Western Mail, the Papur Cenedlaethol Cymru ('National Newspaper of Wales', as if you didn't know), below a photo of a Welsh rugby player:Where's our missing £21m? Fears WAG has plundered cash intended to help disabled peopleReaders of British tabloids will be all too familiar with the TLA WAG – it stands for Wives And Girlfriends; particularly when associated with highly paid sportsmen like the stalwart pictured over the WAG headline. In tabloid terms WAGs are known more for their polished appearance and high spend ...

Untimely cliches banned! 2007-11-16 10:49:00 It seems that even the great and good who write for the Times Literary Supplement need to be brought to heel on occasion – their engine room has issued a list of words and phrases that are not to be used in that august organ:iconicironicallycarbon footprinttime poorblack/Muslim/literary communityandany reference to sex beginning in 1963, in conjunction with Philip Larkin ...

Other engine rooms, other gremlins 2007-11-15 06:29:00 One of our cherished freelancers spotted the following headlines on holdthefrontpage.co.uk:Arranging the death of a loved one isn't easy12 die in 30 minutes as car bombers target Shite areaChild sex field at family fun eventShoreham wind turbine talksand, every sub's nightmare:Think of a headline56pt bold headline Not to be left out, I must own up to a memorable typo at the end of a motor show preview some years ago: "See next week for a dull report". Yes, 'd' is right next to 'f' on the keyboard and spellcheckers, as we all know to our cost, don't pick up typos that make real words – but did that get me of the hook? Of course not. ...

Get those shoes out of here! 2007-11-14 12:34:00 Spotted at the security desk of Gatwick Airport: "Footwear repatriation area".I know security has to be tight nowadays, by throwing a chap's shoes out of the country seems a mite harsh.Shoes: go back home ...

The strange case of Megan Thomas, 20 2007-11-13 08:18:00 Quite amused by a story in today's Daily Mail about "a 20-year-old secretary at a private club [who] won a landmark discrimination case after claiming she was sacked for being too young for the job".The secretary in question, Megan Thomas, had this to say:I was upset to lose my job. I was told I was too young and if they had met me a few years later there may not have been a problem.They also said that I was deceitful, sly and lacked integrity, which was hurtful and untrue.So there "may not have been a problem" with Megan working at the club if she had been slightly older, even though she was – in the club's opinion – deceitful, sly and lacking in integrity. A great approach to recruitment there... ...

Think before you write: recruitment ad 2007-11-12 12:01:00 A magazine in the group that employs JD and I includes a recruitment ad that is well written and tempting (the job offers 56 days' annual leave, for a start).The role, we are told, involves managing sites at a number of remote locations. Fair enough.But someone at the advertising agency must have been having a bad day when they wrote the headline: 'Camp Managers'. ...

Not compelled but required 2007-11-12 11:52:00 Today a story thudded onto the engine-room floor which had me reaching for the OED.It refered to a driver who was prosecuted for failing to take regular breaks which the law 'compelled him to do'. A moment's thought and a quick definition check confirmed that the author should have written 'required him to do'.Why? Because the OED tells us that compel is 'to force or oblige [someone] to do something' and the whole point of the story was that the individual concerned hadn't. ...