At one pharmacuetical plant, after some time discussing a new brine plant on-line density measurement system we finally got around to the question of compatible materials of construction. Would i need to specify Hastelloy construction? Was it NaCl KCl or some other brine solution?

No, it appears "brine" had become a generic for a coolant and in this case, mono-ethlene glycol solution.

Knew an electrical inspector who would always call them "condominimums".
  

A two very commonly used nonwords:

irregardless
orientated

busbar
We had a client who used the same term. He built them.

We had a problem in not laughing when he said it. Bad for business!!!

Buy a dictionary, keep it nearby and USE it. Webster's New World Dictionary of American English is recommended, and Webster's Collegiate Dictionary.

No, orientated is in Chambers 20th Century, at least.

Cheers

Greg Locock

o·ri·en·tate (ôr'e-en-tat', -?n-, or'-)

v., -tat·ed, -tat·ing, -tates.

v.tr.
To orient: “He . . . stood for a moment, orientating himself exactly in the light of his knowledge” (John le Carré).

v.intr.
To face or turn to the east.

ir·re·gard·less (ir'i-gärd'lis)
adv. Nonstandard.
Regardless.

[Probably blend of IRRESPECTIVE and REGARDLESS.]

USAGE NOTE   Irregardless is a word that many mistakenly believe to be correct usage in formal style, when in fact it is used chiefly in nonstandard speech or casual writing. Coined in the United States in the early 20th century, it has met with a blizzard of condemnation for being an improper yoking of irrespective and regardless and for the logical absurdity of combining the negative ir– prefix and –less suffix in a single term. Although one might reasonably argue that it is no different from words with redundant affixes like debone and unravel, it has been considered a blunder for decades and will probably continue to be so.

I saw one in an ad in Science Magazine:

Quantitation

TTFN

GuruNet works great:

quan·ti·tate (kwon'ti-tat')
tr.v., -tat·ed, -tat·ing, -tates.
To determine or measure the quantity of.

[Back-formation from QUANTITATIVE (ANALYSIS).]

quan'ti·ta'tion n.  

Hang on. Are we trying to sound like Colonel Bufton-Tufton, writing to the London Times to protest about the appalling state of literacy, the need for National Conscription, haircuts these days etc etc?

I've never seen "Quantitation" before, and it is a bit ugly, but my first guess as to its meaning was spot on. One of the objectives of written language is the communication of ideas and concepts, surely this word facilitates that aim?

 

Cheers

Greg Locock

A friend of mine would refer to the strip of land that separates highway lanes as the Meridian. He would also say divergence instead of difference. And of course he being from Brookln would say ax instead of ask. He had so many of them that we actually considered writing a book we envisioned being titled "Ax Bob".

Brian

I grew up referring to the strip of land between highway lanes as the mall.

From Dictionary.com:

median strip
n. Eastern, Midwestern, & Southern U.S.
The dividing area, either paved or landscaped, between opposing lanes of traffic on some highways. Also called median, also called regionally boulevard, mall, medial strip, meridian, neutral ground.

With respect to orientate, I stand corrected.

I guess that's progress, a longer word that means the same as an existing word.  Go Scrabble.

As far as my vocabulary is concerned, orientate is still a non-word, invented by people looking for a more pompous word that orient.  

I sad to say that I think it might also have been invented by engineers looking for a more officious word to use in reports.

TTFN

I will at accept that it is now considered a word, but unless I'm talking about that word, I'll never use it.

Your reasons may very well be correct IRstuff.
<sarcasm>
So let's just reinvent the wheel (with a bigger one that does the same thing), and reduce efficiency in communication at the same time.  Now that's good enginnering????
</sarcasm>

I have no problem with the creation of new words to encapsulate a meaning when such a word does not already exists.  For example:  grammatify (verb, to make grammatically correct).  There is no such word, nor (at least to my knowledge) is there a word that means the same thing.

But to create a redundant word (ie orientate) simply does not make sense.  

My fear, is that it's just plain easier to make up a new word, than to take the time to learn the language.  That's laziness.

If orientate is allowed in Srabble, game's off.  You can play by yerself.  Orient works just fine for me even tho my Holt dictionary shows both words used exactly the same way.

In one report writing class we were instructed that officious word use is not only superfluous but possibly confusing.  Making up words with more syllables or misusing a longer word where a shorter one will do does not clarify.  Officious was not the term applied in this case rather it was unnecessarily flowery words as in coloration which is a valid word but oversused where the word color could describe better.

I have always objected to the use of the word diametrically.  It just sounds way overdone and thought people using it were wrong and should be saying diametrally so I just looked it up and stand corrected.

I do bristle slightly when people say radiuses instead of radii which rolls of the tongue much cleaner.  Oh darn.  Looked it up, and either is ok.

Jesus is THE life,
Leonard

I vote a star for David.

I have heard the expression many times and always thought it was tube-locked?  

Two blocked never even came into my mind... but makes sense now that I know the origin.

=====================================
Eng-tips forums: The best place on the web for engineering discussions.

How about "upgradation" as a replacement for "upgrade".  Ran across that today on a website.

TTFN

Maybe if your buying a better monitor?

"After the upgradation of my monitor I am now able to discern between mauve and maroon."

That's a real stretch!

Frankly, I think "utilize" is way over-utilized, when "use" would do just as well..

OK TwnB,
[you're] in detention until you use [your] dictionary.

Dohhhh!

Guilty as charged! I was trying so hard not to screw up. I guess this forum is making me a literary paranoid. (or literally paranoid? I don't think either one is right AGGHH!!!)

or literal paranoid?

or even possibly, a literate paranoid?

TTFN

RE: "orient" vs "orientate"

My dictionary (The Penguin Macquarie) makes a distinction:

"Orient" is primarily a noun relating to "The East", as in "The Orient". It can also be a verb meaning "to align to face to the east".

When you need the more general verb meaning "to adjust with relation to", "orientate" is the only form offered.

Of course, it is possible that the Macquarie is just reflecting current (Australian) usage rather than etymological exactitude (now THERE'S a phrase guaranteed to get a few people checking their dictionaries to see whether I used the right words, and spelt them correctly!), but if it's in the dictionary, it's good enough for me!

On the other hand, my "Oxford Pocket Fowler's" says both are used with identical meaning as verbs, and "there is no meaningful criterion for choosing between them, except that 'orient' is shorter and therefor less cumbersome in some contexts".

The American Heritage Dictionary (Second College Addition, 1985) has a definition of "orient" as "to locate or place in particular relation to the points of the compass" and "orientate" as "to orient".

I guess this term has evolved more than most in the last (almost) 20 years.

David

Quote (JulianHardy):

... and spelt them correctly!)

spelt or spelled?

I would recognise 'spelt' in at least three contexts.

1. Past participle of the verb spell (common weak participle for words with Germanic origins)
2. Abbreviated (possibly colloquial) for spelter (alloy)
3. Archaic wheat-like grain, common in Europe during Bronze age and earlier

Good Luck
johnwm

help.englishclub.com/el_spell.htm

So the correct answer is "either one".

Good Luck
johnwm

CajunCenturion,

You didn't think I would DARE to post on this forum without rigorously double-checking my spelling first, did you?! (The free download of "iespell" from www.iespell.com is a real life-saver here! It allows you to conduct an on-line spell check in any Windows text-entry box.)

I reside in Australia, so I prefer to stay with British spelling and pronunciation over American forms. I use the Macquarie Dictionary and the Oxford Fowler's as my "bibles". Both permit either "spelt" or "spelled", but note that "spelt" is generally preferred in British and Australian English, and "spelled" is more common in American English.