 Misused Terms
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Should be Riding
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OP
Should be Riding
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It's amazing to me how many terms/abreviatins over the years have been twisted and misused. For example:
4x4: It use to mean a four speed manual transmission, four wheel drive vehicle. Nowadays it means any pick-up truck regardless of transmission that is four wheel drive. If still used properly, you would have 2x4's (two wheel drive, four speed trans), 2x5's, 4x4's, 4x5's, 2xA, and 4xA. Although there was a time that most guys were embarrased to admit or to own an automatic transmission truck or car.
WiFi: Who ever came up with this one needs to be shot. Yes, I know it was created by some marketing genius, but it is wrong as it is a take off of HiFi which meant high fidelity, as in a HiFi stereo. Fidelity means "The degree to which an electronic system accurately reproduces the sound or image of its input signal". So putting wireless and fidelity together makes absolutley no sense. Especially since wireless is a method, not a quality level and it is a network signal not a sound or visual signal. Otherwise you could say that any type of signal that is broadcast without cables is WiFi.
Factory Custom: One of the ultimate oxymorons. However, it does have an origin of when you could order a bike from the factory with options or paint schemes not normal offered with stock bikes. Now it is severely misused to mean any cruiser style bike that a manufacturer builds.
There were some others that I have thought of over the last few days, but they escape me at the moment.
Soren
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Re: Misused Terms
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Loquacious
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Loquacious
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how about Hotwater heater do you really need to heat hot water
one of my favorite english language destructions that has made it into common speach and even the dictionary... Irregardless it's not a propper word period!
or Podium now used for any thing that stands infront of a speaker..a real podium is most often seen in symphonies and is a elevated box that the conductor stands upon (or a low wall surrounding a ampitheatre), those things that are stand alone pedistals with slanted tops that hold peoples notes are Lecterns .
Or more site specific Panniers , panniers are baskets, wicker typically, like you see the rice pickers carry on a bar on their shoulders or some times tossed over the backs of pack mules...what we have are Saddlebags Saddlebags were typically leather (sometimes canvas) connected together by a strap and slung over/under a saddle
THE VOICE OF REASON
per: Stewart
AF&AM/Shriner/Scoutmaster
130/45 TBS 2shim SS Uni 18/42
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Re: Misused Terms
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Old Hand
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Old Hand
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4X4 To quote from the ID plate, "Truck, 1/4 ton 4X4, M38". This was the Jeep supplied by Willys that had a 3 speed manual transmission plus a 2 speed transfer case, giving it a total of 6 forward gears. Also, there was the one that was officially labeled, "Truck, 2 1/2 ton 6X6, M34". This one had a 5 speed transmission and a 2 speed transfer. These were mostly supplied by IHC and Reo. There was also the M134 with an identical specification that had a 2 speed transfer and a 4 speed automatic.
The nXy designations translated to N wheels on the ground, Y wheels driven. Dual wheels counted as 1 so that the 3 axle 10 wheel truck and 3 axle 6 wheel truck were both counted as being a 6X6. The tonnage rating on the ID plate was the offroad rating, so the 2 1/2 ton had a secondary rating of 5 tons when driven on a paced road.
Something I've wondered about (for at least 8 seconds), if you bought one of the HD clone "factory choppers" and chopped it, would you have a chop-chop?
Let's hope there's intelligent life somewhere in space 'cause it's buggar all down here. -- Monte Python
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Re: Misused Terms
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Bar Shake
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Bar Shake
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Greybearded one. I knew someone would straighten this one out before I finished reading the post. 
Perhaps Soren got confused by the origin of the Oldsmobile "442". The original was a 4bbl carb, 4 speed trans, and posi rear end (two wheels driving).
Contra todo mal, mezcal; contra todo bien, también
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Re: Misused Terms
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Should be Riding
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OP
Should be Riding
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Nope, no confusion. That is just what I was taught when I was a kid. I was wrong on that one.
Soren
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Re: Misused Terms
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Adjunct
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Adjunct
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Quote:
4x4
Come on guys, everyone knows a 4x4 is a board, actually it should be called a 3-1/2x3-1/2 which brings me to another point. What is up with board measurement ? A 1x4 is not 1"x4" 
Budster
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Re: Misused Terms
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Bar Shake
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Bar Shake
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Quote:
Quote:
4x4
Come on guys, everyone knows a 4x4 is a board, actually it should be called a 3-1/2x3-1/2 which brings me to another point. What is up with board measurement ? A 1x4 is not 1"x4"
That's the rough measurement, fresh from the mill, before trimming and prettying up.
