RE: Pet Peeves

["James Barrow" <vrfour -at- verizon -dot- net>]

>Sandy Harris [mailto:sandyinchina -at- gmail -dot- com] wrote:
>>Dori Green [mailto:dgreen -at- associatedbrands -dot- com] said:
>>
>>Everybody who makes their living using language really should take it upon
>>themselves to become informed about sexist and racist language, and delete
>>it from their vocabulary.
>>
>>I've recently seen "rule of thumb" and "dog and pony show" right here on
>>this list.  Look 'em up, and cut 'em out.
>
>This strikes me as patently absurd. I'd use both without a second thought.

Well, this was disappointing.  After seeing this thread - and all of its
subsequent bastardizations - fill up my inbox, I find that the 'hot topic'
was taking offense to words and phrases projected back into the 15-16th
century.  And precisely how many people would I offend if I used a phrase
from the early years of the 20th century that spoke derisively about a small
circus or carnival?

To bring this back around to tech writing, let's assume that Ted the tech
writer works for a fast and loose gaming software company and produces a
user guide that contains the statement, "This software that you are
installing is a very interesting game.  Don't let the dog and pony show of
the opening screens lead you mislead you into thinking that you've seen
everything the game has in store for you."

Wouldn't most readers accept this for its modern definition?  Should the
writer feel shame for using a phrase that had a less than stellar definition
60 years ago?

- Jim

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