Pet Peeves
Posted by The Fool at 5/18/2009 7:45 AM 
Categories: Language,2012
Tags: "having said that" "rate of speed"
Categories: Language,2012
Tags: "having said that" "rate of speed"
Dear Readers: The Nostradamus thing has pretty much run its course. For lo these many months (OK, five months)I have kept careful watch on the intertubes for all things Nostradamus and 2012, and I am staggered at the lack of imagination among these people. There is simply nothing new under the Mayan sun. The trouble with woo is the trouble with evil: its banality.
So I have decided, albeit reluctantly, to abandon the quest for expertise in the coming non-events of the year 2012 and return to blogging about whatever is chapping my ass in the here and now. Thanks for staying tuned in. I'll try to be worthy of your continued attention. Meanwhile, as always, your comments are invited.
"Having said that...."
The expression drive me nuts. I detest it. It's a favorite of people with nothing to say, who insist on saying it anyway. It means, "What I just told you (the 'that' that I have just said) is merely conventional wisdom, a thin veneer of truth that we're all supposed to believe. Now I'm going to tell you the real truth behind the veneer." The next thing out of the speaker's mouth is almost never as profound or revelatory as he or she imagines. People employ this phrase when they want to sound intelligent and thoughtful, and IT ALMOST NEVER WORKS.
"Rate of Speed"
An illiterate construction. I'm sorry to say that police officers (of whom I am, in the main, a big fan) are frequent offenders in this area. Rate and speed are the same thing. Both are ratios of one unit of measurement (let's say distance) to another unit of measurement (let's say time). Your speed on the highway is 60 miles (distance) per hour (time)? That's also your rate. Look it up:
So I have decided, albeit reluctantly, to abandon the quest for expertise in the coming non-events of the year 2012 and return to blogging about whatever is chapping my ass in the here and now. Thanks for staying tuned in. I'll try to be worthy of your continued attention. Meanwhile, as always, your comments are invited.
Codswallop's Pet Peeves: A Never-Ending Story
I hate it when people say these things. What about you?"Having said that...."
The expression drive me nuts. I detest it. It's a favorite of people with nothing to say, who insist on saying it anyway. It means, "What I just told you (the 'that' that I have just said) is merely conventional wisdom, a thin veneer of truth that we're all supposed to believe. Now I'm going to tell you the real truth behind the veneer." The next thing out of the speaker's mouth is almost never as profound or revelatory as he or she imagines. People employ this phrase when they want to sound intelligent and thoughtful, and IT ALMOST NEVER WORKS.
"Rate of Speed"
An illiterate construction. I'm sorry to say that police officers (of whom I am, in the main, a big fan) are frequent offenders in this area. Rate and speed are the same thing. Both are ratios of one unit of measurement (let's say distance) to another unit of measurement (let's say time). Your speed on the highway is 60 miles (distance) per hour (time)? That's also your rate. Look it up:
rate 1 |rāt|To be more precise, speed is a type of rate, though not all rates necessarily describe speed. The speed of light is 300,000 kilometers per second, but today's (5/18/09) currency exchange rate is 47.885 Indian Rupees to one US dollar. But whether you understand this or not, just stop saying "rate of speed," and you'll immediately start sounding more intelligent.
noun
• a measure, quantity, or frequency, typically one measured against some other quantity or measure : the crime rate rose by 26 percent.
• the speed with which something moves, happens, or changes : your heart rate.
Hey Codswallop
Couldn't find a way to email you so I'm trying my luck here I'm afraid:
I remember reading on a WWGHA thread that you acted in Dexter. Could you tell me which season and episode it was? and which scene?
I'm a huge fan of the show, as is a friend of mine and it will be cool to know (well...) someone who was in it. I'm the guy from the WWHGHA challenge thread who did the Steve Irwin skit.
I enjoy reading your thoughts.
Cool, hope you are well.
Reply to this
Funny how these things get turned around. Sorry to disappoint a fan of the show (my daughter loves "Dexter" as well), but I wasn't in it. I did have a day (just ONE day, never to be repeated) on the set of "Brotherhood," which is a Showtime original series. I appear in the first five minutes of the third episode of season three, titled "Let Rome In Tiber Melt." I think it's available on demand if you have Showtime. The DVD comes out the Summer. I'm the fire chief who tells Tommy about the fire fighter who died.
Reply to this