I appeal to the good folk of Wordcraft to help me find a better word. Accountants I know are offering a course in the new Excel, offering to help users "manipulate sheets..."

Surely there is a better, or at least more tasteful, usage? Accountants must do something other than "manipulate."

From Etymological dictionary: "from L. manipulus "handful, sheaf," from manus "hand" (see manual) + root of plere "to fill" (see plenary). Sense of "skillful handling of objects" is first recorded 1826; extended 1828 to "handling of persons" as well as objects. Manipulative is from 1836; manipulate is from 1831."

Fascinating that it is cognate to "mandate," "manual," "manciple" and "manner."

"manipulate sheets..."

It seems to me that manipulate spreadsheets is pretty well established by now. Why choose a new term and confuse the oldtimers? There's a lot to manipulate or handle: creating, deleting, calculating (with), etc. You could say "use spreadsheets", I suppose, but then you wouldn't be getting your hands dirty by hands-on manipulation ... I'm sure one of the more rigorously minded amongst us will give you better and more serious suggestions. (Just, please, nothing along the liens of how to thumb a drive.)

... while we wait, here's another ... handy link.

zmježd makes a good point on usage. It's not that "manipulate" is inherently bad. Rather, it has just been keeping bad company, post-Enron (see below).

"On May 20, 2003, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a final rule, as directed by Section 303 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, making it unlawful for officers and directors of public companies, and persons acting under their direction, to coerce, manipulate, mislead or fraudulently influence the company’s..."

I think it's just that manipulate has more than one meaning.

quote:

1: to treat or operate with or as if with the hands or by mechanical means especially in a skillful manner
2 a: to manage or utilize skillfully b: to control or play upon by artful, unfair, or insidious means especially to one's own advantage
3: to change by artful or unfair means so as to serve one's purpose

Yep!

I wonder, if you applied for a course on how to manipulate spreadsheets expecting goofy's definitions 2b or 3, and instead got taught definition 2a, could you ask for your money back?

Yeah, but ... (reinforcing Robert's point, and somewhat questioning goofey),

While it's true that 'manipulate' can properly be used in a neutral or even laudatory sense (or at least, could be in the past), isn't it also true that it in practice it almost always has a negative connotation?

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

I was thinking that, too, Wordnerd, but I wonder if perhaps those in accounting and computers actually don't see it as negatively as the rest of us do. That is the problem with multiple definitions, I agree. It also might be a good reason to come up with a different word. Many of us perceive this use of the word negatively, there is no getting around that.