Jongudmund Posted December 7, 2016 Share Posted December 7, 2016 "Going forward..." used in work contexts is annoying. What's the alternative? We can't go back and do things differently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Colin_McLeod Posted December 7, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 7, 2016 Sometimes that would be the right thing to do if it were only possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium rab Posted June 12, 2017 RMweb Premium Share Posted June 12, 2017 (edited) Deleted Edited June 12, 2017 by rab Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsetan Posted June 12, 2017 Share Posted June 12, 2017 "Going forward..." used in work contexts is annoying..... What was wrong with "in future"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Welly Posted June 12, 2017 RMweb Premium Share Posted June 12, 2017 What was wrong with "in future"? It doesn't sound forward looking enough... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Colin_McLeod Posted June 12, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 12, 2017 Is "thinking outside the box" acceptable? Apparently not, if you are an undertaker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonny777 Posted June 12, 2017 Share Posted June 12, 2017 Although an undertaker who can only think inside the box would be somewhat restricted in their job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold tomparryharry Posted June 12, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 12, 2017 Is "thinking outside the box" acceptable? Apparently not, if you are an undertaker. Is thinking outside the box acceptable? Once again, it does depend upon certain people looking upon a box of chocolates...... Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BG John Posted June 12, 2017 Share Posted June 12, 2017 Is "thinking outside the box" acceptable? Apparently not, if you are an undertaker. It's probably better for their reputation than having their customers thinking while inside the box . I don't think they fit alarm bells now, like they did in olden times in case the customer woke up when they were 6 feet under! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Colin_McLeod Posted June 12, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 12, 2017 I don't think they fit alarm bells now, like they did in olden times in case the customer woke up when they were 6 feet under! Sure you can leave their mobile phone in the box. Just in case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BG John Posted June 12, 2017 Share Posted June 12, 2017 Sure you can leave their mobile phone in the box. Just in case. If you really didn't like them. Imagine their panic when they can't get a signal through 6 feet of soil! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guius Posted June 12, 2017 Share Posted June 12, 2017 Language is fluid and not set in aspic I'm afraid. If we could hear how our forbears of say, 1900 hundred sounded, we would be surprised at the intonation, phonetics and pronunciation of a hundred years or so ago. During WW1 the German military built up a sound library of British accents (gleaned from POWs) for use in the occupation of Britain and this has become a valuable if not unique archive of our changing colloquialisms and highlights how much our mother tongue has diversified and evolved in that short time. But as for 'Management Speak' well that's another rant in the waiting! Best Guy 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pacific231G Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 What was wrong with "in future"? "Going forward" sounds dynamic and thrusting whereas "in future" is far too neutral for the sort of people who like to think they're doing something important and significant during their endless "brain storming" "seminars" "strategy workshops" etc. ad infinitum. It also has one more syllable and that's important though not so important as using "At this moment in time" (seven syllables) instead of "now" (only one syllable) I sometimes think it would be worth doing an MBA just to be able to run rings round all those people who have one and actually believe it. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsetan Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 If you really didn't like them. Imagine their panic when they can't get a signal through 6 feet of soil! The battery would be dead anyway.....which is sort of ironic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernard Lamb Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 Language is fluid and not set in aspic I'm afraid. If we could hear how our forbears of say, 1900 hundred sounded, we would be surprised at the intonation, phonetics and pronunciation of a hundred years or so ago. During WW1 the German military built up a sound library of British accents (gleaned from POWs) for use in the occupation of Britain and this has become a valuable if not unique archive of our changing colloquialisms and highlights how much our mother tongue has diversified and evolved in that short time. But as for 'Management Speak' well that's another rant in the waiting! Best Guy Your reference to German and British accents reminds me of a story from WW11. There was a secret propaganda radio station at Milton Bryan and they needed a female announcer with a good German accent. A young girl of 15, the daughter of one of the people who worked there, took on the task. Her name was Agnes Bernelle and she had come to England with her father from Berlin in 1938. She convinced thousands of German troops that she was broadcasting on "their" radio. After the war she applied for a job with the BBC overseas service and was rejected on the grounds that her German was unsuitable for use on the radio as Germans would not be able to understand her accent and intonation. Of course she could not say a word about what she had been doing for the last three or four years. She went on to have a career in the theatre. On the subject of changes over time. Yesterday I received an email signed off with the phrase. Your loyal servant. That is going back a good few years. Bernard 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burgundy Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 One that I encountered recently was the phrase "reach out", where I would have used "contact". It came up frequently when we were trying to organise medical assistance during a recent visit to the US, where people offered to "reach out", either by phone or e mail, to get another person/organisation to do something. To my mind, it has the unfortunate implication that making the call, or sending the e mail, discharges the obligation - irrespective of any response. My own experience over the years has been that it is better to make absolutely sure that the other party responds and that, sometimes, it may require contact with a blunt instrument or a cattle prod to get that response. I am, sir, your humble and obedient servant, etc. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BG John Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 .... It also has one more syllable and that's important though not so important as using "At this moment in time" (seven syllables) instead of "now" (only one syllable) Surely by the time someone has said "At this moment in time", the moment has passed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold tomparryharry Posted June 13, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 13, 2017 (edited) The pen is indeed, mightier than the sword... But, as the cocktail waiter said, it's better to read between the limes.... Ian. Edited June 13, 2017 by tomparryharry 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernard Lamb Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 Nothing has changed. I leave it without punctuation, emphasis, stress or tone, as there are a multitude of variants from the same source. Discuss. My first comment will be a question as to how one can change "nothing". Bernard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BG John Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 My first comment will be a question as to how one can change "nothing". If nothing can't be changed, how come we exist? What caused anything to exist in the first place? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsetan Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 Nothing has changed...... My first comment will be a question as to how one can change "nothing". One for the mathematicians and scientists? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozexpatriate Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 One that I encountered recently was the phrase "reach out", where I would have used "contact". It came up frequently when we were trying to organise medical assistance during a recent visit to the US, where people offered to "reach out", either by phone or e mail, to get another person/organisation to do something. To my mind, it has the unfortunate implication that making the call, or sending the e mail, discharges the obligation - irrespective of any response. This is not about language but about behaviours. While "contact" may be marginally more precise it does not necessarily imply the closed loop connection you desire. I once had a boss who would complain about the way some technical people process instructions. He used to say somewhat facetiously "if you tell them to get the mail, they go out to the mailbox and just stand there". The implication of course was that these people needed to be give very detailed instructions like "go and get the mail and bring it back to me" to implement what he wanted. Most people prefer not to have communication without the pedantry of "telephone so and so until they acknowledge receipt of your message". We'd rather say "call so and so". Of course there are situations where pedantic acknowledgments are necessary. "Left full rudder" "Aye aye sir, left full rudder" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeremyC Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 (edited) "Left full rudder" "Aye aye sir, left full rudder" You mean "Hard to Port""Aye aye sir, hard to port" Two nations separated by a common language☺ Edited June 13, 2017 by JeremyC 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BG John Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 You mean "Hard to Port" "Aye aye sir, hard to port" Two nations separated by a common language☺ I thought it was "Left hand down a bit". Or was someone having a Lark? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozexpatriate Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 You mean "Hard to Port" "Aye aye sir, hard to port" Two nations separated by a common language☺ I was going to put "All ahead full" but chose the 'left' intentionally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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