My brother-in-law built his garage out of rough lumber. 2X6s really were 2"X6", all other measurements were actual too.
Contra todo mal, mezcal; contra todo bien, también
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Re: Misused Terms
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Fe Butt
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Fe Butt
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Quote:
My brother-in-law built his garage out of rough lumber. 2X6s really were 2"X6", all other measurements were actual too.
AND, of course, is the ONLY garage left standing in New Orleans today, right Bill? 
Yep! Just like a good Single Malt Scotch, you might call me "an acquired taste" TOO.(among the many OTHER things you may care to call me, of course)
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Re: Misused Terms
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Bar Shake
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Bar Shake
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Quote:
Quote:
My brother-in-law built his garage out of rough lumber. 2X6s really were 2"X6", all other measurements were actual too.
AND, of course, is the ONLY garage left standing in New Orleans today, right Bill?
It's in Colorado, he used the rough lumber so he'd have more room for insulation. the rough is cheaper too. 
Contra todo mal, mezcal; contra todo bien, también
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Re: Misused Terms
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Adjunct
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Adjunct
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Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
4x4
Come on guys, everyone knows a 4x4 is a board, actually it should be called a 3-1/2x3-1/2 which brings me to another point. What is up with board measurement ? A 1x4 is not 1"x4"
That's the rough measurement, fresh from the mill, before trimming and prettying up.
I realize this as I buy rough cut material for making rustic furniture but dont ya think a Home Depot 4x4 should be a rough cut of say 4.5"x4.5" ?? I'm getting ripped off when I go to Home Depot for a so called 4x4 !!!! Hey, this gives me an idea !! I will file a lawsuit against Lowes and Home Depot for false advertisement !!!
Budster
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Re: Misused Terms
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Oil Expert
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Oil Expert
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My (least) favorites are when someone confuses moot with mute, and when Harley Davidson is used synonymously with motorcycle, and when Lear Jet is used as a generic corporate jet.
JB
"Long live the Duck Force!"
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Re: Misused Terms
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Loquacious
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Loquacious
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Quote:
My (least)Lear Jet is used as a generic corporate jet.
like these??
Kleenex
Scotch tape
Duck tape
Q-tip
Band-Aid
Vise grip
Channel lock
Skill saw
Ski Doo
Jet Ski
Stillson Wrench
THE VOICE OF REASON
per: Stewart
AF&AM/Shriner/Scoutmaster
130/45 TBS 2shim SS Uni 18/42
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Re: Misused Terms
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Oil Expert
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Oil Expert
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Quote:
Panniers , panniers are baskets, wicker typically, like you see the rice pickers carry on a bar on their shoulders or some times tossed over the backs of pack mules...what we have are Saddlebags Saddlebags were typically leather (sometimes canvas) connected together by a strap and slung over/under a saddle
While I agree with your version of panniers, that's only one of three dictionary definitions for panniers. Number 2 is "A basket or pack, usually one of a pair, that fastens to the rack of a bicycle and hangs over the side of one of the wheels." So I'd say since our bags hang on either side of the rear wheel and don't go under or over the saddle (rider's seat) that Panniers is probably the more correct term. Also I believe our bikes are a lot closer to bicycles than mules. (Number 3 is an archaic women's undergarment so doesn't come into this. )
I'm still calling them saddlebags tho. 
Matt
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Re: Misused Terms
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Loquacious
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Loquacious
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Quote:
(Number 3 is an archaic women's undergarment so doesn't come into this. )
I'm still calling them saddlebags tho.
Matt
I think the idea of womans undergarments on my bike could have some merit
tho I could skip the archaic part
THE VOICE OF REASON
per: Stewart
AF&AM/Shriner/Scoutmaster
130/45 TBS 2shim SS Uni 18/42
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Re: Misused Terms
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Learned Hand
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Learned Hand
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Add:
Xeroxed it
Fridgidaire
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Re: Misused Terms
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Learned Hand
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Learned Hand
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A pannier is a basket, bag, or similar container, possibly large, and carried either in pairs slung over the back of a beast of burden, or attached to a bicycle or motorcycle. It is sometimes also called a saddlebag.
if life gives you lemons keep them because hey,free lemons.
