Words and their meanings.

[charadam]

My Officer Commanding (OC), a major of some seniority used to ask me to edit his comments on our soldiers' Annual Confidential Reports (ACR).

Those of you from military backgrounds will understand the importance of the ACR to a guy's career. Those of you who do not have military experience will understand that your ACR represented your CV and your references all in one document.

In other words, an important document.

My OC wrote "this is an impressionable young Non-Commissioned-Officer (NCO)".

My OC took it badly when I pointed out that "impressionable" conveys a lesser character than "impressive", which is what he was trying to imply.

I will not go into his use of "interested" and disinterested", much less his use of "foolhardy" and foolish".

He did, however understand that a bullet is a bullet and not a "head" and that a young officer must never be entrusted with a map.

 

[Cernunnos]

Always found semantics interesting and guys higher up the pecking order suffering from the illusion of competence amusing.

 

[dave 67]

My brother in law suffers with a bad case of malapropism, here are just two.

Well it's not rocket surgery is it!! and one that had me in bits
That Martin Baker ejaculation seat has saved quite a few lives!!, got to get me one of those seats

 

[LeftHandGuy]

Couldn't agree more. Using language correctly isn't a straitjacket, as some would have you believe, rather it gives you the freedom to express exactly what you mean in unequivocal terms.

It starts with people saying "less" when they mean "fewer", then they can't tell the difference between un and dis-interested, and pretty soon, they don't know how to say what they actually mean. At that point you are lawyer food.

Who on earth started calling bullets "heads" anyway? As far as I'm concerned "heads" is where you go for a ****!

 

[finnbear270]

Even some of the larger manufacturers are using the term too, Pr*cks.

 

[stag1933]

Admin please cancel this thread before it becomes a slanging match.

Many on this site and throughout the nation cannot even spell basic simple words correctly let alone understand some of the above. Language can be a mess when one word can have different meanings such as CONVERSE , noun for `the opposite` and noun for `conversation`.
If I went into some shops and asked for a box of 100 grain .243 bullets they would place a box of factory cartridges on the counter yet if I asked for a box of 100 grain .243 heads I would get what I was needing.
On my FAC they are referred to as MISSILES.
It matters not whether people call them HEADS, MISSILES, or PROJECTILES, there are more important things in life to contend with instead of this perennial nonsense.

HWH.

 

[Dalua]

If I went into some shops and asked for a box of 100 grain .243 bullets they would place a box of factory cartridges on the counter yet if I asked for a box of 100 grain .243 heads I would get what I was needing.

As we wander through life, we find opportunities to learn and opportunities to teach: this is one of the latter.

If customers who ask for bullets but are are offered rounds take the time to correct the vendor, the vendor's understanding would be improved; even if for commercial reasons he fails to pass this piece of learning on to other customers who persist in calling bullets 'heads'.

Language can indeed be untidy, but this does not seem to me a good reason for nodding at the mess dropping another semantic unclean sock on its bedroom floor.

 

[private fraser]

It annoys me that it is becoming accepted to say things like, "I was stood."
Even bbc reporters do it.

And it doesn't help when the Oxford English dictionary does this...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/10240917/Uproar-as-OED-includes-erroneous-use-of-literally.html

 

[Timbo61]

Most of you guys live in a place where the so called English langauge is fast becoming a thing of the past, not in a small part due to immigration. Get used to it, annoying as it can be.
How many of you have trevelled to far flung corners of the globe? I bet you dont worry about gramar etc when you are trying to order a beer in another language.
For the record, I have never heard the term Heads used with respect to what I know as projectiles. That doesnt make it wrong though.

 

[tonto]

well said stag 1933.
hit the projectile right on the head there.

 

[murrayb]

 

[finnbear270]

 

[bogtrotter]

Does it really matter, I think not, my previous gamedealer refered to roe kids as calves and thats what went on the invoices he knew it was wrong ,I knew it was wrong who cares.

Of course it could be said that where I come from, wi dinna spik English ony y min.

 

[JAYB]

This thread is rapidly approaching the stage where it's content will cause it to be closed. It has managed to jump from what was a fairly light hearted subject into the never ending pedants world of head versus projectile versus bullets. Enough please because I warn you threads like this up with I will not put!

John

 

[Timbo61]

Maybe you should re read the last paragraph of the OP before getting precious. Only 14 posts so far..let it slide

 

[bogtrotter]

My father was a gamekeeper with a huge rabbit problem, a very large part of his time was spent gassing rabbits.

Any time he was asked his occupation he would say he was a Burgh (burrow) surveyor

OK I thought it was funny though I was only about twelve at the time.

 

[bewsher500]

"off of"!!

WTF is that?
"you know, that bloke OFF OF the telly"!!!!!

drives me nuts

​

 

[Timbo61]

Scuse me but. I dont think that using "WTF" in a thread that is aimed at proper use of the English language really works. WDYT?

 

[bewsher500]

Scuse me but. I dont think that using "WTF" in a thread that is aimed at proper use of the English language really works. WDYT?

you are correct.
I missed out the question mark
​duly amended

 

[Timbo61]

I should think so too !