Let us revisit pre- vs de-. Before I was born phone plugs and jacks were used at the telephone office to join subscribers. Plug shank was 0.205 dia, I believe, though the REAL old-timer may correct me here

But when I was a kid the exprs also came to mean earphone connectors, the plug 1/4 in. dia

As I exited puberty smaller phone P's and J's, appeared, eg. 2.5 mm. But logically all were correctly called phone P&J's because 'phone was short for either telephone or earphone

As I entered old age, however, they assumed an additional meaning, ei, the typical modern household telephone plug and receptacle, but I didn't realize that

One evening my expert-IT No. 1 Son called me to help hook up my new web safe router. "Now, on the back of the unit do you see a phone jack?" he asked. "No, none at all," I replied, prompting him to ask if he and I were discussing the same unit

Of course, at length it became clear that by "phone jack" he meant telephone receptacle, of which there were indeed four...

...whereupon I reflected, aha, here's a typical example of semantic shifting, that lately I have so deplored on WC. The disjunction could cause massive confusion and maybe even unnecessary expenditure, on the part of millions of old farts such as I...

...and this therefore constituted a typical example wherein the coining of entirely new words would have been preferable, eg, to distinguish the phone jack from the telephone receptacle. But at length I reflected, what else would you call it

The male member indeed being a plug and the female a jack, and they are both 'phone connectors

Thus I feel compelled herewith to surrender my credentials as a prescriptivist and join the descriptivists. However, I do it under some duress

I think people say phono jack for the 0.25 inch receptacle and telephone jack for the RJ-11 receptacle. You might want to read up on jacks in general. For instance, the ethernet jack (RJ-45) is different from the phone jack (RJ-11), see registered jack. About phone, mini, and sub-mini (or micro) jack plugs, you might want to read about jack plugs. Then there's also RCA plugs and XLR connectors. It's a wonderful world.

If I remember correctly, the RJ-11 connector (modular connectors) was introduced (in the US) in the '70s. They replaced a four-pronged plug system, which replaced an older fixed wire system for installing phones. Does anybody know what those pre-RJ-11 connectors were called? I also remember using banana plugs and jacks in the early '80s for patching on an aging Buchla Model 200 analog synthesizer. My Nagra III also has a dual banana jack for headphones.

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...whereupon I reflected, aha, here's a typical example of semantic shifting, that lately I have so deplored on WC.

Sorry, Dale, but that's the nature of forums. People get excited and take the conversation in other directions. To me, the "semantic shifting" is interesting and lends some richness to the posts. If we were merely to ask a question, answer it and move on to another thread and another question, it could get quite boring, I think.

zm: Thank you most kindly for those links, something in my utter laziness I wouldn't have dredged up. I am continually impressed by your diligence, whereby today I have learned at least two new facts...

...perhaps three or even four; eg, I was especially taken aback by "jack plug", which I would have sworn to be self-contradictory

Remarkable also that you should mention the Ethernet jack, as previous to my conversation with No. 1 Son I hadn't even realized was different from a phone jack. It's fortunate that I never tried to mismate them

k: You are a remarkably even-handed and forgiving person. However, I wasn't registering a complaint at all. I understand "semantic shift" to mean not only the application of a wildly-divergent new meaning to an old word, but the retention of the original meaning (I believe this is discussed on Wikipedia). Actually, I was humbly acquiescing to the phenom as inevitable, and in the case of "phone plug" even acceptable

Well Dale, you've been inviting me to join for some time, and I've been avoiding it. Only because of the ridiculous amount of time I already spend on this damnable computer. However, I've finally succumbed. And, I'm also thrilled that you too have finally succumbed to this aspect of ''word evolution'. Personally I find it very endearing. I love that some words have evolved to mean other things. I love reflecting on how and why they started. I love it when my 13 year-old stepdaughter asks me to explain why I choose certain words at certain times, because her own slant on the word is so different to my own, because she comes from a different time zone.