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Re: Misused Terms
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Adjunct
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Adjunct
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The Learjet = Business jet is the one that burns me up as well.
I work for Cessna and we build more Business jet than any one.
The other one is when movies show a Citaion taking off, a G5's interior and a Lear 35 taxiing to the hanger.
Johnny
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"You never know 'til you know, then you forget" -- Jimmy Buffett
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Re: Misused Terms
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Adjunct
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Adjunct
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In George Washington's days, there were no cameras. One's image was either sculpted or painted. Some paintings of George Washington showed him standing behind a desk with one arm behind his back while others showed both legs and both arms. Prices charged by painters were not based on how many people were to be painted, but by how many limbs were to be painted. Arms and legs are "limbs," therefore painting them would cost the buyer more. Hence the _expression, "Okay, but it'll cost you an arm and a leg."
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Re: Misused Terms
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Anonymous
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Anonymous
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"Coke", for any soft drink.
Thanks, Tat, for the arm and a leg thing. One more item of trivia I can use to my advantage around my co-workers.
How come when elected president, educated (mostly) professional men say "nucular"?
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Re: Misused Terms
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Learned Hand
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Learned Hand
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I thought 442 was 4Bbl, 4speed, dual exhaust?!?!?!
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Re: Misused Terms
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Bar Shake
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Bar Shake
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Quote:
I thought 442 was 4Bbl, 4speed, dual exhaust?!?!?!
Ya know what? You're right, I had a brain fart back there .
Contra todo mal, mezcal; contra todo bien, también
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Re: Misused Terms
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Loquacious
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Loquacious
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Soren,
You make me feel SO old - I agree with the HiFi & Factory Custom, but 4x4? It's a piece of wood, as is a 2x4.
But I think the 4x4 designation is 4 WHEELS - 4 wheel drive. Transmissions never played a part. Think 4 x 2 (4 wheels - 2 wheel drive). I had a 1 wheel drive 1980 Ford truck - no matter were I placed the shifter on snow/ice, only one wheel turned.
Ride Safe,
Dennis
Triumph, it's how I live and what I ride.
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Re: Misused Terms
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Should be Riding
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OP
Should be Riding
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Hey Dennis, yes, I was wrong about the 4x4 thing. That is just what I was always told when I was a kid. Anyway, sometimes I forget that some of the people here were not even born before home computers, cable TV or the internet. Whne I was a kid, if we wanted to look at a web page, we stuck a spider in the newspaper... and we were glad. Soren
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Re: Misused Terms
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Should be Riding
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Should be Riding
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Sheet. Seriously.
As in what’s up with all this ****. Or have you seen her/him work her/his ****.
Maybe we can get this place tidied up and put some of this **** away.
I love this sheet.
Yuk yuk yuk.
Blowing gravel off rural roads
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Re: Misused Terms
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Oil Expert
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Oil Expert
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"I work for Cessna and we build more Business jet than any one." I'm a Falcon fan, myself...
JB
"Long live the Duck Force!"
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Re: Misused Terms
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Adjunct
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Adjunct
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Sorry Bigbill, 442 stood for four speed trans, four barrel carb, dual exhaust. Vegas
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Re: Misused Terms
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Big Bore
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Big Bore
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When I here the term 'my bad', I just want to take a shovel and smack them....
"Never underestimate the power of human stupidity" - Robert Heinlein
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Re: Misused Terms
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Bar Shake
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Bar Shake
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Quote:
Sorry Bigbill, 442 stood for four speed trans, four barrel carb, dual exhaust. Vegas
Yeah, yeah, I've already been reminded  . I knew that, but couldn't remember the "2" off the top of my head . Been happening more and more often since AARP started sending me stuff  . A good buddy of mine was seriously into Olds, and especially 442s, back in the seventies. Shoulda called him. I remember one time a salesman at a car lot was trying like hell to convince us that it was a 442cid engine  .
Contra todo mal, mezcal; contra todo bien, también
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Re: Misused Terms
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Monkey Butt
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Monkey Butt
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Coke, down South every kind of soda pop is called a coke. The joke goes “Ya wanna Coke?†“Yeah†“What kind?†“Oh, A Dr Pepper.†Coke spends a fortune defending the name.
