I am interested in your thoughts of this word, procure. My colleague used it in a letter to organizations, asking them to procure 25 hospital sites for phase I of a study. It seemed right to me, so when I proofed it, I kept it.
I am now told that one of the meanings is to engage a prostitute. I've changed the wording, of course, but is that a common usage of it?
Obviously those who mentioned the second meaning have their minds in the gutter. Procure is a perfectly acceptable word as are others with objectionable alternative meanings. You wouldn't ask someone for a metal fastener with diagonal ridges along its face. No, you say, "Give me a screw." Well, maybe YOU'D better not use that exact language, but you get my drift.
Yes, indeed. The police have a language all of their own over here, and, it seems, over there as well.
"I was proceeding along Acacia Avenue when I observed the accused endeavouring to gain entry to a dwelling utilising a window" is policese for "Driving along Acacia Avenue, I saw the accused person trying to get into a house by a window".
Build a man a fire and he's warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life.
"I was proceeding along Acacia Avenue when I observed the accused endeavouring to gain entry to a dwelling utilising a window. I grasped the perpetrator by the legs and, using techniques acquired in our Academy, propelled the accused to the ground. The perp immediately began struggling violently while cursing vociferously. In the course of taking the accused into custody, it was necessary for myself and several unnamed bystanders to administer approximately seventy to eighty punches, kicks or blows with an assortment of implements, not limited to flashlights, truncheons, coshes, 2X4s, and several squashes frm a nearby garden. Once the accused was subdued, a hysterical woman admonished this officer, stating the accused was her husband trying to enter after losing his housekey."
Procure is a perfectly acceptable word as are others with objectionable alternative meanings.
I actually found the alternative that was suggested...identify...not to be quite right. I checked the thesaurus and found nothing. What might you recommend?
Procure: When a master chef fixes your ham. Procurer: The master chef Procuress: His female assistantThis message has been edited. Last edited by: <Proofreader>,
Had I written the original, I probably wouldn't have used procure because it's just not in my vernacular. But, in thinking about it, procure is the best word for the situation. Nothing else quite works.
