March, 2009
Acronyms, bacronyms and the wisdom of Humpty Dumpty
I love it when I learn something new especially when it’s about words.The other day I had a meeting with a lovely new client, Anna Maria Ciangola. Anna Maria is a seaweed consultant/therapist and she wants me to write the copy for her new website.
She’s re-launching her current company, Simply Seaweed, under a new name – Sanare Per Aquam. It’s Latin for health through water or to heal through water.
Some people believe that Spa is an acronym of this Latin phrase and that it’s how the word entered the language. I decided to find out and was taken down a fascinating path that didn’t have much to do with spas, seaweed or water therapy.
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Expect the unexpected and avoid mistakes
I’m always baffled when I ask for a black coffee in a café or restaurant and get the response, “Would you like milk with that?”I had an even more perplexing experience at the checkout of a shop recently.Bored looking assistant: “Would you like a receipt?”
Me: “No thank you.”
Bored looking assistant: “Here’s your receipt”.
Predictors of beaconicity banned from holistically synergising stakeholder engagement
No it doesn’t make sense but so much local authority speak doesn’t. However the Local Government Association’s ban on jargon certainly does.