Aspirin used to be a brand name but was ruled a generic when Bayer didn't defend the trade name vigorously enough.
We all like to think of ourselves as rugged individualists. But when push comes to shove most of us are sheep who do what we are told. Worst of all, a lot of us become unpaid agents of whoever is controlling the agenda by enforcing the current dogma on the few rugged individualists who actually exist.
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Re: Misused Terms
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Should be Riding
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OP
Should be Riding
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Quote:
When I here the term 'my bad', I just want to take a shovel and smack them....
That one is definitley annoying. How about "They learned me" and any time someone talks about themselves in the third person.
Soren
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Re: Misused Terms
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Should be Riding
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OP
Should be Riding
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Here is another one.. SNAFU. It is annoying when people say that they came across a snafu, or caused a snafu. SNAFU, is a current constant state of something, "System Normal All F*d Up". It is the normal condition of something. In other words, it like saying, "It is running the same as it always has and always will be, not very good at all".
Soren
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Re: Misused Terms
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Bar Shake
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Bar Shake
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Quote:
When I here the term 'my bad', I just want to take a shovel and smack them....
Dang! If I'd have known that, I would have replied "my bad" to the 442 thing .
Seriously,, it bugs me too. Though it is just a (loose) anglicacation of the Latin term "mea culpa".
Contra todo mal, mezcal; contra todo bien, también
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Re: Misused Terms
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Bar Shake
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Bar Shake
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Quote:
Quote:
When I here the term 'my bad', I just want to take a shovel and smack them....
That one is definitley annoying. How about "They learned me" and any time someone talks about themselves in the third person.
Soren
Re Previous post: If bigbill had known that he would have etc.etc.
Contra todo mal, mezcal; contra todo bien, también
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Re: Misused Terms
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Adjunct
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Adjunct
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Colloquialisms, localisms and general bastardization of the English, French, Spanish and German languages = American speech.
I just finished a case where we used six interpreters. Someone joked about interpreting "Texan". I told them that was easy, just add "fixin' to" before the infinitive of any verb, and conclude one-third of any statements with, "y'all."
In Western Colorado, it's typical to drop the "to be" and, replace with the helping verb "needs," then just use the -ed form of the verb... "The lawn needs mowed, the car needs washed."
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Re: Misused Terms
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Loquacious
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Loquacious
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How about these?
In the telephone business we talk about the customer's building and we refer to it as the Customer Premises. Some folks want to call it the "customer premise". A premise is an idea, a premises is a building.
Incorrectly using Mute instead of Moot. "It's a mute point" instead of "It's a moot point"
Last edited by Fishercat; 03/23/2006 4:40 PM.
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Re: Misused Terms
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Learned Hand
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Learned Hand
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I'm fixin' ta take a little trip up ta Colorado and whoop Bob's butt, ya'll. 
Learning from my mistakes... again and again.
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Re: Misused Terms
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Old Hand
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Old Hand
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Also, the mixing of site and sight, or to, too and two, crossing of with have, etc. And, everyone knows the other word for business jet is Gulfstream.
Let's hope there's intelligent life somewhere in space 'cause it's buggar all down here. -- Monte Python
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Re: Misused Terms
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Should be Riding
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OP
Should be Riding
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Here is another one, when someone says It's Deja Vu All over again. Ok, it was funny the first time I heard it. I don't remember what movie it was originaly from. But, the way it was said, it was meant (and was) funny. But, ever since then it seems that no one can possibly say just "deje vu" without adding "all over again" to it. This includes other movies and television shows. They say it like that is how it is suppose to be said (most of the time not in any humurous way or situation). It is extremely annoying.
Soren
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Re: Misused Terms
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3/4 Throttle
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3/4 Throttle
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I drive an Audi quatro avante,4 wheel drive,works well in the snow but I'd sooner be on 2 wheels
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Worn Saddle
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Worn Saddle
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Quote:
Coke, down South every kind of soda pop is called a coke. The joke goes “Ya wanna Coke?†“Yeah†“What kind?†“Oh, A Dr Pepper.†Coke spends a fortune defending the name.
I tried snorting coke once, but the bubbles burned my nose.
A word to the wise is not necessary. It is the stupid ones who need the advice.
Pat
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