So, in the process of typing this response, I asked both my husband and my stepdaughter to think of a word that started out meaning one thing and evolved into something else. To my astonishment, in unison they instantly came up with 'gay'. Wasn't quite the direction I was heading in, but it's a reasonable example. Sadly off the top of my head I can think of no more relevant examples. But I'm working on it.

Other words such as cab, sedan, etc. have started to pass through my mind - and these are words that have evolved to work into our current society. Sometimes the evolution of our language distresses me. But this aspect, I think is rather nice.

So that's my introductory comment, for my first entry in this site.
Hello to all and I trust you're all well and busy in the leadup to that celebration we keep hearing about.

Welcome to Wordcraft! We just love new people...and what luck that you're from Australia. We have many people from the US and the UK and a few from Canada, and while we've had a couple from Australia who have registered, they haven't posted much. We need the Australian perspective to the English language!

Many of us here agree with you about the evolution of language, though a few don't.

Oh, and Dale, I am sorry that I had misunderstood you. I now see what you were saying.

Many thanks Kalleh for your kind welcome. I couldn't help but chuckle at your comment re Australian perspective on the English language. Some might argue it's dreadful. Our language evolved from working class convict stock and many of our terms clearly reflect this. Obviously more recently thanks to the different types of immigration and of course, the media, our language is changing, but we still seem to have retained some of that original heritage. And of course I'm talking about the 'imported' English speaking heritage here, not to mention the original inhabitants who's language is a whole other story.

Anyway I look forward to future conversations and say g'day to everyone here.

peta: Hooray hooray, a most warm welcome to WC

Truly this kind of thing is addicting; the neologism for the phenom is "screen sucking". The whole de facto purpose of the digital hardware is eventually to dominate us and thus take over the world. We think the PC is our slave, but soon without realizing it, we will be its

Coincidentally, "gay" was one of my pet peeves as a prescriptivist because of its pejorative connotation. However, I believe it is rapidly losing those old stereotypical associations

Although I'm sorry it has lost its old utility. Eg, one would not now say, "Let's join their party and have a gay time"

This message has been edited. Last edited by: dalehileman,

'addicting'? Dale - is that a word?

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'addicting'

Apparently so. It gets over three and a half million Ghits

Welcome petafromoz (I rather like descriptive noms-de-computer - although mine is actually mine own).

I, too, dislike the fact that the word "gay" can no longer be used in its original context - the more so since there is no precise synonym for it in that sense. This is not the case with its modern meaning, for which there are several synonyms.

So far as the jack plug is concerened, this was the common device used for temporary low-voltage connections when I was young. I suspect it has fallen from use for three main reasons:

Firstly it is relatively bulky and expensive and secondly it is limited in the number of connections it can provide with around 6 being the likely maximum. Finally its construction is such that jack insertion must allow sequential connection between the first conductor ring on the jack and all the conductors in the socket. This means that any circuit must take such transitory connections into account and allow them without harm. Modern connectors allow simultaneous connection of all the circuits without any danger of wrong connections' being transitirily made.

I, too, dislike the fact that the word "gay" can no longer be used in its original context - the more so since there is no precise synonym for it in that sense. This is not the case with its modern meaning, for which there are several synonyms.

This is, as I have pointed out before, simply not true. You can use gay in any one of its multiple meanings. Context should be enough disambiguate. As for synonyms, as I have said before there are probably no true synonyms, but joyful and glad come close in some contexts.

***It should be but it isn't. You'd best be careful using "gay" in its old sense

Rich: Actually four. As I learned later, "jack plug" is mainly a UK expr. In my 76 years in the field of electronics I had nevr heard it

You'd best be careful using "gay" in its old sense

Strange. I'd never noticed. Do you have an example? Are you sure it was your use of the word gay and not some other part of your signature persiflage?

Welcome Petafromoz,

I am relatively new here also but it is a fun site.

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This is, as I have pointed out before, simply not true. You can use gay in any one of its multiple meanings. Context should be enough disambiguate.

I am sorry; I was being imprecise.

