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Posts Tagged ‘Definitions’

A little Chicken Little

Posted in Random, tagged , , , , on December 2, 2009| 1 Comment »

What is the DEAL with folks in Savannah? People are acting like there has never been a strong storm before. Closing school? SERIOUSLY? Now, the school my kids attend has a bunch of trailers, so I can kind of see their point in that case. But pretty much all schools have been closed since noon and it is just now starting to rain in the ‘Ham.

"The sky is falling!"

"The sky is falling!"

Yes, there is a tornado WATCH in effect.

Yes, there will be strong winds, heavy rain and the potential for flooding in low-lying areas.

But that is every afternoon in the summer, no?

In fact, the radar picture looks very similar to stuff we see all the time.

I’m not particularly worried, and I’m a meteorologist. I also play one on TV!

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Panic + resolve

Posted in Random, tagged , , , , on November 30, 2009| 1 Comment »

My dissertation proposal was due today, the day of my self-imposed deadline. However, I sent it to my committee chair on Wednesday for feedback. I don’t want to work on it anymore until I get that feedback. I really don’t want to work on it anymore, period, but that’s not possible.

This is what my dining room table looked like the day I stopped working on the proposal:

Dining room table/work space/Hell on Earth

I switched gears yesterday from eating everything in sight to rereading everything on my theory reading list.

That list includes “Mass Communication Theory,” which is a struggle. Also on the list:

Herbert Gans, “Deciding What’s News”
Todd Gitlin, “The Whole World is Watching”
Edward Epstein, “News from Nowhere”
David Manning White, “The ‘Gatekeeper'”
Ben Bagdikian, “The Media Monopoly”
Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann, “Return to the Concept of Powerful Mass Media”

All of this is in preparation for the start of the comprehensive exams tomorrow. From Tuesday to Friday, for three hours a day, I will be holed up at the library at University of South Carolina-Beaufort (South campus) writing my little heart out. If (when?) I pass and successfully defend my proposal, I will be A.B.D. That stands for “all but dissertation,” but it might as well stand for “all but dead.”

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Trish: not mad

Posted in Chickens, Grammar, etc., tagged , , , on November 11, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Trish

Trish, a wet hen

The phrase “madder than a wet hen” came to mind today. It’s been a monsoon in the ‘Ham for the past two days, thanks to Ida. During a break in the clouds, I went to feed Trish. She came around the corner from the neighbor’s house, and she was soaking wet. She didn’t appear particularly angry about it though.

I’m sure that phrase originated in the south, but I wish I knew how and where. Wikianswers, which I don’t trust, of course, reports that it originated in the Southern Appalachian Mountains. Someday I want to have time to study etymology. Someday. In the meantime, I’ll find time to peruse the Online Etymology Dictionary.

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A little peeve action

Posted in Grammar, etc., tagged , , , on November 10, 2009| Leave a Comment »

My language peeve this week (so far) is the phrase “near miss,” as in:

“Drunk woman falls onto subway tracks and survives near miss”

My friend Merriam-Webster defines it in the following manner:

Main Entry: near miss
Function: noun
Date: 1940

1 a : a miss (as with a bomb) close enough to cause damage b : something that falls just short of success
2 a : a near collision (as between aircraft) b : close call

Folks, a “near miss” is a HIT. A “near hit” would be a welcome miss. Or “Hey there, buddy, that was close!” Or “Oh my, we barely missed being victims of a horribly disfiguring accident!” Or just “Good God!”

I’m not the only one who likes to argue this point. Check out the language corner portion of the Columbia Journalism Review.

But to save argument and confusion, doesn’t “close call” work just fine?

 

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“Harumph”

Posted in Grammar, etc., tagged , on October 16, 2009| Leave a Comment »

I just used that word in a text message to Trish the Human. I was typing it before I realized I had even thought of it. This is how I work.

The Urban Dictionary defines it as “an expression of disdain, disbelief, protest, or dismissal; a huff, grunt, or snort.” The site defines the word in other, less savory ways as well, but I’m not going to go into that.

It’s a good, useful word, and it conveys plenty of meaning in just seven letters. In case you are curious, I harumphed at Trish because she has been sick for two weeks but won’t go see a doctor. I said she was like my third child. She replied, “Fourth.” I said, “Yes. Fourth. Harumph,” which says a lot.

"Harumph" by kXXchan

"Harumph" by kXXchan

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