On the chat today, I told Geoff how my kids thought I must be ancient because they laughed when I said something like, "He gets his jollies from...." Geoff mentioned that he used to use the words "keen" and "swell," but of course they aren't used now.

What are other words that have "gone out of style," so to speak?

Heh. There must be thousands of words and phrases like this that cause us to show our age, or perhaps we recall as 'quaint' sayings of our parents.

Only today I said to a colleague 'You bet your sweet bippy' * and the said colleague looked at me as if I was speaking another language.

* If you're too young to remember this was a catchphrase on Rowan and Martin's Laugh-in, a TV show that, I'm embarrassed to see, ran some 40-45 years ago.

Yesterday it was revealed that Governor Rick Scott of Florida, upon taking office, issued a directive that from then on no communication was to have the words "climate change" or "global warming" within it. Government scientists say this makes discussing environmental problems much more difficult (probably an understatement). If you were working in a position that required using those words, what would you do?

Use the terms, Rick Scott change or Rick Scott hot air. Why am I reminded of Candide?

Apparently the Disney Corporation higher-ups were not happy that employees had taken to referring to the company as 'Mousechwitz' (spelling?) so they issued a decree that anyone found using the term would be fired on the spot. Within hours, their wage-slaves started calling the place 'Duckenwald' instead.

I'm sure that Floridians can also be creative in this way to subvert similar diktats.

Well, I certainly agree with "global warming." It's a stupid term that doesn't adequate describe climate change. However, I am always against censoring of words, which is absolutely what this is.

I've heard it said that Boston had a record breaking amount of global warming dumped on it this winter. That notwithstanding, it's pretty hard to argue that weather patterns have not changed in recent decades. Human causes are clear in such areas as the Sahel region of North Africa, where humans have stripped vegetation, which has led to desertification. Some argue that the root cause is decreasing carbon sequestration - a theory that's more demonstrable than is rising carbon dioxide levels in the upper atmosphere.

arnie, "Mousechwitz" reminded me of this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maus

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Originally posted by arnie:
'You bet your sweet bippy'

I award you the fickle finger of fate!

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Originally posted by Proofreader:
If you were working in a position that required using those words, what would you do?

First off I would banish the words 'Rick' and 'Scott' from all communications.

Are there any countries that accept refugees from governmental idiocy?

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Originally posted by Proofreader:If you were working in a position that required using those words, what would you do? First off I would banish the words 'Rick' and 'Scott' from all communications.

Excellent solution!

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arnie, "Mousechwitz" reminded me of this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maus

We have that book, Geoff!

Got this in an email today.

Wow. They really do have too much time on their hands. There are some pretty good words on that list.

<Sigh>.

Gee, Proofreader, I find myself very sympathetic to most of his suggested dumpster fodder! A kindred spirit, I guess!

Is "Vocabula" a word vampire? It sure as shootin' ain't a word.

More about the man behind the Vocabula Review, Robert Hartwell Fiske:
https://wordcraft.infopop.cc/ev...32607094/m/351104781

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If you love words, if you love the English language, you'll love The Vocabula Review.

Wanna bet?

Bob, where is that quote from? I must have missed it.

I liked z's comments about Fiske in that link from goofy. I know z is taken with his beau and all, but I miss him:

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Yes, he's pretty much a linguistic troll. I have his book. It's part of my prescriptivist collection.

Bob's quote is taken from the Vocabula Review site itself. You didn't think it was a quote from any of the reviewers here, did you?

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I know z is taken with his beau and all

Um ... She's his belle, not his beau. Not that there'd be anything wrong with that ...

Ah...I didn't realize that it was beau and belle, though I should have. Please forgive.

Yes, z has a belle with whom he is quite taken, which is good news.

Oh, i get back here from time to time. I call her my bella, preferring the Italian to the French.

Yes, and we love it when you do!