What I meant was not a matter of ambiguity but of political correctness or its converse. By using the term "gay" to refer to, say, a particularly enjoyable gathering, would be to risk sniggering and snide comments from heterosexuals and accusations of prejudice or homophobia from homosexuals.

By using the term "gay" to refer to, say, a particularly enjoyable gathering, would be to risk sniggering and snide comments from heterosexuals and accusations of prejudice or homophobia from homosexuals.

Oh, I was being imprecise also. If you're concerned about what people will think or say in response to something you've said, then perhaps you shouldn't speak or write. I suggest that if you said "I feel quite merry (joyful, glad)" on a construction site to a bunch of guys, you might get the same reaction as if you'd said you're gay. (Whether or not any of the construction workers were gay or not.) I wouldn't blame the language because of that. Would you?

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I suggest that if you said "I feel quite merry (joyful, glad)" on a construction site to a bunch of guys, you might get the same reaction as if you'd said you're gay.

I doubt that. The words merry, joyful and glad don't have the "sinister" undertones that "gay" now has.

Merry, in England can also mean slightly drunk, whereas joyful might be considered a little affected. Glad would need qualification; it's never used alone to describe a state of mind over here.

You are right, of course, about the possibilities of annoying people with wrongly chosen words or expressions - but some are more likely to annoy than others - and the time, place and situation will also have a major bearing. When I was a schoolboy, it was quite common to say that you were having a gay day - which meant only that you were feeling rather good about the current day and situation. You can't say that nowadays without being thought provocative or even offensive.

I doubt that. The words merry, joyful and glad don't have the "sinister" undertones that "gay" now has.

I disagree, but I'll just add this topic to my don't discuss with Richard on the Board list.

zm: But my signature isn't persiflage. When I first signed up my username was "what's a username" and my signature, "what's a signature" because I sincerely didn't know the difference

When it was explained, I quickly changed the former to dalehileman. However, it became apparent that changing my signature would entail an involved and tiresome Gates loop involving some 448 keystrokes and so I decided to leave it alone

But my signature isn't persiflage.

I meant singature in the sense of "A distinctive mark, characteristic, or sound indicating identity: A surprise ending is the signature of an O. Henry short story." But, then, you knew that, and this is probably just more of your signature persiflage, or you're being ironic in the British sense of the word (which is untranslatable into US English) and, so, I can't understand you, or, "isn't this where I came in?"

However, it became apparent that changing my signature would entail an involved and tiresome Gates loop involving some 448 keystrokes and so I decided to leave it alone

Funny, you used 69 words in this post, and 422 characters, which, for all I know took you more than twice as many keystrokes. (I once got sunstroke, so I know what you're going through.)

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I doubt that. The words merry, joyful and glad don't have the "sinister" undertones that "gay" now has.

I disagree, but I'll just add this topic to my don't discuss with Richard on the Board list.

This distinction might be not true in the USA bbut in south-east England I can assure that that it exists.

So, I wish you gay tidings for Christmas and hope you have a gay New Year.

wish you gay tidings for Christmas and hope you have a gay New Year.

Nice try. On a completely different subject, the canned phrase in the US is usually "(to) wish (somebody) a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year". Isn't the British set phrase "a Happy Christmas"? How about the adjective for modifying New Year?

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a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Yup. That's the standard phrase over here, too.

zm: Again I am astounded at your diligence, but I'm not smart enough to be ironic in the British sense of the word

I'm not smart enough to be ironic in the British sense of the word

Neither am I. I've been told it's a genetic disease peculiar to US citizens, though I may have misunderstood my British interlocutor's ironic statement.

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I doubt that. The words merry, joyful and glad don't have the "sinister" undertones that "gay" now has

In the U.S., at least, saying "I am merry" or "I am joyful" would be laughed at by construction workers; I agree with zmj on that, though I am not sure about the word "glad."

As I have posted here before, including in another thread tonight, I also don't agree with the balderdash that Americans don't get British irony. In fact, I sense a fair amount of irony by Americans in this very thread.

With all deference to our U.S. communicants, British irony is often more sophisticated

Take that any way you want as in our country any word can be made to mean anything you wish